I pace across the training room, barely coherent. I need to see her, need to touch her. Claim her. Snippets of our conversation weave in and out of my consciousness. I replay her face right before she disappeared. Grief, fear, rage. It’s so at odds with how I felt in that same moment that I’m lost. I don’t understand what’s happened, how this could’ve gone so wrong.

Fury and fear and joy bring a deep uneasiness to my gut. My blood races. Her scent lingers in the room, and I can’t get enough of it. I take a deep inhale, breathing in her smell of lilac and mint. It calms me, allows me to focus. I need to find her. I have to convince her that there is nothing between Silene and me, even though I’ve already assured her of that. I have to somehow find a way to get her to overlook who my father is. I. Have. To.

With one last inhale, I leave the training room to seek her out. I make the miserable and endless trek up the stairs to her room, pounding on the door, but she doesn’t answer. I consider breaking down the door, but some inexplicable sense tells me she isn’t there, so I walk back down to the greenhouse. She isn’t there either. I have no choice but to return to the apartment and enlist the help of Silene and Fionn. As I walk through the door, my mind races over how to explain to them I know Laurel is my mate, when such a thing isn’t supposed to be real.

They’re seated at the dining table, playing a game of Skran. Silene looks up at me, then does a double take. “Went that bad?”

My mouth goes dry. Where do I even begin? “You could say that,” I start slowly. “There’s something I have to tell you, and I need you to believe me. Please believe me.” The words are a plea, full of emotion I don’t know how to express. Silene’s brow furrows, and Fionn raises an eyebrow. They set down their cards, waiting for me to continue. “Laurel—she wanted to spar after I told her about Nemesia. I guess she just needed to get the frustration out, or lock it away, I’m not sure.”

“Makes sense,” Fionn murmurs, and Silene gives him a look that tells him not to interrupt again.