I rise from my chair. My legs are wobbling so badly that I don’t object when Kael wraps his arm around my waist, supporting me as we head toward the door.

“Thanks for … for everything, Smith,” I say. I pause, then ask, “What happened with the first memory? Why did we … Why did we leave it?”

I don’t say more about where we went, since Kael’s arm around me has tightened with my question. The memory of seeing his mum is still raw in my mind, so I can’t imagine how he feels.

“I’m not sure what happened,” Smith admits, looking from me to Kael with a furrow between his brows.

It’s surreal for me to look at his scars now, after seeing the projection of him without them, after learning how they came to be. I swallow as the memory flashes across my mind, before I push it away again.

“There’s no reason why we should have jumped out of it like that,” he continues. “No reason why we shouldn’t have been able to get back to it afterward. I tried, but …” He shrugs apologetically. Then he chews his cheek and offers, “If you want to come back in the morning, after we’ve both rested, we can … try again.”

I’m stunned by his offer. Part of me wonders if it’s because of the history we share—the history neither of us remember. Or perhaps he’s curious now, too. If he needs to tie the threads together as much as I do.

“Sounds good to me,” I tell him.

“Absolutely not.”

The two words from Kael are so firm that my body tenses against his. I turn to face him, only to find him glaring at Smith.

“You saw what just happened to her,” Kael says tightly. “Clearly the deeper into her memories she goes, the worse it affects her.”

Smith opens his mouth, but I get in first.

“I’m fine, Kael.”

Unfortunately, since he’s still supporting me, it’s obvious that I’m lying. Even if he doesn’t know about the pounding in my head, he can still tell that I’m not fully recovered yet.

“Lyss, a second ago, you had blood streaming from your nose. Streaming. My jacket is soaked with it. That is not ‘fine.’”

“Then I’ll be fine in the morning,” I say. “A few hours of sleep and I’ll be ready to go again.”

Kael ignores me and says to Smith, “I’m making it an order. I completely forbid you from projecting into her memories again. If you do, you’ll no longer be welcome here in the catacombs. Do you understand?”

Smith’s jaw clenches, but he gives a terse nod.

I gape at Kael, unable to believe the harsh penalty he threatened. “You can’t do that!”

“I just did, princess.”