Page 58 of Lich's Mate

“You planned this, didn’t you?” I ask him, smirking slightly.

He chuckles.

“Not at all. We had to move fast.”

“Uh-huh,” I say sarcastically.

The moment feels perfect as I nuzzle into him. But the mansion is mere seconds away, and soon we’ll be stepping out of the carriage, away from the flash of beauty, and from the time we shared together.

“Well, okay,” he says. “The celestial event might have had something to do with it.”

I laugh meekly.

It feels like coming home as we pull up and come to a stop, the mansion’s front door entering my view.

But I know that this isn't my home. My home was wiped away, enveloped in genocide and a fleeting squabble between my kind and the xaphans.

I inhale sharply.

“Something wrong,” Kavian asks, opening the door to the carriage.

I step outside onto the harsh and unruly gravel.

“Not at all,” I lie, smiling. “I’m just happy to be back.”

The truth is, as I push open the door to the large foyer, that I want to feel at home here. But I’m still terrified that none of it is real—that all of it will be snatched away in an instant, just like everything I’ve ever known.

So do I keep running? When do I return to holding on for dear life, against chaotic elements indifferent to my existence?

I’m free, I think, a smile crossing my lips. There’s nothing more they can do to me now.

“You look incredibly tired.”

I turn around to face Kavian, his comment startling me out of my reverie. He wears a look of deep concern.

“You should really get some rest.”

I shake my head.

“I’m fine,” I counter, suppressing a yawn, my muscles weary.

But Kavian pushes me, nudging me toward the staircase.

As much as I hate to admit it, sleep does seem like an enticing prospect right now.

“I’ll be here when you wake up,” Kavian promises. “Just please. Get some rest.”

“You exerted yourself a lot more than I did,” I argue. “Shouldn’t you be the one getting some rest?”

He contemplates for a moment, looking up at the chandelier, which sways slightly.

“I guess Gorran is fucked, at least for now,” he says. “I’m sure he’ll regroup eventually, but…”

Kavian turns his back to me, before spinning back around.

“I’ll get some rest later,” he says. “Maybe you’ve earned your rest, but I still can’t be caught off-guard.”

I trudge up the staircase away from him, looking down as he leaves my sight, and I hear the distant unfurling of parchment.

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