Page 16 of Acedia

I nodded. I had heard of them, of course. From movies. I just didn’t know where they went and how they were shaped.

Lucas got right into my personal space to tug the strap from somewhere above my shoulder, and I sat perfectly still, weirded out by the sensation of his breath on my skin.

It had me second-guessing my ability to provide lust in the shadow realm just a little. I was great at being lustful all by myself, but I didn’t enjoy the physical proximity to Lucas at all.

“Are we going to your house?” I asked awkwardly after the seat belt clicked into place and Lucas moved back, immediately getting the vehicle moving.

“We’re going to Denver,” he answered, voice strained. “Astrid wants the meeting to happen on her home turf. She set the location.”

“Oh.” My hands shook a little. It seemed very risky to return back to my hometown. Then again, perhaps it was a bold enough choice that my mother would never think to look for me there?

“Oh no, Lucas,” I gasped, immediately wracked with guilt for not thinking of it earlier. “This could be really bad for you ifMoriah founds out you helped me—what are we going to do? Will you come to the shadow realm with me?”

He let out a surprised laugh. “I definitely wouldn’t be welcome there, Iris. Not after what I did to Verity. I’m covering my tracks here. Worst case scenario, I think I have enough dirt on your brothers to get them to at least help me out—they wanted you gone anyway, right? I’m doing them a favor.”

I don’t think he meant the words to sound as callous as they did. He was just pointing out the honest truth of the situation. It was a painful truth, though.

The farther we got, the more relaxed Lucas seemed to become. “How are you feeling, Iris? I know it was a pretty spontaneous decision, but you’re… Well, you’re free.”

I let out a shaky breath, burying my hands in the fur on Tilly’s neck. “Yes.”

I didn’t know how long for, or what the consequences would be.

But for now, I was free.

Chapter 5

“Come,” Allerick grunted. “Sit with me awhile.”

I silently joined him on the sofa in front of the fire in the drawing room, dragging over the small cart with goblets and a decanter of wine as I went. We both needed it.

“Ophelia went with Verity?”

Allerick nodded in confirmation, staring at the empty grate. “Soren will accompany her back later.”

I poured us each a goblet of wine, and for a long moment we sipped our drinks in silence.

“Do you think Theon will forgive me?” Allerick asked, taking me by surprise. It was unlike him to even want forgiveness from anyone who wasn’t his wife.

“Probably. Will it bother you if it doesn’t?”

“I think so.” He cut me an odd look. “You’ve grown closer to him. You have a real knack for building relationships.”

That sounded like a vast exaggeration. “And yet here I am—single and unwanted,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

“It is strange that you’re single,” Allerick agreed. “When everyone agrees you have the vastly superior personality. Are you very off-putting to your romantic partners?”

“No,” I replied, offended. I didn’thavemany romantic partners to begin with, and I certainly hadn’t been off-putting to any of them.

“Are you courting anyone right now?” Allerick persisted.

“Since when is this a topic that we discuss?”

“I’m concerned that you’re sad and alone now that so many of your closest confidants are coupled up.”

“You’re the off-putting one,” I muttered. “No, I’m not courting anyone. I don’t know why this is so hard for everyone to grasp, but just because I’mfriendlydoesn’t mean I alwayslikeeveryone I meet. When I meet someone who I like enough to want to court, I’ll know. There won’t be any doubt in my mind. You don’t have to worry about me being sad and alone,” I added, just in case he was actually feeling bad and not just antagonizing me.

He nodded absently, swirling the wine in his goblet. For a brief moment, I felt oddly hopeless. I suspected that Allerick needed assistance, but I wouldn’t have the first clue about how to provide that. It wasn’t really my role. I was the fun one, not the problem-solving one.

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