Page 22 of White Little Lies

“Well,” Gladiola said after a while. “At least she’s breathing more easily now. I guess we won’t really know if it worked until she wakes up.Ifshe wakes up.”

“Yeah.” I crossed my legs to sit more comfortably, glancing around for Sebastian. “I guess we’re in for a long night.”

“Mistral will want to know what happened.”

Guilt clawed at the back of my throat. I was such a jerk for avoiding him just because I was embarrassed. “You should go tell him what happened. Tell him I won’t be able to make it tonight, but I’ll come tomorrow, after I’m finished at Emerald Heights.” I caught sight of Sebastian out the corner of my eye as I said it. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, and I wasn’t sure how long he had been there.

Gladiola gave him a wary glance. “You’re going to stay here withhim?” she whispered.

The thought made me uncomfortable, but if something went wrong with Aaliyah, he would probably just let her die. And he was right earlier, someone had tried to kill the nymph. I couldn’t bring that kind of trouble on Braxton again.

“I’ll befine,” I said finally.

She gave me a knowing look. “That’s not exactly what I’m worried about.”

Yeah, her and me both.

I stirredanother spoonful of rice into my to go container of butter chicken. That was the beauty of living in the city, you could get takeout at any time of the night. I sat cross-legged in front of the sofa, keeping an eye on Aaliyah.

Ringo huddled beside me on the floor, snout deep in a styrofoam container of curried potatoes. There was a lamp on beside the sofa, but the rest of the apartment was dark, save the distant lights from the city far below.

“You’re going to be useless tomorrow in Emerald Heights if you stay up all night.”

I glanced back at Sebastian. “I’m not going to sleep.’”

It had been an ongoing argument over the past hour. I wanted to make sure Aaliyah would be okay, and I didn’t trust Sebastian to watch her.

“She is resting peacefully now. Clearly Isadora’s concoction worked.”

Had he had doubts? I was once again tempted to ask about how he met Isadora, but the irritation pinching his features let me know he wouldn’t be telling the truth regardless. And he wouldneverswear a bargain of truth like Mistral. He had far too much to hide.

I took another bite of my food, fighting a yawn. Tomorrow would indeed be rough.

With zero warning, Sebastian was suddenly beside me, yanking me up by one arm while grabbing my messenger bag with his free hand.

“Hey!” I kept a death grip on my food as he dragged me into an adjoining bedroom.

Soft lighting blossomed of its own accord, and I couldn’t quite tell where it was coming from. The room was simple, butexpensive. And were those silk sheets?

Ringo scurried in after us, stopping near my ankles.

Sebastian finally released my arm. “If there are any issues with the nymph, I will wake you.”

Clutching my food, I turned toward him. “Do you swear it?”

He rolled his eyes. “I’ll even add it to the contract.”

“In exchange for what?”

“In exchange for you not being absolutely useless tomorrow. We don’t have all the time in the world, Eva. We’re not the only ones trying to find your mother. Someone else will manage it.”

I squirmed where I stood. He was right. I was taking too long to learn. If someone else found my mom first—

“Do we have a deal?”

I pouted. “Fine. I’ll sleep.” Gripping my food in one hand, I lifted a finger toward his face. “But you better wake me if there are any issues.”

He looped my messenger bag over my extendedarm, stepped back, then shut the door, leaving me and Ringo alone in his bedroom.

---