Page 71 of Siege of Shadows

“Wh-what,” I breathed, my throat still tight. “What—”

“—am I doing here?” Rhys held up his phone. “I’ve been trying to call you.”

“I put my phone on vibrate.” I picked up my bag. “Sorry, I guess I didn’t hear it.”

He’d clearly cooled off since the time I’d last seen him. Rhys looked around the study, then at the open book on the desk. “What are you doing here?” He slid the book around so he could read the words. “The Castor Volumes?”

“Just doing a little studying. Since I was bored.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Oh, come on.” I leaned over the desk. “Is this the face of a liar?”

I figured he’d argue some more. I wasn’t expecting him to grab my chin gently, turning my face left and right as he inspected it. His fingers were slightly calloused; I could feel them scratch delicately against my skin. Warm.

“All right, I believe you.” He let me go with a little smile.

“Huh?”

He shrugged. “You’re neurotic and adorable. How can I not believe you?”

“Oh... g-good,” I said, trying to ignore the fluttering in my chest. I cleared my throat. “How did you even know I was here?”

“My mother told me.”

“Your...” The beautiful woman I’d found outside with a strange penchant for cryptic behavior. “She’s yourmother?” No wonder her face was so familiar. Rhys certainly had some of the strong features I recognized in his father, but he’d received his gentle beauty from his mother. That was clear now.

“Yeah. She lost her wedding ring. I’m supposed to be looking for it. She’s the director’s wife, after all. Gotta have her ring, I guess.” Though he looked a little annoyed, his face softened as he spoke about his mother. It was a stark contrast to how I’d seen him around his father; not too surprising given what I’d just learned about the man.

My heart dropped at the thought. I fidgeted awkwardly. “Did you... did you want something from me?”

Rhys slid a hand through his messy black hair as he looked away from me. “Well, first I thought I should apologize about what happened back there. Brendan and I... We have our issues, but it’s not something you should have to worry about.”

“No, it’s okay.”

He watched me self-consciously from the corner of his eye. I didn’t know how to approach the subject of his father, or if he even wanted me to. It felt intrusive to bring it up.

“I also wanted to apologize for what my father said to you,” he said, surprising me.

“It’s all right.” I shut the Castor Volume discreetly, making sure the red ribbon was in its original position between the thin pages. “You don’t have to apologize for someone else’s actions.”

“I guess the problem is I have trouble apologizing for my own.”

I lowered my head, clutching my bag closer to me. I knew there was a chance that the sadness in his eyes wasn’t just because of his family. That he was haunted by more than just his past in Greenland. But I’d already chosen not to believe that he could have murdered his own friend. I just had to stick to that. My legs twitched as he came around the desk, but this time I didn’t back away from him. And when he grabbed my hand, I didn’t pull it away.

“Maia,” he started, his voice strained as if the pressure of his words would break him, “about what Vasily said—”

“Before you say anything,” I said quickly, “listen to me first.”

The room was quiet. I let that moment of silence pass between us because I needed the time to steel my nerves, to decide whether or not I was going to ask the question that had been burning me from the inside since that night in France. “I don’t know how I feel about you,” I said instead. And it was true.

“Do you hate me?”

When Rhys suddenly asked, I looked up at him, shocked. “What?”

“I’m sure you’ve figured out that I’m not as... as entirely normal as I may have made myself seem when I met you.”

“I never thought you were normal.” When I noticed my lips had twisted into a wry grin, I hid it away guiltily. “And I... kind of like that. Not like I’m normal either.”

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