Page 18 of The Prince's Mate

Walker

I stared at the ceiling, knowing I was headed for another sleepless night. The only difference was that this time, it was because of the absence of warmth beside me. His absence.

Caelan still hadn't returned. Out of all the excuses he'd made over the years, this one had to be the flimsiest one. Maybe he wanted me to know he was lying, so I'd hurt the way he had earlier today.

I'd spent all this time thinking over what he'd said, and then thinking about what Dad had said. I hadn't been treating Caelan right for a long time now. I'd turned the anger of a child into something bigger, something harder over the last years, and I'd treated Caelan like shit for something that I was now realizing probably wasn't even his fault.

The way Dad had scolded me, what he'd said, it implied Caelan had leftforme, not because of me. I knew now that Caelan hadn't been at fault, yet I'd continued treating him badly, taking out my own frustration on him as if he didn't have feelings of his own. Something was wrong with me. It had to be, to be such an asshole to someone who'd once been my whole world, who still meant a lot to me, even if I would never tell him that.

Groaning, I sat up and rubbed my face, sliding my fingers into my hair and tugging at the strands. Where was he? Was he even in the human realm, or had he taken off back to Otherworld?

He wouldn't leave me alone here.No matter how angry he was at me, he'd never leave me behind.

When the situation with the queen of Underworld had been at its peak, Caelan had brought me here, and we'd spent the day watching movies, reading, playing board games. It had been the most fun I'd ever had with Caelan, and it had made me think he was planning to stay this time, which was probably why it'd hurt so much more when he'd said he was leaving again, and why I'd reacted the way I had.

That day was still the last happy day I'd spent with Caelan, and I wished I could change that.

Where are you, Caelan?

I stared at the bedroom doorway, willing him to walk in, but he didn't. I was tempted to text Dad to ask him if Caelan had come back, but I didn't want to disappoint him by telling him I'd been an ass to his best friend again.

Wherever Caelan was, I was going to find him, and then apologize to him.

"Ro!" I called out, and he popped up beside me a second later, slithering up my leg and perching onto my knee.

"Yes, Walker?" he asked, as if he already knew what I was going to say.

"Can you find Caelan?" I asked, and he hissed softly, an almost victorious sound.

"Of course I can. What do you want me to do once I find him?" he asked, and I shook my head.

"I'm coming with you," I said, crawling off the bed and changing into something weather-appropriate.

Once I was ready, Ro'Shassz wrapped his tail around me, closed his eyes, and then we...weren't gone.

"What's wrong?" I asked when we stayed right where we were. "Why aren't we there?"

"Something's wrong. I can't get a strong sense of where Caelan is."

"What? How's that possible? Is it because he's not in this realm?" I asked, and Ro shook his head.

"I can pinpoint the location of every Otherworlder, no matter what realm they're in. No, something's wrong with Caelan. His presence is muted somehow. I don't know how else to describe it. He's still in the human realm, but I'll need to focus to find out exactly where," he said. Was Caelan in trouble? And I'd spent all that time moping when I should've been looking for him…

"Find him, Ro. Please," I whispered, and he nodded, his eyes flitting shut as he went extremely still. The minutes ticked by and he stayed still. I prayed to whoever gave a crap to keep Caelan safe until I could get to him, and vowed to do better by him once I had him back.

"Got him! Do you want me to alert Damien and the others? Just in case?" Ro asked, and I shook my head. This was my fault. Whatever it was, I'd deal with it myself. It was time I fought my own battles instead of letting my dads do it.

"Let's go," I said. Ro wrapped himself around my arm and then we were off.

Caelan

Everything hurt. And it didn't feel like someone had beaten the crap out of me, it felt like someone was still beating the crap out of me. I wracked my brain, trying to remember what had happened, where I was.

I remembered arguing with Walker and then stalking off, walking along the street to work off some of the aggression filling me.

Someone was following me. I'd sensed their presence and led them into an alleyway away from prying eyes, only to turn around and—

It wasn't possible. He was supposed to be dead. Sure, I'd never actively searched for his name on the list of souls headed to the Chasm, but he'd been human when I'd died. He wasn't supposed to be alive now.

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