Page 120 of The Alien in the Archive

She studies me for a moment, then sits at the ancient table in the center of the room. She lets her glow lamp hover above her, clasping her hands. “Thorne,” she says softly, “why have you come out of the shadows now? Why did you write to me? And why has Page risked everything to keep you hidden?”

I stare at her. The air feels heavy, because I know what I say next could be taken the wrong way. My people were telepaths, monsters…and we were known to seduce people into working with us, making them thralls.

I sit across from her.

“She’s my mate,” I murmur.

Davina’s brows rise, but she nods.

“You don’t seem surprised,” I observe.

She rolls her shoulders, peering thoughtfully toward the skylight and the stars overhead. “You clearly care about her,” she says. “And she told me you’d grown close. I suspected something deeper connected the two of you.”

“She saved me,” I murmur. “That’s why I wrote to you, because I wanted her to stop risking herself for me. I won’t let her life be destroyed for my sake.”

Davina exhales. “It’s a difficult situation. And you want me to focus on saving her, if necessary…but I want to save you both.”

I regard her carefully. “You do?”

She meets my gaze. “I’m a scholar. You’re the most important discovery of my career—and Page’s. I won’t let you beburied in a vault. I’ll act as your intermediary, take your case to the administration, frame it in the right way. But you need to trust me.”

I grimace. Trust isn’t something I give lightly. Even with Page, who I could sense had a special connection with me…it took me weeks to open up to her.

But in this moment, I don’t have a choice.

“I’ll trust you,” I say. “But if you betray us?—”

“I won’t,” she interrupts. “I want this to work as much as you do.”

For the first time in centuries, I let myself believe it might.

Davina stands, retrieving her lantern. “I’ll return tomorrow with everything we need to start building your case. I’ll need access to as much of the Archive as you can give me.”

“You’ll have it,” I say.

She steps toward the door, pausing just before she leaves. “Thorne…thank you for trusting me. And for what it’s worth, I believe Zerithek Nexorin would be proud of you.”

Davina gets up to continue looking through the archive before I can respond, and I sit in silence. Ashlan jumps onto the table, staring at me with unblinking eyes. I reach out through the bond, letting Page feel the flicker of cautious hope in my chest.

We might have a chance. We’re not alone in this anymore.

46

PAGE

“Come on…come on…”

There’s a spot on my counter I didn’t notice before tonight, and it justwon’tseem to come out. I scrub harder than I should, the cloth catching on the edge. The rest of the cottage is already immaculate—bookshelves dusted, floor swept, couch cushions neatly fluffed—but this fucking spot keeps resisting.

At least I’m thinking about the spot and not tomorrow.

Well…except now.

Now I’m thinking about tomorrow.

It sticks in my head like a splinter, but I force it down, pulling in a shaky breath. I’ve told myself all day, this is just a regular evening. Nothing unusual about it. Just me, alone, in my impossibly tidy house, waiting for my boyfriend to arrive.

I hear him in my head…feel him getting closer.

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