Page 185 of Blood & Betrayals

Alice snorts as if the question is incredibly stupid. “No, I really don’t think he will.”

My stomach twists and turns as the nerves set in, and I scroll through my phone to pass the time.

“Show me the DMs,” Alice demands.

Surprised, I look up at her. “Why?”

“Because I’m nosey,” Alice says with a shrug.

“Okay. But please bear in mind a lot of these were sent before we had strict boundaries in place.”

Alice snorts and snatches my phone from my hand, expertly navigating through it. With every message she reads, her eyebrows raise higher on her forehead. “Who is this guy?”

“What do you mean?” I ask, practically bouncing with nerves.

Alice turns my phone to show me the photo he sent last night. “This is off-realm. Likewayoff-realm.”

“So?”

Alice pulls out her phone and starts searchingNexus. “This is Valhalla. Not only is he pretty much as far away as he could be, but he still has cell service?”

I frown, taking my phone back and typing out a message to him.

The reply comes immediately.

Alice gasps, reading the messages over my shoulder. “Shut the fuck up! He created the Runic Network?” Alice starts furiously typing on her phone. “We can totally find out who he is, Sum.”

I watch her type furiously, my hopes rising that she will find out something about him.

“Fuck. All it says is that it was created by an anonymous individual over forty years ago.” She continues to read. “Apparently, its purpose was to make sure we wouldn’t fall behind the mortals in terms of technology.” She sighs heavily. “Damn, I thought we’d caught him.”

I close my messages with the stranger and place my phone beside me. “Why do I feel so nervous about telling Connor?”

“Well, do you feel guilty?”

“I have nothing to feel guilty about, right?” I ask in a small voice, chewing on my lower lip.

“You were maybe a little flirty with him last night, but… I don’t think so. You’ve been very clear that you and he are just friends.”

I nod, but my stomach twists again when there is a knock at the door.

Alice hugs me and stands up. “Good luck,” she says before going into her room and closing the door behind her.

Taking a deep breath, I get up and open the door for Connor.

“Hi.” Connor smiles brightly at me.

“Hi,” I reply, feeling how my smile doesn’t reach my eyes.

Connor pulls me into him, nuzzling the top of my head. “I missed you.”

I brace my hands on his chest. “Con.”

He pulls back, his brows drawn. “What’s wrong?”

“I need to tell you something,” I say on an exhale.

Connor takes my hand and leads me to the couch. He sits down, and I curl up beside him.

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