Page 115 of Cursed Dreams
The others didn’t need a reminder of that, she didn't want to even think of that.
“I feel like an idiot,” she muttered instead.
Nyla reached over and touched her hand. “You’re not. He’s… cunning”
“And infuriating,” Marand added.
“And alarmingly hot,” Cellen chimed in.
They all gave him a look.
“What?” he said. “Let’s not pretend he doesn’t brood in a very symmetrical way, that’s easy on the eye.”
Nyla rolled her eyes. “Anyway. We have a lead. We know where the map is.”
Thalia lifted her gaze, mouth opening to respond, but Nyla beat her to it.
“We’ll break into his lodgings.”
The table fell silent again.
Cellen blinked. “That… is bold. Even for us.”
Marand didn’t flinch. “Doable, though.”
“You’re serious?” Thalia asked, voice tight.
“Yes,” Nyla said simply. “You’ve been carrying this whole mystery on your back for weeks. We said we’d help. So we’re helping.”
“But—”
“No ‘buts,’” Marand said, eyes fierce. “You’ve led us through restrictive archives, had us pouring over tombs, scrolls and maps till our eyes crossed, we are all in.”
“She’s right,” Cellen added, waving his fork for emphasis. “It’s really not a proper adventure until we’ve broken into the lair of a dangerous, emotionally unstable immortal.”
“Vaelith’s not unstable,” Thalia muttered. Then, at their raised brows: “He’s just... difficult.” She wasn’t sure why she defended him .
“Right,” Cellen said. “Difficult like thunderstorms. And venomous snakes.”
Thalia groaned and rubbed her forehead.
This was madness. This was illegal. This was, Exciting.
The word slithered through her thoughts before she could stop it. Her heart pulsed, like a single note of music in a silent room. They were close. Closer than they’d ever been. The map they needed existed. It was within reach, kind of, and if they got it… she might finally find the Forgotten Forest. The Temple of Kek. And finally, be one step closer to Caelum.
Thalia looked at her friends, their determined faces, their loyalty shining brighter than any candle, and nodded.
“All right,” she said quietly. “We’ll figure it out.
Chapter 27
Thalia paced the length of her dormitory, arms crossed, bottom lip firmly trapped between her teeth. Outside the window, the late evening sky had turned an inky violet, the stars just beginning to blink into view. Nyla sat on her bed, brushing out her hair, though she’d stopped halfway through one side, more focused on watching Thalia wear a path into the floorboards. The knock on the door stopped Thalia in her tracks, head swinging round to stare at Nyla. Nyla slowly set the brush aside and crossed the room, pulling the door open to reveal Cellen, dressed in a black tunic and pants more suited to a night out than staging a break in, and grinning far too wide for someone about to discuss a criminal act.
“Ladies,” he said, slipping inside. “I come bearing wine. And a penchant for crime.”
“Get in you idiot!” Nyla said from between her clenched teeth, dragging him inside by his top, before quickly scanning the hallway and closing the door. “ You were supposed to dress in robes to be more discreet you idiot, what if someone saw you entering our dormitory! You know Miryanne patrols the girls hallways at night if she had seen..”
Nyla's lecture was cut short by another soft knock on the door. Quickly she shoved Cellen unceremoniously into the bathroom. Thalia opened the door this time to find a dark robed Mirand waiting.
