“Let’s steal the dagger, Oli.”
His head flopped against the settee. “Oh, goodie, our suicide mission can commence.”
I sat up and grabbed his hand. “You don’t have to come. Let me risk it alone.”
Oliver turned his head to face me, pressing his lips together, and nodded. Then he ripped out a decorative pillow from behind his back and whipped it at my head. “That’s for the stupid shit that came out of your mouth.” He hit me again. “And that’s for the previous time you suggested that.”
“There’s a good chance we won’t find your sister, and we’ll end up dead, Oli. I’d rather risk my neck for Aspen alone. I don’t?—”
Oliver hammered me with the pillow, forcing me back into the couch.
“Okay. Okay!” I raised my hands to block his attack. “I’ll shut up.”
“Music to my ears. Now let’s strap on some weapons and let the chaos commence.”
Unfortunately, the only weapons we had were the two daggers Oliver always kept with him. Fortunately, I guaranteed Ronen had an arsenal to steal from.
All ready to break into his room, we opened our door and immediately had a problem.
“Rune? Why aren’t you with Ronen?”
She sat in front of us, her tongue lolling out and shadow fur moving quickly as if excited.
“What do we do?” Oliver whispered into my ear.
She headbutted my chest, seeking pets. I scratched her beneath her muzzle, thinking. Maybe it’d be as easy as just telling her to leave. It had worked before.
“Rune, we have things to do. You need to head back to Ronen.”
She tilted her head, looking as if she knew we were up to no good. At least her eyes were lightless, but we had to ditch her before that changed.
“Go to Ronen, Rune.”
Rune didn’t budge.
“It’s not working.”
“Clearly.”
There was only one solution I could think of, and it was barely a solution at all.
“Let’s rest a second, Oli.” I grabbed his arm and forced him back through our door, opening it wider and ushering Rune in.
She sprang through the threshold, her excitement palpable as she eagerly joined us. A tight knot twisted in my chest at the thought of what I was about to do next.
Placing my back in front of the doorknob, I turned the lock, and her ears twitched. Before she could react, I shoved Oliver out of my room, followed after him, then slammed the door shut. Hopefully, that’d hold her long enough to retrieve the dagger and leave. Shewhimpered, her paws scratching frantically at the door. I felt terrible. I hated when she cried.
Then the pawing stopped, and in the next second, she rammed against the wood.
“Rune’s going to contact Ronen! Probably right before she blows through your door!”
“I didn’t know what else to do!”
Oliver snatched my wrist and pulled me away right as Rune’s next slam created hairline cracks in the wood. “We’d better hurry.”
Ronen’s room was a short run down the hall. Oliver rushed to open Ronen’s door and hissed, jerking his hand back. “What the fuck kind of doorknob is that?” he asked, sucking the fresh blood on his palm.
“One protected by his shadows.” I reached out, felt a prick on my skin, then the lock clicked.
