“Much better,” I whispered.
“How did you find me?” He asked.
“I saw Sage. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It happened really quick. We dealt with the crawlers in the morning, then we found out that Steiner was responsible for the breach. When we went to see him, he was gone, but there was something in his room that, I think, triggered a severe poisoning.”
“What was it?”
“Nothing I can remember. But all of us who entered started experiencing symptoms. Sage passed out and we used what little water we had trying to stop whatever it was. Apparently, itwasn’t enough, because by the end of the day, none of us could stand on our feet.”
“Why didn’t you send me a note?”
“Because you would come.”
I looked up at his beautiful face, his perfectly shaped lips, the strong lines of his nose and chiseled cheekbones. His features seemed more sharpened, dark lines had settled under his eyes. He appeared tense and exhausted.
What was I thinking? There was no way he could ever betray me. That was impossible. Maybe other men could be deceitful and unfaithful, but he would never hurt me. He would never knowingly make me suffer, and deep down I have always known that.
But he would not let me in. Not all the way. It was as if, even after everything we have been through, he still could not trust me.
I thought about that woman he was with before me. Gabrielle. She took the most gentle, affectionate heart and scarred it so bad that even years later, I was facing the consequences of her betrayal.
“Will you come back to the room with me?” I asked.
“I can’t.”
I nodded, forcing myself to move away.
It was simply impossible to stay when my heart was breaking piece by piece. It did not matter that I understood him, that I believed that what he did was right. My chest was heavy with deep, overwhelming sadness.
“Alina, be careful.” Tynan’s words broke the silence.
My fingers wrapped around the door handle. I wanted to scream, I wanted to throw his precious book across the room. I wanted to do something crazy.
“Promise me you'll be safe.”
“Of course.”
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
FRID
After we got back to the room, we spent half the night arguing and yelling at each other. Victor, of course, wanted both of us to leave immediately and fly all the way to Darragh, abandoning the sisters. I was determined to do the last mission for them, to fulfill the promise I made. Both of us were too stubborn to come to any sort of agreement.
Shortly after a simple breakfast in the communal room, I was dressed in my leather suit and waiting for the order to leave from Mahin. Victor just stared at me with his less than friendly eyes.
“What if you get caught?” he suddenly asked.
“I’m not a child, I can fight.”
“Sort of.”
“What in the holy?—”
“Alone. You’re going to be alone. This is something your new friends aren’t willing to do, to fight for their own.”
“They just want to get some intelligence.” I rolled my eyes because we were going in circles.
