He fell into step beside me, muttering under his breath. “One of these days, I’m going to remember why I volunteered for this.”
“You volunteered?” I shot him a sidelong glance. “Why? Thought you liked your victims quiet and compliant.”
“I don’t like victims,” he said flatly. “And I don’t like having to drag your stubborn ass into line, either.”
“Oof. That’s almost caring,” I teased. “Careful. Say one more nice thing and I might start thinking you don’t hate me.”
He didn’t answer right away. The silence stretched long enough that I started to glance over—but then his voice came, low and unreadable.
“I don’t hate you.”
That threw me off just enough to stumble over a step. I recovered quickly, face heating, and shoved my hands into the pockets of my coat. “Sure. Okay.”
We didn’t speak again as we wound our way through the keep, the tension shifting into something quieter.
Finally, we reached the room Thorne had claimed for this so-called training. Quiet. Empty. The stone walls gleamed faintly with embedded sigils, protective runes etched into the doorframe.
Thorne opened the door and held it, waiting.
I stepped inside first, pulse ticking higher. “Alright,” I said, swallowing back the nerves. “Let’s see if you can crack my mind like an egg.”
He didn’t smile. Just followed me in, closing the door behind him with a softclick. He gestured to a small cot along the wall.
“Lie down,” he said. “And try not to fight me this time.”
“No promises,” I muttered—but I did as he asked, settling onto the padded bench, heart racing louder than I wanted to admit.
Thorne sat beside me, his fingertips hovering above my temple.
“You ready?”
I closed my eyes. “Just don’t break anything in there.”
The last thing I heard before the pressure hit was his voice, low and almost gentle.
“I’ll be careful.”
“Just relax,” he whispered. “Remember, we can stop at any time.”
I nodded and attempted to ease my breathing. As I lay back on the bed, it amazed me how much and changed. Last time he had tried to break through my mind, I had been terrified, but this time? I was willingly letting him do it.
Was I actually starting to trust Thorne?
“I want you to imagine you are in a big hallway. At the end of the hallway is a door. I want you to walk towards that door, breathing slowly. As you do, you will go back in time. One year, two years….”
His voice had taken on an ethereal quality around me. I did as he said. I felt he world around me fade until I was deep inside my mind.
“Can you see the door?”
“Yes.” I said.
“Tell me about the door, Elira.”
“It’s red, like blood.” I said, but my voice seemed far away. “And it looks heavy.”
“Keep going. Each step takes you further back in time. How old are you now?”
Images flashed before my eyes. I saw Finn on the streets. I saw the shadows hiding me as I snatched apples and fish from the markets. I saw myself tending to Finn. It was like a movie ofmy life along the walls of the hallways. And still the door sat there.
