Wood dug under my nails from gripping the arm rests. I relaxed them and stood up. Jessandra met me halfway.
“What do you require, Jessandra?”
“Mergle. It has been days, and there has been no sign of hide nor hair of him. Where is he?”
“Completing a task for me.”
Her nostrils flared as if scenting me for deception. “He has never been gone from your side for this long.”
“How would you know? You have spent the majority of your time gallivanting through the labyrinth doing who knows what. I’ve always been curious as to why.” I leaned into her space. “Share with me what wonders you have discovered, Jessandra.”
Without hesitation, she said, “Tell Mergle I wish to speak to him upon his return.”
“Will do.” My lips pressed together in a smug grin.
Jessandra turned on the balls of her feet like the soldier she was and marched out of the room. The scorching heat of her anger lingered. Next time, she would demand answers, and I needed something culpable enough to satiate her hunger for the truth.
Once her footfalls receded, I opened a portal to pay my old friend a visit. There were truths I required of my own.
The pixies fluttered in their orbs as I roamed the dungeon corridors. With every step, I attempted to focus my thoughts on what I wanted to ask Mergle, but I couldn’t clear the thought of Calista leaving from my mind. I promised she could see her brother once she joined with me, and I intended to do so after her coronation. If I gave her the freedom to visit her loved ones as she pleased, would she choose me at the end of the day and come back?
Maybe if I gifted that to her as my wedding present, Calista would no longer resent me and return the love she hid within her. She didn’t understand that either, but she will.
The walls felt narrower as I approached Mergle’s cell. Taking a deep breath, I stowed away all my thoughts save those I needed for the present moment. I stayed to the shadows to get a view ofmy old friend. He lay on his bunk, hands behind his head, and stared at the ceiling.
“It was blissfully peaceful until your stomping eradicated the silence.”
The corner of my lip ticked at his comment but fell into a flat line. For all the fury and disappoint I felt, I missed my companion.
Mergle turned his head as I stepped to the bars. “I see you didn’t come to your senses.”
“On the contrary, I succumbed to them.” I chuckled at his flared nostrils and unamused expression.
“I can smell it on you. It’s as rank as your humor.”
My hearty laughter echoed through the corridors of the dungeon.
“I assume you did as you said you would.”
“I did.”
“How’s that working for you?”
I allowed a sliver of our connection to come through and bit the inside of my cheek when her emotions tried to tear down my wall.
“Is it everything you dreamt it would be?”
I bit down harder and closed her off. The tang of blood coated my throat as I swallowed.
“Or a nightmare come to infect your waking moments?”
“Calista is no nightmare.” She was a lone star in the darkest part of myself. Her life force burned bright, eclipsing my own. “But I will become one for those who threaten her.”
“No need to remind me.” He turned his attention back to the ceiling, grumbling to himself, “You’ve been obsessed with her since you were a lad.”
My hands balled into fists. “We are not discussing your opinions.”
“Oh?” Mergle sat up, his short legs dangling from the cot. “Isn’t that my duty, to advise you?”
