“You have?”
“I liked them. The first fantasy books I’ve read. I like the idea of the dark and light magic, the strange citadels and the moving tattoos. Are you going to write another in the series?”
“Yes, though I’d like to do something different first. I don’t know what I suggested to Alistair—you know who he is?”
“Yes. You wrote four outlines for fictional work for him. Set in the UK, Afghanistan and Russia. You and he wrote a book about his travels.Going the Extra Mile.He has a lovely dog called Elsie who really likes you. She has soft fur.”
Kaden frowned. “You went with me?”
“Sort of.” Jalis’ face fell.
The food arrived, and they ate in silence. But it wasn’t an awkward one, more a calmness that settled between them, as warm as the steam rising from their plates. If Kaden put aside the mystery of the last few days, longer than that, really, since the point that he’d lost his memory, he felt…content to be with Jalis. The thought came uninvited and he didn’t push it away.
He knew it was unwise, trusting him, liking him. But he did. And the longer he spent with him, the stronger the feelingbecame that something in his head might unlock, as if memory wasn’t something to be forced, but coaxed back and Jalis was a key that Kaden didn’t yet know how to turn.
That might not make sense. But it felt right.
So he’d made a plan.
One Jalis would like.
One his dad absolutely would not.
“Absolutely not,” his dad said.
Kaden had waited to speak to him until Jalis had gone outside to get logs for the wood burner. If his dad had remembered seeing Jalis in the hospital, this wouldn’t have worked but he showed no sign of recognition. Kaden had no way of reconciling the fact that although Jalis said he’d been here with him before—sort of, his dad clearly had no idea who he was.
“What on earth are you thinking? This young man turns up out of nowhere and suddenly you trust him? How did he even know where I lived?”
“I told him.”
His dad’s eyebrows shot up. “Youremembertelling him?”
“No. But I must have.”
“Kaden!”
“I have to get my life back.” His voice was steadier than he felt. “If my memory doesn’t return, then it doesn’t. But I promised Jalis he could stay with me. I signed that letter. That’s my signature, whether I remember it or not.” He hesitated, then added quietly, “I like him, Dad. I really like him.”
His dad’s expression softened, just a fraction. “I can’t stand the thought of you going back to that bedsit with someone who might be responsible for what happened to you.”
Kaden was keeping tight hold of Jalis’ confession that Kaden’s being in hospital was his fault. “I spoke to the police and no one was with me in that toilet. I don’t know what happenedbut there was no one else around. The cameras show that. And I was fine before I walked in.”
He didn’t like lying but he felt he had no choice. Except if the police came with a camera image of Jalis leaving the hospital…
“I’m sure Jalis had nothing to do with what’s happened to me. You’ve seen him. He’s not exactly threatening.”
“You know strength isn’t always visible. Maybe he gave you something? Some drug?”
“No.”
“But you don’t remember.”
“I’m sure that’s not what happened. Please… Just give him a chance.”
A long pause.
“Then don’t take him back to your place. Stay here for a few days,” his dad said. “Separate rooms.”
