She nodded, her brown waves bobbing with her head as they fanned across her shoulders.
“What happens next?” she inquired, her honeyed voice a soft lilt as she looked up at me, hesitant trust visible in her irises.
“Next,” I replied. “You trust us.”
“Well, I’d say I trust you a decent amount, seeing as you’re in my apartment.”
“Fair enough.” I shot her a smirk as I leaned back against the wall of her apartment. “These caves, how far away are they?”
“Not far,” she answered as she rose from where she sat, walking over to the bar cart situated in her living room and pouring herself a glass of ambrosia. She turned, glass in hand, and raised an eyebrow at the two of us in invitation.
Pushing off the wall, I moved across the space, forcing myself to block out the scent of jasmine wafting around her as I poured two more glasses and handed one to Axel, before taking up a spot beside him.
“Once you reach the caves, you should stay there for three nights.”
“Why three?” Axel asked as he pulled out his phone, scrolling through various maps of Aurelia in an attempt to locate the caves she was referencing.
This had to be executed with precision and perfection. Not to mention that this timeframe would put us a good day behind Elion’s schedule. Eleana would kill us for being late once we made it back to the Guild.
“Searches last forty-eight hours throughout the Quarter.”
I chuckled. “You’re kidding.”
She let out a huff of air as she swirled her glass in her hand. “No. Luc read an article when we were younger about how most people who are missing have a low likelihood of being found after the first two days. I guess it really stuck with him.”
I hated the way his name sounded rolling off her tongue, the casual nickname that fell from her lips for a male not deserving. My blood boiled at the familiarity, and I pulled a knife from my pocket, swirling the metal through my fingers in an attempt to calm the need to protect and defend that flowed through the starbound mark.
Once this mission was complete, I would need to devote a significant portion of my day to prayer at the Temple of theEternal—if only in an attempt to figure out why Aeternus had blessed me with a starbound mark in such a situation as this.
“Why are we waiting an additional night then?” my second asked, pulling me back to the conversation at hand, as Raelyna replied.
“To be on the safe side,” she replied.
Axel chuckled as he reclined in his seat, his arms draping over the worn material. “What? Are you worried about us?” he teased.
“No,” she answered indignantly.
“Some might say it appears that way,” I chimed in, a devious grin spreading across my lips as she cut me a glance, and I watched her cheeks redden.
“Just . . . three nights, okay? I know what I’m talking about,” she huffed.
Raelyna shifted in her seat, folding her legs up to her chest as she tugged a blanket closer to her chest, nestling into it. I watched as her gaze shifted between the two of us, uncertainty washing across her features.
Her mouth opened and closed, then opened again. “I know that I’m in no way a consideration in your future plans. Plans that I’m assuming you still plan to proceed with”—she gestured toward the two of us with a wave of her hand—“seeing as you’re planning to head back to Aurum and the Guild. But whenever you do move into action, I want to be included . . . if possible.”
I nodded, hearing her, but also knowing there was more at stake than she could have ever imagined. That she had so much more to discover before she could ever be privy to our next steps.
“Let’s just take it one step at a time,” I stated.
“It’s not like anything can happen until we get out of this stars-damned barricade of a Quarter anyway,” Axel grumbled, and a huff of laughter escaped my lips as Loxl chose that moment to spring onto the couch, landing on my second’s lap.
“Shoo,” he muttered, and I smiled as I heard Raelyna giggle from where she sat. The fox paid him no attention as he began to purr delightedly, his tail swishing and hitting Axel in the arm every few seconds as the creature stared at him.
“Fine,” Axel muttered eventually, his hand stretching out to begin petting the elusive creature.
“How can I be certain that I will be okay?” she questioned, eyes narrowing. “That my friends and family will be safe whenever whatever you’re planning occurs?”
“Just trust me, for once,” I said, holding her gaze and praying to Aeternus that she read the sincerity in it. “Until then, let us worry about everything.”
