“Tell me if it becomes worse,” I said.
“I will.”
I didn’t trust the answer. From what I had learned over the last year of interacting with humans, human women—especially competent ones—often minimized pain.
There was no blood or tears in her clothing that suggested a struggle beyond what I’d seen. Her breathing had evened out, but her pulse was still fast beneath the skin of her throat.
I reached up and moved a strand of damp hair away from her face.
She went very still.
“You’re sure you’re okay?” I asked.
She swallowed, then she nodded. “Yes.”
I held her gaze a beat longer than necessary, my jaw clenched. Then I straightened.
“What didhe want?” I asked.
Her jaw tightened. “He asked about the book I found for you.”
Everything inside me locked up.
“He wanted to know why I’d been looking it up,” she continued. “Whether I’d found it. Who I was. Who you were. Whether I knew any dragons.” She huffed a weak laugh. “I thought he was high. I asked if it was a bit.”
My hands curled at my sides. This was my fault.
The trail I had followed had not been as cold as I believed. Someone had taken notice of it. Someone had decided to act.
And instead of coming for me, they had targeted her. But who? I had only spoken of my research to my trusted inner circle. Were other clans also looking into this mystery?
The pressure behind my ribs sharpened into something precise and dangerous.
She glanced up at me. “Someone must have put a flag on the search. We should probably call the cops, right?”
I shook my head once. “No.”
Her brows drew together. “Why not?”
“Because they can’t help with this,” I said. “And because that man won’t be a problem again.”
She studied my face, searching for something. Whatever she was looking for, she didn’t find it.
“Oh,” she said quietly.
I turned slightly, angling my body so I blocked the open corridor without meaning to.
“I didn’t intend for you to be involved,” I said.
“I figured,” she replied.
I exhaled once, slow and controlled. “Take me to the book.”
Her eyes widened just a fraction. “Now?”
“Yes.”
After a beat of hesitation, she nodded. “Okay.”
