Page 83 of Somnium

His chin dipped in quiet acknowledgement. “Will you stay tonight?”

Cadi let out a soft breath. “Of course.”

She let him lead her down the hall and pull her into bed without even changing for the night. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her against his chest tighter than he ever had before. Almost like he was afraid she might be torn away from him if he dared to let go.

25

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CADI

“Remind me again what I’m looking for?” Cadi said as she dodged the person in front of her who had decided to stop in the middle of the walkway. Her phone nearly slipped from her shoulder, forcing her into minor acrobatics just to keep it from tumbling to the ground while she continued to dig through her bag. That damn wallet had to be in there.

She was twisting awkwardly to shoot an irritated look at the oblivious pedestrian when Sera’s voice sounded in her ear, pulling her back to the conversation. “Anything that feels out of place. Secure rooms, locked files, weird notes. That sort of thing.”

Cadi stepped to the side, removing herself from the flow of post-work travelers filtering into Central Station. A small cramp had begun to form in one of the muscles of her neck from holding it in such an awkward position for the last block, forcing her to shift her phone to her hand and stretch out the angry spasm.

“Okay,” she replied with a level of certainty she wasn’t anywhere close to feeling. “I’ll keep you posted.”

She ended the call and shoved her phone into the pocket of her jeans. A frustrated groan worked its way free, the muscles in her jaw becoming more rigid the longer she dug in her bag with no sign of her wallet or her transit card.

A hollow pit had started to form in her stomach around lunchtime, her first shift back as temple attendant looming closer with each passing hour, and this wasn’t helping.

Just as she was beginning to seriously contemplate dumping everything out onto the pavement, her fingers brushed against smooth faux leather, and she let out a small cackle as she yanked it free.

Her feet felt as though they were filled with lead as she boarded the train headed to the temple. She pulled her phone back out and scrolled through old text messages and pictures to distract herself on the short ride. The device vibrated in her hand, her breath catching when Elias’s name flashed across the screen. He had been uncharacteristically quiet all day, and she couldn’t pretend not to know why. Over the last week, any mention of the Order made something in him shift. His posture went rigid, responses turning short and clipped.

Opening the alert, her heart sank when, instead of an actual response to the multiple messages she had sent throughout the day, there was only a thumbs-up now adorning her last text telling him what time she would be home. Crazy how a simple emoji could manage to be so loud.

It was clear he wasn’t happy about all of this, and while the thought of him worrying himself sick back at his apartment pained her, the wound left by his secrecy still lingered. She’d lost count of how many times he had apologized for keeping the truth about the gods and the Order from her for so long, and she knew he meant it, but he should consider himself lucky that she had messaged him at all.

Grumbling to herself, she stowed her phone as the train beneath her shifted, beginning to slow. She blew out a long breath to calm herself when Temple Station flashed into view.

Even being on the grounds after she had learned what the Order was up to was enough to make her skin crawl, and if it hadn’t been for Sera, she may not have made it through her first Somnium back. As soon as the lights dimmed and the priests climbed the dais, Cadi’s stomach had threatened to bring her lunch right back up onto the stone floor. It was only the steady grip of her friend’s hand, and the reassurance that she wouldn’t leave Cadi’s side while she was under, that kept her from gagging.

But this time she was going there alone, and with the Rite of Dedication happening that evening, the chances of running into Zoe, Celine, or Damon were high enough that she was worried her hair might start falling out.

She shook her head and tried to focus her thoughts on everything that could work in her favor instead of the hundreds of ways this could go wrong. Tonight’s list would be cut nearly in half with the rite prep team handling most of her usual duties, which would leave her plenty of time for a little snooping before any of the dedicants even set foot on the stone steps.

Still, no matter what she told herself, it did nothing to calm the way her pulse was hammering in her ears.

Cadi coughed as a plume of steam billowed into her face, leaving a thin sheen clinging to her skin. She sighed, not even wanting to imagine what was happening to her hair. It was a good thing there was no incentive to look cute while she steamed acolyte robes.

Distant conversation drew her attention to the hall outside of the laundry room—the first signs of the rite team arriving to begin their work. Cadi leaned to the side and peered around the metal rack just as a small group shuffled by on their way to the sacristy.

Something clenched at the base of her spine with the knowledge that people were already starting to filter in. She had to hurry. Pulling her focus back to the robe in front of her, she set to work finishing up her final assignment for the evening. After this, all that remained was to wheel this entire gods-heavy cart through the halls and back to the sacristy.

The entire process would be much more efficient if she had been allowed to steam the robes there instead of in the laundry room, saving her the extra trip, but Polly had insisted that this was just how it was done, and Cadi didn’t have the energy to argue.

She took a step back, to double-check that every crease and wrinkle was gone before she stored the steamer and pushed the cart into the hallway. The damn thing was so heavy, loaded down with pounds of thick fabric, that she was forced to be practically parallel with the floor just to get enough force behind her efforts.

“Fuck, no, no, no!” she pleaded as she lost control of the cart, wincing at the metallic clang that rang out as it went careening into the wall. She stepped around to assess the damage, and chewed her bottom lip when she noticed the tiny scuff mark left in the red stone.

Maybe no one would notice.

She rounded the next corner, digging her heels into the solid ground to pull the cart to a stop when she saw that her path was blocked by a group of acolytes. They stood clustered in the middle of the corridor, the echo of their enthusiastic chatter loud enough to make her ears ring.

“Excuse me,” she called, grumbling when no one even looked her way in acknowledgement. She propped a hand on her hip and raised her voice to try again. “Excuse me!”