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He didn't kiss me. He hugged me. It wasn't even a sexy embrace. Tristan hugged me as if I had just saved his life. Maybe I had. It was the perfect reaction. Caring, but not too much. As I hugged him back, his scent enveloped me—sandalwood and cardamom. I breathed him in and laid my head on his chest. Tristan laid his head over mine, and his hands stroked my back.

Then, abruptly, he stepped away.

Chapter Seven

I stood there, with my arms hanging at my sides, feeling abandoned.

“Sorry.” Tristan backed up. “I shouldn't have done that. I just wanted to show you how much I appreciated what you've done.” His hands clenched.

“I'm not afraid of Heartbreak, Tristan.”

His eyes filled with emotions I couldn't decipher, but they all looked like a version of suffering. “I don't think you know how crushing Heartbreak can be, Destiny.”

Before I could say anything, the melting furnace began to hiss and black smoke leaked out of it. Tristan took one look at it and dashed over to me. The hissing reached a deafening point as he swung me toward the wall. He pulled me down into a crouch and covered me with his body, just as a boom sounded. I shrieked as the furnace lid went flying and crashed into the wall nearby.

Tristan looked up and around, then back to me. He cupped my cheek. “Are you all right?”

I nodded. “What happened?”

“I don't know, but it could have been the spell breaking.” He helped me up.

The sound of running footsteps came from the employee corridor and then Curtis, the security guard on duty, burst into the lab. He looked at the smoking furnace then at us. “Are you two all right?”

“Yeah, we're fine. Thank you.” I stepped away from Tristan. “I was testing the melting furnace to see if maybe that had caused the light you noticed. It turns out, it had.” I cleared my throat. “I didn't expect it to explode.”

“Dear God! Thank goodness you didn't get hurt.” Curtis rubbed a hand over his bald spot and looked at the dent in the wall.

“Yes, only the wall.” I unplugged the furnace. “Is it all right if I make the incident report tomorrow?”

“Sure thing, Ms. Takeda. “I'll start it and email it to you, You can add the details tomorrow and sign it.”

“Thanks. I think we're going to get out of here. The smoke could be dangerous.”

“Oh, damn! You're right. I, uh, I think there's an air purifier in the back. I'll get it and set it up in here to run overnight.”

“All right. We'll wait then. I have to lock up the lab or you'll be responsible for everything in here.”

Curtis grimaced. “I don't want that.” He ran off.

As soon as Curtis left, Tristan and I hurried to the furnace and peered inside. The silver piece was still there, still whole.

“What the fuck?” I whispered.

“Damn it all,” Tristan hissed. “You tried to help me, and you nearly got hurt.”

I laid a hand on his arm. “It was worth a try.”

He stared at me a moment. “I need to take you somewhere. Tonight.”

“Where?”

“To someone who might know who's after me. Someone who collects the kind of information that doesn't exist in databases.” Tristan looked at the furnace then back at me. “He can confirm everything I've told you.”

“You're going to show me your world?”

“Just a little of it. Baby steps.”

“I'm good with baby steps. For now.” I paused. “But what do we do with the silver piece?”