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Dropping my face into my hands, I sobbed. “Oh god, Gretchen, I touched him.” With my eyes closed, surr
ounded by darkness, I could almost feel the brush of his lips against my skin, the way his body was joined with mine, and even how roughly he had taken me. His touch seemed imprinted on my body and I mourned the loss of connection.
Gretchen waited until my weeping quieted to light tears before she asked, “You found Kipp, then?”
I lowered my hands and could barely see her through my blurry eyes. “I think he found me.”
A frown marred her face at my pain, even if she said, “I’m so glad it worked.”
I wiped my tears, pulled myself together and relished in my achy body. It’d been so long since I had real sex, I savored how my body hurt now. Even if it pleased me to no end that it worked, too, and more so, that I remembered my experience. “But it wasn’t enough time. I needed more answers.”
She tilted her head and the soft light lit up the side of her face, revealing her sad eyes. “You were out for a while, Tess. How much more time did you need?”
Now, with the reality of what had happened and what I should’ve been doing, I wanted to smack myself. Instead of talking and getting the answers I so desperately sought, the need to feel Kipp consumed me and I wasted valuable time. “We…we were…”
Gretchen’s eyebrows rose, a knowing look crossing her face, and she finally grinned. “Well, I suppose that’s one thing you could do when you found him.” She patted my leg, her eyes warming. “So, you could touch him that much, huh?”
I nodded, wiping at the remainder of the tears flooding my cheeks. “It was overwhelming.”
“I imagine it would’ve been,” she murmured softly, shifting on the bed and pulling her legs up underneath her. “Did he tell you anything at all?”
Sucking in a huge breath, I sent the sadness away for now and slid my strength back into place. If I allowed myself to have the breakdown I knew was coming, I suspected I might hide out under the blankets for a couple days, not something I could do now. I thought back and remembered what he told me. “He said to trust no one once he heard I was here with the Animus.”
Gretchen’s eyebrows furrowed. “Did he?”
I nodded, then stared at the bedroom door to fight through the memory. “It seemed like he knew I’d come here, which I can’t understand.” I looked at Gretchen. “But at the very end he mentioned Dane—something like, Dane was the one.”
Her eyes widened. “He did spellbind Kipp?”
Nothing would please me more to know I could blame Dane, but I couldn’t. “I’d say yes, since it does sound like that’s what Kipp meant, but I asked him outright if Dane had done a spell on him. He said no.”
She stared at me for a long moment before she said, “While what Dane’s done to you is horrible, I honestly don’t believe he would use magic in such a dark way. You’re right—Kipp must’ve meant something else.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “But I’m growing tired of not knowing what that something is.” Frustrating me even more, if Gretchen hadn’t woke me up I would’ve had the answer. Rubbing my face to ease my tired eyes, I sighed. “Feels like we’re running in circles.” I dropped my hands and gave Gretchen a long look. “Kipp said enough that he’s safe in the Netherworld, so for now, I have to let that go and we need to stick to figuring this world out.”
She gave a firm nod. “You said it seemed like he knew you’d come here, that it was safer for him and you if he stayed away.” Her head cocked. “Did you get any sense why he thinks you’re both in danger?”
“I didn’t get a chance to ask,” I muttered. “But I could see that he’s concerned. Although, clearly not too concerned because he’s not back here right now ordering me to leave.”
“There is that.” She nodded agreement. “If he honestly feared for your life, he would return and tell you as much. In fact, I doubt Kipp would have left you knowing you were in danger.”
I didn’t like where my thoughts took me. “Meaning, he’s in danger.” I shook my head the second it came out of my mouth. “But how could he be in danger, he’s already in a coma and a ghost?”
Gretchen nibbled her lip, then finally said, “A very good question.”
“All right.” I gave my arms a good shake, shedding all the confusion from my mind. We needed to stay focused. Only focusing on what Kipp had said wouldn’t get us anywhere. ”So, what next?”
She hesitated a moment, her eyes glancing at the tray ceiling before looking at me. “Even if we didn’t need the Lux from Wayde, I’d still beg you to help with Alexander. I hate to see him in this condition of unrest.”
Which was why Dane was a full-out idiot because if he thought it over, knew my loyalty to my friends, just Gretchen asking me probably would’ve sealed the deal. Of course, with Kipp gone, it gave me more motivation since I’d likely tell her to wait until I solved Kipp’s problem first. But we were all in this together now and just needed to figure this shit out. “Okay, I’m on board with helping him—more than just my need to fix Kipp—but I have no clue where to start.”
“As I see it, we need to get Alexander stronger so we can ask him more questions and get solid answers.” She continued to worry her bottom lip. “But I’m afraid I’ve never conjured such a spell. In truth, he’s the best one to answer that question. Like I’ve told you, he was the most talented spell caster I knew.”
“See, and that’s it, too; if we could get him back to being a normal ghost instead of this freaky apparition thingy, then maybe he could tell us more of what happened to him.” I waited for her nod, then I added, “So, we start there tomorrow? Finding a way to strengthen him?”
“I think that’s a good first step,” she agreed. “I’ll go over my spells tonight and see if anything stands out that could help him.” She stood off the bed, smiling down at me. “I’ll go back to my room and study a bit before calling it a night.”
A nasty cold sweat washed over my body at the idea of being alone in this house and as she turned, I jumped off the bed in a rush and tightened my fingers around her arm. “Can you stay?”
