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When I pulled away to look up into his face, he offered me a grateful smile.
“I hope so,” he said. “Life is always better when you’re happy.”
I sniffed, a small smile playing around my lips. “So this is why you made up those stories today about Replacements, and alternate worlds, and flying carriages, then? You were trying to keep me from harming myself?”
He scowled. “How many times must I tell you? I didn’t make those stories up.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”
Pressing a hand to his heart, he cried, “I swear! But, yes, I shared them with you in the hopes that—I don’t know.” He glanced down. “I caught a sense of my true love once.”
“What?” My mouth fell open before I hauled off and slugged him on the side of the arm. “Indigo! Why did you never share this with me before?”
He winced and shrugged. “It—hell, I don’t know. I never even saw her. It was in a crowded horde of people in the midst of Lowden once. She evidently didn’t have a mark in return, because she never sought me out. And then—then the sensation was gone, and I lost her trail. Just like that.” He snapped his fingers. “I lost her. I didn’t get to set eyes on the girl, which means the mark didn’t lock on to her strongly enough to help me find her again. And yet sometimes—I don’t know—the mark will bother me, as if it’s sensing one of her extreme moods. So I have some inkling of what you’re going through. I know you must experience phases you can’t understand. But one thing that’s helped me get through and kept my mind occupied is studying this alternate dimension and learning about the Replacements who’ve come through. So I just—I thought I could share that with you, and maybe it could help you cope as well.”
“Oh, Indigo. You dear sweet man.” Leaning up, I kissed his cheek tenderly. And as I did, my mark tingled.
I pulled away, squinting at him as I wondered what that had been about.
My mark had never reacted to Indigo before.
Confused and a little startled by it, I drew in a sharp breath and jerked a step back, taking a moment to orient myself before I was able to talk again.
“I, uh, I’ll tell you what,” I said with a nervous smile. “Starting tomorrow, I’ll help you research these Replacement people. Or, ooh!” I pointed at him. “We could go talk to Nanny Wynter about her experience with traveling to that—what was it called?—alternate dimension?”
His shoulders slumped miserably. “No,” he muttered. “I’ve tried to interview her about it before. But she’s not a fan of High Clift warriors, or something. I’m not sure what the aversion is. She just always evades me or pretends not to be home whenever I try to approach her.”
“She does?” I frowned in confusion over that, because Indigo was truly a friendly and approachable person. Why would anyone evade him? “How odd.” But then I shrugged. “Well then, I’ll talk to her for you. Nanny Wynter’s never turned me away when I’ve gone to her cottage to visit. Compile me a list of questions, and I’ll ask her every single one of them.”
The idea perked him to attention. “Really? You would do that for me? That would actually be grand.” Surging forward, he smacked a quick, grateful kiss to my cheek and beamed as he pulled away. “What a good idea. Thank you, Nic. You’re the best.”
Another prickle of awareness sparked through my mark, causing me to stiffen and gape at him incredulously when he turned away.
But he didn’t seem to notice. He was so excited about our agreement that he practically skipped down the hall away from me, his thoughts obviously already on tomorrow. “I’ll get you the list by breakfast,” he called over his shoulder as he disappeared around a corner, without waiting for me to enter my room first. “Thank you again, Nic.”
I blinked at the spot I’d last seen him, my mark still buzzing like crazy.
This made no sense. Why was my mark feeling something and his obviously wasn’t? And why now? I’d known Indigo for years. The mark was supposed to recognize your true love at first sight. Besides, we’d each already met—er, at least sensed—our respective matches before. And they certainly weren’t each other.
Indy couldn’t be for me. He was like a brother. That would just be weird.
So what was happening?
I turned to enter my room, only to pause and gaz
e out the window before crossing the threshold. Outside, the sunset was fading into the horizon as if it were sinking into the forest I’d been in only an hour ago, picking flowers.
I’d last seen Farrow in that very forest, pulled the blindfold from his eyes after taking him through the secret passage that led out of the castle from under the moat, and kissed him goodbye.
He’d darted away afterward, and I’d never seen him again. Yet, I still found myself returning to the forest time after time, hanging out there more than anywhere else in the hopes he would return.
Looking at the dark trees now, my mark pulsed hotter, gonging louder than it had when I’d hugged Indigo.
I pressed my hand to the area, wincing when the sensation grew almost unbearable.
“What the hell?”
Worried, I fled into my room and shut the door behind me, where I pressed my back to the portal and concentrated on breathing until the ache eased.
