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“Decaf?” she grins.
“Why not?” I grab my wallet and a sweater off the back of my desk chair then join her.
We walk across the wide-open campus. I don’t bother looking around. Before Scotland I thought the Missouri University campus was big and sprawling. Now I know it’s flat, cramped, and doesn’t have a single breathtaking view. We cross a street to a popular coffee shop, Redux. Even though its past eight at night the shop is busy. College students aren’t known for keeping regular hours.
We get our drinks and slip into a corner booth. Some alt band plays over the hidden speakers creating just enough noise along with the buzz of conversation to create a feeling of privacy, real or imagined I don’t know.
“How are you?” Savannah asks and I shrug, forcing a half smile. She reaches across the table and grasps my arm, squeezing until I meet her eyes. “Seriously.”
“Fine,” I say but it’s a lie and we both know it.
I’m exhausted. Distracted. I haven’t been the same since my adventure. I don’t know why I’m back here. Why the Fae haven’t contacted me. Or, really, what do with myself. Nothing feels quite real, as if I’m less alive than I was when I was with the MacGregors.
“It’s been a month.” Savannah takes a sip of her coffee then sighs and stares across the shop. We sit in silence that isn’t exactly uncomfortable. When she looks back she shrugs. “I miss you.”
“I’m right here.”
“No,” she says, sadness in her eyes and voice.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know,” she says. “You’re different. Distracted, sure. Stressed, I guess. I can’t imagine what you’ve gone through but…” she trails off, takes a deep breath then exhales is sharply. “I’m here, Quinn. If you need someone to talk to, I’m here.”
I don’t have to force my smile as I reach across the table and cover her hand with my own.
“Thank you.”
She puts her other hand on top of mine.
“Your Mom was Scottish, right?”
“Yeah,” I say. “She grew up in America, but her parents immigrated from Scotland.”
The empty ache in my chest returns. My head is throbbing, and the coffee isn’t helping. I rub my temples to try and ease the pressure.
“You remember that bird?”
“The raven? Yeah, why?”
It’s an odd question and one I didn’t expect. It’s too close to what happened to me for comfort too which makes me nervous.
“I thought about it earlier today. I kept seeing a black bird around campus and I’d swear it was the same one. That’s impossible of course. I looked it up on Wikipedia, ravens don’t fly that far, but still it was pretty crazy.”
My breath catches in my chest and I cough to cover my surprise. Savannah, though, doesn’t miss my reaction. Her eyes narrow and she frowns.
“You don’t think?”
“No, it’s impossible,” I say, sipping my coffee to give myself time to recover.
Rikki? Could it be? Is he looking for me? If he is, does that mean Dugald is close?
“You’re right,” she laughs. “It would be cool, though. Wouldn’t it? Kind of romantic?”
“Romantic?”
“Yeah, you know, the raven is looking for someone. Maybe it’s a handsome Highlanders pet and he’d show up all buff and shirtless, with long flowing brown hair and bulging muscles all over the place. Ready to sweep me, I mean someone off their feet.”
“Me, huh? Sounds like you’ve got this figured out.”
