Val was right. I had walked quickly on purpose, keeping a safe distance from his smooth tongue.

“You said we could talk,” he said.

I did say that. Doesn’t mean I don’t regret it.

We ascended to the second floor in silence. When we reached my room, I went to the bed and slouched on the foot of the mattress. “You want to go first?”

Val frowned. “I don’t know what to say. ‘I’m sorry’ seems hardly sufficient.”

I raised an eyebrow and sniffed. “It’s a start. At least it means you take some responsibility for your actions.”

Val stepped closer and leaned a hip against the bed near the headboard. A pensive look stole across his face, masking his usual good cheer. “Our kind have always been passionate, Solina: jealous, possessive, ferocious. We do nothing by halves. Hating. Fighting… Loving. It’s all or nothing for us. For a human, I could see where that would be overwhelming.”

“So you’re saying you can’t help it when you act like an overbearing control freak?”

Val’s eyebrows arched, and he leaned back, his mouth popping open in a soft O. “Is that really how you see me?”

“Not always. But when that side of you comes out, that all-or-nothing side, it’s scary.”

“It wouldn’t be if you trusted me.”

I folded my hands in my lap and studied the ridges of my knuckles. “Trust is a gift not easily given.”

“And laboriously earned. Is there anyone you do trust, Solina?”

I shrugged. “Skyla. My parents, maybe. They love me in their own weird way. They used me a lot, too, but some of that was my own fault.”

“Do you trust Thorin?”

I shrugged again. “He’s not the one trying to seduce me. I am a means to his ends. You’re the one who insists on having more. You’re the one trying to put me in a position where I could get hurt.”

“You’ve already been hurt,” Val said. “And lived to tell the tale.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m eager to do it again.”

Val nodded. “I am immortal, Solina. I have an eternity. If time is what you need, then time is what you’ll get. I’m not going anywhere.”

His answer resolved nothing, but maybe it meant a truce between us, and I welcomed it.

I rubbed my tired eyes and slumped back on the bed. “What time is it?”

Val checked the display on his phone. “Three.”

“It’s obscenely late.” I looked back and studied Val. In the darkness of the room, he appeared as little more than a shadow. My memory filled in the details: shaggy auburn hair and a day-old beard. Devilishly handsome, as usual. Our relationship might have been simpler, easier, if he were a human man, but he wasn’t, so I wouldn’t my waste time on “what-ifs”.

Val held still, letting me study him. “What are you thinking, Solina? Even in the dark, I can tell you’re thinking.”

I took a breath to say something, but before I voiced my thoughts, the bedroom door creaked open, and a thread of light spilled into the room.

“Solina?” Skyla hissed, tiptoeing closer. “Are you awake?”

I sat up. “Yes, I’m awake.”

“I found her. Ariel. She’s here, and she’ll talk to us, but we have to do it fast. She won’t last much longer.”

“Us?”

“Well, you and me. She’s a little wary of Val.”

I rose to my feet. “I don’t blame her.”

“Hey,” Val objected.

“Val?” Skyla asked. “You’re in here too?”

“You have a problem with that?”

I interrupted before they could start something. “I don’t know for sure, but it’s probably rude to keep a ghost waiting.”

“I’m coming with you.” Val took a step toward the door.

“No,” Skyla said. “She only wanted to talk to me and Solina. We can’t risk you scaring her off, and we can’t waste time appeasing your ego.”

“You promised to respect my autonomy,” I said. “Remember?”

Val crossed his arms over his chest, glowering, but agreed. “Okay, but I expect a full report.”

“Thanks for understanding.” I turned to follow Skyla.

In the hallway, Skyla whirled around on me and narrowed her eyes. She looked pointedly toward the dark room where Val had stayed behind. Then she looked back at me. Without further comment about finding me sharing intimate space with her mortal enemy, she spun on her heel and led me down to the library.

Candles lit the interior in a warm glow. Nothing unusual jumped out of the shadows, and I wondered about the validity of Skyla’s scheme.

“This is Solina,” Skyla said and motioned in my direction.

I scanned the room. Nothing. No one. “Who are you talking to?”

“Ariel.”

“There’s no one here.”

“You don’t see her?”

I pursed my lips and shook my head, wondering if sleep deprivation had made Skyla hallucinate.

“That doesn’t matter. She can see you.”

“Where is she?”