unit. Kian jumped up, running over to take me from Trace, but Trace only jerked to the side.
“I've got her.” He sidestepped Kian, brushing past him.
“I don't think you're the right one to help,” Kian insisted as he followed.
Trace murmured, “More right than most know.” Louder, he said, “She's fine.”
As Trace turned to enter my room, I spotted the pile of Grace's things in the corner and slapped my palm on Trace's chest before calling out, “Hey, Grace needs a room for a while. Axton, can you work something out? At least, something for right now?”
“I'll handle it,” he answered in his serious boss tone.
Trace started walking again, then used his foot to slam the door closed behind us. He lowered me to the bed, gesturing for me to scoot over once he ultimately released me. I pulled myself to the center of the bed and laid on my side, watching him as he sat.
His back was to me, and his head bowed as he leaned forward, using his arms to brace himself on his thighs. He sighed. When he didn't speak, I dug into my pocket, intending to add another one or two tabs to completely silence the thoughts in my head. The rattle broke him from whatever he'd been trapped in, and though he didn't turn around, he did comment.
“You shouldn't use those.” He didn't sound like himself. The biting tone didn't color his words. Instead, he seemed tired, as if he'd argued this too often and no longer cared about the outcome.
“I've explained this,” I said softly, trying to keep things civil.
He nodded. “I know, but there are other ways to fix that sort of thing. If you—”
I should have let him finish, but fire shot through me, killing any notion of playing along. As if I haven't already tried everything I know to try. “And what makes you an expert on whatever this is inside of me? Or me in general?”
My tone wasn't civil at all. Spat out, it sounded harsh even to my own ears. And I immediately regretted it. Before I could apologize, Trace launched himself up and stormed towards the door.
“Wait,” I said, but he didn't.
Instead, he threw open the door, and I cringed, expecting to hear the reverberating slam. It never came. Just a small click that seemed to echo so loudly inside of me.
The whispers that had disappeared came roaring back and bounced through my mind. I blew out a breath and fell onto my back, fiddling with the container. Three more tabs dropped into my mouth, and I swallowed them down with a gulp of warm alcohol.
I laid there staring at the ceiling as I waited for one of them to enter. No one did, and eventually, I began cursing them. My thoughts turned from the trio to the other things that weighed me down. The heaviest of them all centered on what to do about the King. I still had no plan to counteract his supposed assassination plans for me.
Now and then, sounds from the gathering area floated through the walls. Snippets of conversation and peals of laughter mixed with the scent of one of my favorite eateries. My stomach growled, and I decided that I wasn't doing myself any favors by remaining locked away. After all, being around the others should help keep the whispers away, right?
Before I had time to change my mind, I rolled off the bed and walked to the door. When I jerked it open, the conversation died out for a moment.
Then Kian held up a bag and smiled. The sounds of low conversation returned, and I made my way to Kian's side. The food had little taste, but I ate anyway as I waited for the inevitable questions. They never came.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Before we could settle in for bed, we had one last thing to deal with. Grace and I needed to take a trip to Hakkon.
She didn't argue with me as the two of us floated towards the DNB. In fact, she said nothing at all until we materialized in Enan's shop.
“Why are we here?” she whispered.
Her eyes were wide as she took in the odd materials lying around. She had never been to Hakkon before, and it made me study my surroundings just a bit harder. The giddiness on her face and in her emotions filtered to me, allowing me to view things as if for the first time.
Then Enan shuffled out of his small room, his gaze on the floor, watching