allow herself to cry. It wasn’t a side of herself she indulged in, and she wouldn’t start now.
Don’t.
Kallia walked aimlessly through the Ranza Estate, the emptiest it had ever felt.
Don’t.
Somehow it worked, for the tears were gone.
41
Daron took to the sidewalks of Glorian, walking nowhere in particular. Good thing, too. If his feet hadn’t made the decision to leave, he would probably still be standing before Kallia like a statue.
I thought it was only me.
He replayed the past few moments in his head, again and again. When they’d shut the doors behind them, he’d been so ready to pull her to him. So drunk on memory and sensation—her heartbeat against his, his hands in her hair—that to meet the opposite made him question if any of it had been real.
I thought it was only me.
Her words. Her dismissal.
Something wasn’t right. Kallia carried herself with a viciousness, not a cruelty. Then again, her ambition defined her. Guided her. And she’d made it quite clear he was not in the cards. Only a brief infatuation.
Same as her, she hadn’t come here for that. The opposite, in fact. He loathed himself for the stark reminder. For forgetting.
If anything, Kallia woke him up. The overwhelming need for red dandelion tea had struck him as soon as he’d left. Eva would always brew a pot to clear their heads and the storms they weathered. With the press, the shows, their family. They’d share in silence, sipping cup after cup, until the first person to finish it off would start a new pot.
His hands began shaking. She was the one he should have been focusing on.
Nothing shamed him more.
A breeze whispered around his neck as he drifted toward the mayor’s house. A large, stark building right in the middle of the Fravardi Fold. It had been a while since he’d looked at the public records, useless as they might’ve been. Perhaps he had overlooked a detail, missed something.
Eva was still out there, somewhere.
He couldn’t afford to waste any more time.
When Daron arrived, the doorman waved him through in recognition. His ears were ringing, head still heavy, but he’d never been more prepared to fall into the solitude of research. The smell of warm wood and worn books, even the dust in the air, soothed him. Only the rustle of paper and the wooden screech of a chair interrupted the silence. Usually the scholar overseeing the meager records collection could be found sleeping soundly at his desk, but no snores met his ears as he entered the main room. Only the testy tick of a tongue, right by the papers stacked over the main table.
Lottie de la Rosa.
For once, she was without a notepad, and he tensed even more at the absence. He edged back and turned as softly as he could, taking each step with care.
“If you’re going to run away, at least make it fast.”
His jaw snapped shut. Lottie had not even looked up as she turned a page. “Fleeing slowly only drags out the torture more.”
Muscles frozen, he genuinely thought about making a run for it, but felt ridiculous enough already. With a sigh, he pivoted back calmly. “You always did have good senses.”
“No, you just have bad feet.” She finally lifted her chin up as he took a seat across from her. An edge of triumph in her eyes. “You never were the graceful one on stage.”
His pulse started up, like a gear kicked into place. “What are you doing here, Lottie?”
“Ah, countering a question with a question. Good tactic.” She grinned. “There are many answers. Obviously, I’m in Glorian to cover a show. But right now, in this poor excuse of a library, I’m here to learn. Best way to get my hands dirty is to know what they’re touching. It’s time to see if any of the rumors of the lost city in the woods are real.”
“Trust me, you won’t find much of anything in here.”
“So you’ve been here already?” She didn’t even sound surprised. “Looking for what?”
Her way of asking was always more for confirmation than answer, for she always knew. Just as he knew. Fury still lingered beneath her shiny, dagger-sharp veneer.
He reckoned he’d have to meet it someday.
“Silent as always, Daron. I suppose you also won’t say where your partner has gone off to? I thought you’d only just left with her.” Lottie pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. “Trouble in paradise?”
She’d barely gotten a glimpse of his face, and already could see the