"And the quest is all," I muttered, tossing off the bedcovers and reaching for my clothes.
"You wish me well away from you. Succeeding with this mission is the only way to achieve that."
I glanced up at him as I pulled on my jeans. He still wasn’t looking at me, yet I knew he was as aware of me as I was of him. I could feel the electricity of it in the air. See it in the taut set of his shoulders.
"So if we don’t succeed, I’m stuck with you following me around for the rest of my days?"
"Until either I am dead or the mission is in ashes." He finally met my gaze, but no matter what I might feel in the air, there was as little emotion in his expression as ever. "Eat, Risa. We will need to drive to this mansion of yours. I cannot risk a journey through the gray fields."
"But I can take Aedh form." I frowned as I sat down and poured myself a fresh cup of coffee. Coke would have been better, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. "And why can’t we risk the gray fields?"
"Taking Aedh form will weaken you too much. Besides, if the Raziq can track your father’s energy, they may well be able to track yours." He shrugged, the movement eloquent. "And we dare not risk the fields because the Raziq still roam there. They were sidetracked, not vanquished."
"So you think they’ll be able to find us if we enter?"
"I do not know, and I prefer to be safe."
I sipped the steaming coffee, then picked up my knife and fork and tucked into the bacon and eggs. Despite there being enough on the plate to feed an army, I finished it off in no time. After also finishing the coffee, I rose and strapped Amaya back on. The black blade spat and buzzed, as if angry about being left alone so long.
"You are her lifeblood," Azriel commented. "She is angry."
Oh great. I’d managed to piss off a sword. Was there no end to my talents?
"Apparently not." Azriel pushed away from the window and picked up the jacket lying on the other bed, handing it to me. "Are you ready?"
"Not really, but it’s not like I have a choice." Not with the threat hanging over both Ilianna and Tao.
Tao. I closed my eyes for a moment and prayed like hell that he’d come out of whatever the elemental had done to him okay.