side of the table and pushing herself up to her feet. “Une terrible—”
The door closed. I sat down on the floor, leaned against the wall, and hugged my knees. The only noise in the quiet corridor was my own breathing. Images of the recent battle haunted me. Nana and Faith facing unknown dangers in Asile terrified me. And whether Pop, Nick, and Afton made it to the shelter safely or not worried me.
I wanted to go home. I wanted things back to the way they were.
I needed Nana and Pop.
Time crept by as I waited for Bastien, and I closed my eyes. But the nightmare of where I was and who I didn’t know I was, strangled my breath. Gia Kearns didn’t exist anymore. She’d been lost somewhere on that first day when the gateway book ripped her from her world, dumping her in a dark hole. A fog surrounded me.
I startled awake when the door suddenly opened.
“Je t’aime, Mère,” Bastien said.
“Je t’aime, mon fils,” his mother returned.
I slid up the wall to my feet. “What did you say to her?”
“I told her that I love her. Shall we meet the others in the dining hall?”
“If you want to stay with her, I can find the dining hall on my own.”
His face was heavy with sadness. “She asked that I tend to our guests. As firstborn, I have certain duties to uphold.”
“Such as?”
“Such as making sure you eat something.”
“Seriously? I think that should be the least of your concerns.”
We headed down the catwalk. “In all seriousness, I must, as my mother said, put on a brave face.”
He certainly had the brave face down, all but the sad blue eyes part.
What do you say to someone after suffering a great loss? I decided to make small talk to lift the uncomfortable feeling I had. “How come you don’t have an accent like your mother and Veronique?”
“I spent my youth in Asile training to be a wizard and a few years in the States studying with a Native American witch, affording me the opportunity to practice my English. Veronique trained with a private coach in the French countryside, so her English is unpolished.”
I watched my feet as we went down the staircase. We walked in silence through the lobby and down a long corridor. I couldn’t imagine how he was feeling. The loss of my mother when I was four still stung even after all these years. If I were to lose Pop, I couldn’t handle it.
“All this must be scary for you.” There was sincerity in his voice. Despite the fact that he was beyond gorgeous and somewhat arrogant, there was an ease to him, a welcoming spirit. No wonder his people showed him so much love.
“It is. I just want to be home.” He halted, and I stopped to face him.
He brushed a strand of hair away from my cheek. His touch was soft, caring. “It will never be the same for you, Gianna, but perhaps you will find new relationships here. Meaningful ones. You won’t lose those relationships back home,” he said. “They are your foundation. Your tether to that world.”
It was as if he could see into my soul, and I felt naked. I turned from him and continued walking down the corridor.
What’s going on with you, Gia? Get your emotions in check.
He strolled beside me. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“No, you didn’t. It’s just been a long day.” Why did he make me so nervous? “It’s weird that someone I just met understands me so well.”
“That’s encouraging.” His lips raised slightly at the corners. “I’d like to get to know you better, if you would allow it.”
I understood how he earned his rock-star status. He was the complete package—sexy and sincere, but I needed to stay away from him and his charm. I would fight this betrothal arrangement every way I could. Still, he was hurting, and I refused to be rude. “I’d like that.”
“This is the Hall of Honor for our Sentinels,” he said. Portraits of men and women from ages ago decorated the walls, and bronzed statues of knights stood between each door we passed. “When a Sentinel dies in service, they are immortalized here.”
I read the dates on the plaques nailed to each statue’s stand we went by. “Wow, they all died young.”
“A Sentinel enters service at sixteen and leaves it at twenty-four. If they die after their service, it is usually from natural causes, and they’re buried in their family’s crypt.” Bastien