Page 25

“Yeah, I know.” I bit off some more, chewing it slowly. “It was my ex-boyfriend, Tobias.”

Arne didn’t press the matter, but his eyes rested on me, giving me the strength I needed to keep talking.

“He cheated on me with a guy from our village. I found out through his ArgoS and broke up with him.”

“But he won’t leave you alone?”

“Nope. No matter how often I tell him to stop calling. And I pick up every time. It’s like muscle memory. Dumb, huh?”

“No.” He took hold of my forearm, squeezing me. “I’m so sorry. You know I’m always here if you need someone to talk to, right?”

“Thank you, Arne.”

“Thankyoufor telling me. And you’re not dumb. You’re fantastic, Raven. Come on, let’s go pick some apples.”

We went back to the main path and walked for a couple of minutes until we arrived at a closed gate.

“Aw, no.” Arne turned around, his upset palpable. “Damn, why didn’t I check their website?”

“I’m one hundred percent sure a place like this doesn’t have a website.” I bumped my elbow against his, trying to lighten the mood. “It’s okay, though. We had a lovely hike.”

“Yeah, I suppose. I was really looking forward to going apple picking with you, though.”

The sad little pout he sported was the cutest fucking thing I had ever seen.

“Do you trust me?” I asked him, tilting my head.

“Yes,” he said without hesitation, making my insides soar.

“Okay, don’t panic.” I glanced over my shoulder to make sure we were alone, hugged him, and then we dissolved into shadows.

“Holy shit!” Gasping for breath, he stumbled, taking a moment to find his feet again.

“Breathe, Viking. I know it takes some getting used to. But you are safe with me. I’d never put you in danger.” I leaned my forehead against his. “Breathe with me, that’s it. In and out and in again, like we do in yoga.”

He needed another minute to calm down enough to speak.

“What was that?” Arne swallowed hard.

“I took you into the shadow realm, but only for a few seconds. Look.” I inched my head over my shoulder.

“Oh my God, Raven!” He turned away, gaping at the apple trees around us. “Youteleportedus? Holy crap, we’re breaking and entering!”

You sweet little princess.

“It’s okay. There’s no one but us here. Well, except for a small group of deer in the forest behind us, and a fox snoozing in its den.”

“How the hell do you know that?” Arne surveyed me for a moment, then mirrored my smile.

“I can feel their presence. It’s a bit difficult to explain. And we didn’t teleport. We just…travelled here through another dimension.”

“Oh, okay, then.” He huffed, his voice dripping with so much sarcasm even I could taste it. “You took me to another dimension and broke into the orchard.”

“Yep.” I reached up with one of my shadow tentacles and plucked an apple off the tree. “You wanted to go apple picking, didn’t you?”

Teeth digging into his bottom lip, he hesitated for a moment, then took the offered fruit. “That’s pretty biblical, isn’t it?”

“Mm,” I hummed. The tentacle reached out to glide up his neck and over his Adam’s apple. “The question is… are you Eve or Adam in this metaphor?”