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“Ataliia,” Andrues whispered, the sound of it almost desperate.

“Yes?” I breathed, letting my hands fall to his chest to find his heart beating like a bird trapped in a cage.

His eyes flickered to my lips. “I . . . I think I—”

A fist pounded on the door and Andrues moved quickly, pulling me behind him as the fist beat for a second time and echoed throughout the house.

My hand shot to my chest as my fingers clung to Andrues’s forearm.

“It’s bloody cold out here!” Elric’s voice sounded from the other side of the wood and I let out a sigh of relief.

Andrues dragged a hand over his face, the muscles across his body relaxing as he glanced down at me. That look in his eye vanished, disappearing as quickly as it had come.

The moment between us was gone—I knew that. But something inside of me desperately wanted it back, wanted him to finish whatever sentence was about to fall from his lips.

“Ataliia!” Elric yelled again as I pulled my eyes away from Andrues and toward the foyer below. I flung my fingers toward the door, opening it to see a foot of snow had fallen as Elric stumbled in.

“Are you trying to kill me? Any longer and I would have frozen,” Elric grumbled, shaking the snow from his leathers as he looked up to us.

“What do you want, Elric?” I asked, my voice annoyed but still sharper than intended as I tilted my head down at him.

“Hyacinth sent me.”

My back straightened at his words. “She’s back?”

“Only just. She sent me to find Andrues,” he said, cupping his hands to his mouth and blowing into them as his gaze turned toward Andrues who was already striding down the stairs. “Landers needs you in Ithia, immediately.”

“Is everything all right?” I asked, following after Andrues and trying to contain anxiety that had bloomed in my chest.

“As far as I know. She and Dukovich came back together.”

“Where is Wren?” Andrues questioned as he pushed his arms into his coat.

Elric shrugged. His casual body language told me that no alarm bells were currently being raised from their trip. “She didn’t give me many details—said we would all debrief together once you and Landers came back from Ithia.”

Andrues nodded as his fingers fastened the top button of his coat and turned to me. He paused for a second, his eyes searching mine before turning back to Elric.

“Can you please give us a moment?”

Elric lifted his hands to his chest, taking a step toward the door as his eyes bounced between the two of us. “My job here is done. Hyacinth is in her chambers and I will be in the war room if you need me before you leave.” He didn’t wait for an answer before tethering from the room and leaving us once again in silence.

But it was different now. This silence felt familiar. The same unease creeping inside of it that I’d become so used to—that I had made a home in. I could feel my shell hardening as he looked at me with worry.

I hated that look.

It made me angry, made me feel weak, as if everyone expected me to fall apart if left alone.

“I am fine,” I snapped, before he had a chance to speak. “Your shift as my wet nurse is over.” My voice sounded harsh against the quiet but he didn’t flinch at it, only took a step closer.

“Please, take care of yourself while I am gone and do not go looking for trouble,” he commanded softly as his hand slid around the back of my neck, his eyes locking on mine and waiting for some kind of response.

Forcing a nod, I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth, biting down to stop myself from spewing any more bitterness. He dipped his head in approval then leaned toward me, pressing his lips to my forehead.

I froze.

Andrues pulled away quickly, clearing his throat as he turned to the door, wrapping his fingers around the handle before looking back at me over his shoulder.

“Talk to Hyacinth, Ataliia. You need to make things right.”