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Niyx speared her with a look. “I told them all that I’d accidentally stabbed myself in the leg.”

Alex bit her lip again—but this time to keep from bursting into laughter. “You didwhat?”

“By the stars!” Niyx ran agitated fingers through his hair. “I’ve never felt more humiliated in my life!” He slumped onto the bed beside her with a belligerent scowl. “I don’t know what’s worse—having to admit to doing something so foolish, or the fact that they believed me.”

Alex didn’t say anything. She couldn’t, in fact, because she was shaking with laughter and wasn’t willing to risk opening her mouth and inciting his wrath.

“Ergo,” he finished, his narrowed eyes showing he hadn’t failed to notice her humour, “you are not my favourite person today.”

Alex hoped he couldn’t see the amused tears welling in her eyes. When she finally had a handle on herself again, she said, “I can see how that might have been unpleasant.”

Niyx made a growling sound from the back of his throat. But then he sighed and peered at her with concern. “Not unpleasant enough that I didn’t spend all day worrying about you, kitten.”

His words filled Alex with warmth. “I’m okay, Niyx.” At his disbelieving look, she amended, “Or, I am now, thanks to you and yourlaendra.”

“What happened, Aeylia?” he asked, using the name he was most familiar with. “And why didn’t you seek medical attention sooner?”

Shuffling into a more comfortable position, Alex told him of her day, from her time in Tryllin to Gaiel’s attack in Draekora, including the settlement’s depletedlaendrasupplies. She then shared her entire Mr. Mystery Man lake experience, before finishing with her grumpy-librarian encounter and her absentee doctor.

“And I thought my day was rough,” Niyx said.

“Told you it was awful,” Alex said around a yawn. Thelaendrahad taken the edge off her exhaustion, but she’d essentially lived almost half a day more than everyone else.

“It’s interesting—I’m curious what would have happened if you’d been injured whileinsidethe Library,” Niyx mused. “I’m not sure I would have known, not until you’d left the time-space vacuum and stepped out into the real world again.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because if that lake was as icy as you say, then I should have at least felt the phantom cold of your physical distress. Plus, time had paused for me, remember? The world didn’t start again until you stepped back into it.”

Alex realised he was right. “Note to self: injuries in the Library, okay. Injuries outside the Library, not good for Niyx’s street cred.”

Rolling his eyes at her, Niyx said, “There’s at least one good thing we’ve learned today.”

“What’s that?”

“You know how I wasn’t sure if my link to you would protect me from mental gifts in Aven’s army?”

“Uh-huh,” Alex said.

“Well, like I mentioned before, Signa was in the room when Gaiel daggered you,” Niyx said. “Knowing you must have been hurt, my thoughts naturally jumped to you before I could get a lock on them.”

Alex turned rigid.

“Do they know?” she gasped out. “Are you in danger?”

“That’s the thing,” Niyx said. “Signa didn’t blink. Not even when I risked double checking by mentally yelling creative instructions for where Aven should shove his new throne.”

A startled giggle left Alex’s lips. “Signa couldn’t read you?”

“He couldn’t read me,” Niyx confirmed. “And since he’s the strongest mind reader in Aven’s arsenal, the others won’t be able to, either. That means the next time you get in a fight, you can give me the mental heads up before you lose so I can excuse myself from becoming the continued laughing-stock of Meya.”

“Technically, I won the fight,” Alex felt the need to point out.

“Which makes your injury almost as embarrassing as what I had to do to cover for us.”

“He was on his knees in front of me!” She threw her hands in the air, exasperated. “How was I supposed to know he had a hidden dagger?”

Niyx shook his head in consternation. “One week without training and you’ve already forgotten everything I taught you.”