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It’s not surprising, but my stomach drops even further when I realize—Kenna’s blocked my number.

As frustrated as I am, part of me admires her for the commitment to cutting me out completely. It’s commitment I mean to shatter entirely the moment I find out where she is, but for now the little spark of fire from her brings a reluctant smile to my lips.

“I’m not giving up that easy, ember,” I mutter to myself as I head for the parking garage. “Not by a long shot.”

I hit another dead end at Kenna’s house.

Knocking on the door, I’m met by one of her roommates. I recognize her immediately from the night I ran into Kenna downtown—a nymph with deep brown skin and startlingly silver hair.

“Kenna’s not here,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest and propping her shoulder on the door frame.

By her expression, it’s clear she knows who I am. Or, at least, knows enough to know I shouldn’t be here.

“What do you mean? Did she move?”

The nymph narrows her eyes at me. “And I should tell you that why?”

“Because I need to find her.” The words sound ridiculous even to my ears. What right do I have to show up at Kenna’s front door and demand to speak to her?

Kenna’s roommate seems to share the sentiment, because she shakes her head. “Listen, buddy, if you’d seen the state Kenna was in a couple weeks ago, you’d understand why I’m not just going to give you a map to where you can find her. She left town. I’m not telling you where she went, and I’m not telling you when or if she’s coming home. If she wants you to know, she’ll reach out and tell you herself.”

I open my mouth to keep trying, only to have the door shut in my face. Cursing, I head back down the steps and make a call I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to.

I get an answer on the second ring. “Hello?”

“Nora.” My voice comes out harsher and more unhinged than I intended. “I need you to tell me—”

“Not a chance,” she interrupts. “You fucked up, Blair. With my best friend. Sorry, but she comes first for me, so you’re shit out of luck if you think I’m going to help you find her.”

If I weren’t so distraught, I’d almost laugh at the easy, firm command in Nora’s voice. So different from the woman I met last fall, and good for her. She has every right to tell me to fuck off.

Not that I’m happy about it. Not for a fucking second.

“I know I messed up,” I tell her. “And now I’m trying to fix it. But I can’t do that if I can’t find her.”

Nora lets out a low, disapproving hum. “And what are you going to do if you find her?”

“I’m going to tell her she’s my damned mate!” The words are loud enough to earn me startled looks from a couple walking down the other side of the street, but I don’t really care right now.

Nora is silent for a few seconds. “Do you really mean that?”

“Of course I mean it.”

Another pause, followed by the sound of Nora letting out a long, disappointed sigh. “I’m still not going to tell you where she is.”

I open my mouth to protest some more, but Nora cuts me off.

“I’m sorry, Blair. I really am. I’m sorry it took you this long to realize who she is to you, and I’m sorry for how upsetting it must be not to know where she is. But she’s still my priority. She’ll come home eventually, and you can talk to her then.”

The dragon in me roars his frustration over coming up against the brick wall of another person who loves and values Kenna the way I always should have. Another person determined to protect her from me. Hot shame creeps up the back of my neck, pulsing right alongside my desperation and my need to find my mate.

But none of this is Kenna’s fault, or Nora’s, and—feeling like an absolute ass for the tone I just took with her—I apologize immediately.

“Can you at least let me know if she’s alright?” I ask after I’ve finished eating crow.

When Nora answers, it’s with more kindness and understanding than I deserve. “Yeah, Blair. She’s okay. Physically, I mean, she’s somewhere safe.”

Somewhere safe.Even as I hate myself for it, I start mentally compiling a list of where that might be.