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Lange was rubbing at the back of his neck before suddenly straightening, as if remembering they’d been trained not to fidget. “Corbin was at Anala, and I was at Falein.”

“With Kat?” Axel said, stepping closer to them.

“Yeah, I guess,” Lange answered. “I didn’t see her much. She was usually assigned to the archives. There were a few scholars who…preferred her company.”

“But you knew her?”

“The estates are large. I knew of her, but I’d never spoken to her until she came to the Celeste Estate.”

Axel turned to Corbin. “And you? The Anala Estate?”

“Yes,” he answered.

“How did that work? Without the fire magic thing,” Axel asked, moving to his bedside table and grabbing an extra set of earbuds. He’d left his usual pair upstairs, and there was no way he was going back up there tonight.

“There are other Fae there besides fire Fae,” Corbin said, his tone somber and respectful.

“Obviously,” Axel said. “Is that where you learned all your technology skills?” When there wasn’t an immediate answer, Axel turned to face him. “Who, exactly, taught you that anyway?”

“I’m mostly self-taught.”

“Mostly,” Axel deadpanned. When Corbin only stared back at him, he had to respect the Fae. Sure, he could force the issue, but the truth was, Axel didn’t really care at this point. Turning his attention to Lange, he said, “Kat knew—knows—how to translate several languages. Can you do that?”

“It was part of our academics there,” Lange answered.

“So if I need your assistance in the coming days with something…?”

“I’d be happy to help.”

Axel huffed a humorless laugh as he muttered, “I’m sure you would.”

No Fae washappyto help the Legacy.

“Enjoy the game,” he added over his shoulder as he left the room and crossed into Luka’s. He kicked the door shut behind him, stripping down to nothing but his undergarments before he threw himself down on the sofa. There was no way he was sleeping in the bed. He heard enough bitching from Luka last time about messing with his nest of blankets and pillows. The fucker could Travel. Why didn’t he just go to his cave every night?

Probably too far from Theon and their super special Guardian bond.

Sighing, he slipped his earbuds in and started a playlist before fiddling with the small mirror.

An entire day without her.

It was terrible.

But she was safe and whole.

He pulled out his phone and pulled up the text thread with Tristyn, trying to decide if he was going to reach out. Then he tossed the mirror and the phone aside. He couldn’t risk it. Not until his father reacted to losing Katya. The less he knew about her right now, the better.

With a flare of power, he pulled the book Cienna had given to Kat from a pocket realm. He should have given it to her before Tristyn had whisked her away, but there was too much happening and too much adrenaline. He was fucking useless with the thing, but if Lange could help him decipher it…

But he didn’t know what he was looking for anymore. Information on the Source Marks? What was the point now? Everything they’d been researching for nearly three months was utterly pointless now.

Nevertheless, he opened the book, slowly flipping pages. It was the only thing keeping him company, along with classical music and bloodlust.

And the book was a little piece of her.

It wasn’t until the earbuds were being pulled from his ears that he realized he’d fallen asleep. It took longer than it should have to realize a ring was being shoved onto his finger as his magic thrashed in resistance. His eyes flew open, taking too long to adjust to the dark room.

“You motherfu?—”