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“I asked Papa Christian to get me a guard.”

“Am I not a guard?”

I dropped my head back and made an exasperated noise.

“Oh, come on,” he said. “It could be worse. You could’ve gotten stuck with Christian.”

At least Papa Christian would be diplomatic about it. “I think you underestimate how threatening you are.”

“Threatening?” He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe the very words that had just come from my mouth though his eyes shone at what he considered praise. “I’m just going to sit here while you sleep, that’s all.”

And probably give everyone the evil eye who decided to walk by. “Isn’t this a great misuse of your time?”

“Now that you mention it, it is. But someone decided she wanted to participate in everything, including spending the night in a simple dorm room instead of sleeping in her nice cushy bed at home.”

I’d finally made my way up to him and stood there with my hands on my hips. “I already explained this to Papa Christian.”

“I know. I heard second-hand.” He held out his palm and handed me the key.

I took it and frowned down. “You don’t have to do this.”

Papa Nic huffed and then stood to his full height. His dark hair framed his face. “If you think I’m going to trust someone other than one of us here, you’re out of your mind.” He bent down to give me a kiss on the forehead. “Now, get to sleep. You have a hard day of training ahead of you and you’re going to need your rest, and your strength.”

I gave him a quick hug and slipped the key into the lock. As soon as I opened the door, a rush of memories flooded me. Early morning wake-up calls. Hours staying up all night talking to Alexei about the future. Sore muscles.

This was all before I had my vision.

“Good night,” Papa Nic said.

“Good night.”

I closed the door and dropped my bag on the floor. Looking around, I tried to get acquainted with everything again. Bed right in front of me on the left wall. The desk just under the window on the wall straight ahead. To the right was a dresser, then the door to the bathroom and the closet after that.

Taking a breath, I moved in again. My hand trailed along the simple bedding, but then stopped. There were two things on the middle of the bed. I picked up the first, narrowing my gaze at the woven bracelet. It was sturdy, long chutes weaved in and out reminding me of homemade baskets.

This must have been from Kai. I smiled as I slipped it over my hand and held it to my wrist. What a beautiful gift. My fingertips glided over the woven green and pale brown pieces. It reminded me of a similar bracelet I’d seen on him earlier today.

I sat and stared up at the ceiling, conjuring a picture of Kai Iona in my mind. His tanned, brown skin and even deeper, darker hair. He was always smiling.

And his weapon.

I’d almost forgotten about that. I needed to play around with that blade the soonest chance I got.

I stared at the door, wishing I could thank Kai for the gift right now, but knowing full well Papa Nic wasn’t going to let me get out of this room tonight.

Moving my back against the wall, I picked up the second item. It was made of metal, an ornate bowl set on both sides with a handle that came outward with Gaelic markings.

It was beautiful, but I just didn’t understand it. Taking out my cell phone, I Googled what it was. The gift had obviously come from Calen, but I was embarrassed not to know what the gift meant. It wasn’t often I received a bowl—ornate or not—as a present.

After clicking on a few sites, I found a similar bowl. It was called a quaich, pronounced quake according to the website. It was an ancient Scottish artifact given from one to another as a symbol of kinship. The two handles signified trust for both the giver and the receiver.

I smiled down at it, happy he understood how important trust was to me and that he valued it as well.

I placed the quaich on the desk and turned to open the window. It was stuffy in here, the air stagnant, almost stale. I pulled up, but the window stopped abruptly, only allowing me to open it an inch or two. I tried again, lowering it and then bringing it up harder this time. It stopped just as abruptly, making a loud thwack. I bent to peer down at it more closely when a voice drifted in from the outside. “I wouldn’t try that again, Princess. It won’t open.”

I clamped my jaw shut, noticing a nail had been driven into the window track, not allowing for it to move any higher. “I wasn’t trying to go out the window, Papa Nic, I just wanted to get some fresh air in the room.”

“There’s a fan in the closet,” he stated simply.