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“Not that I don’t appreciate a good hug, but do you want to tell me what that was for?” he asked.

Alex resisted the urge to look over his shoulder as she answered, “I just—I was worried about you. When I arrived and you weren’t with me… I didn’t know what had happened.”

Kaiden’s expression warmed and he moved his hand from her chin to tuck a strand of loose hair behind her ear. “I was worried about you, too. I thought you’d get here much sooner than you did. And when you didn’t…”

He trailed off, but he didn’t need to finish, since Alex could see the concern lingering in his eyes.

“What happened to you, Alex?” he asked. “When they brought you in, you were a mess.”

Heat flooded her cheeks at the idea of just how terrible she must have looked upon her arrival. Her relentless time in the desert had left her skin rubbed raw from both windburn and the lashing sand, while her lips had been scabbed and chapped from prolonged exposure. And her clothes… they would have been just as unappealing as the rest of her after she’d trudged through the dunes for almost a whole day.

The thought of Kaiden seeing her like that made her want to crawl into the nearest hole, but she knew he’d seen her much worse. Not just in their Combat and SAS classes, but also when she’d happened upon him after some of her more ruthless adventures. And besides, it wasn’t like there was anything she could do about it now.

But… Raising a hand to her face and touching her lips, Alex could feel that she no longer bore any evidence of her hours spent in the desert. Not only were her hunger and thirst sated, but, glancing down, she saw that her skin was completely healed. Furthermore, she wasn’t wearing the jeans and jacket she’d sported upon arrival in Tia Auras; instead, she wore a white dress that covered only one shoulder and had goldbanding circling around her waist. The outfit was floor-length with a long slit down the side, revealing gold, strappy sandals curling halfway up to her knees. Added to that, on her bare-shouldered arm, there was a shiny cuff around her bicep, the spiralling design beautiful. In fact, the entire ensemble was beautiful. But still—

“Please tell me you didn’t change my clothes.”

Kaiden’s lips twitched and Alex felt her heart skip a beat, fearing his answer. But then he shook his head and said, “No. I saw you when they first carried you past, but they returned you here after they’d healed you and swapped your clothes. They did the same to me.”

Relief swept through Alex and she looked at him properly for the first time. He was also wearing white from top to bottom, but instead of a dress, his outfit included linen pants and a billowing, long-sleeved shirt that was partially unbuttoned, showing off the tanned column of his neck and upper chest. Alex felt her mouth turn dry at the sight, but she also wondered why they were both dressed like Grecian royalty.

Recalling what he’d said about people carrying her ‘past’, she turned from him, her gaze widening and then narrowing as she took in the room they were in, the sight prompting her to rise on unsteady feet.

Enclosing the two of them was a transparent barrier, like a large glass dome over their heads. Within the space was just the bed of cushions that she and Kaiden had been resting on. Otherwise, nothing. But outside of the dome… they were in the middle of a throne room. A set of shining stairs led to three gilded chairs overlooking the vast space of which they were currently the only occupants. The room was beyond decadent, with golden pillars leading to an arched ceiling hung with diamond chandeliers. Yet despite the intimidation of such an awe-inspiring sight, the space was silent in its emptiness.

Alex reached out and pressed her hand against the barrier, finding it solid to the touch. “Are we trapped in here?” she asked Kaiden as he moved to stand beside her.

“I’ve tried everything,” he said. “The only way it comes down is from the outside.”

Alex turned to him and every thought she’d been holding in spewed forth in a steady stream. “How long have you been here? What happened? Why were we separated? How did you evengethere? Whereishere? And who’s holding us captive?”

Thick eyelashes blinked as he processed her questions, a wry smile curling his mouth. “Do you have a preference for what I answer first?”

Alex offered an apologetic wince, but he was used to her by now and took it all in his stride, not needing her to respond before launching in with his reply.

“I’ve been here since we came through Athora’s doorway— it dropped me straight off at the gates to the city.”

Alex arched an eyebrow, wondering at the fairness of that. Why hadshebeen left to struggle aimlessly through the desert? But despite her annoyance, she was relieved to know Kaiden had been safe all along—if being trapped in a glass dome was considered ‘safe’.

“I don’t know why we were separated, but I did overhear some of our captors say something about you having to wander in the wilderness as part of a test before you could arrive here.”

Surprised, Alex asked, “They speak the common tongue?”

Kaiden shook his head. “Athora taught me some of the Tia Auran language during the years I spent training with him. Not much, but enough to get by.”

That will come in handy, Alex thought. “Go on,” she prompted.

“I don’t have much else to offer,” he said. “I’m not sure why we’re trapped in here, and I definitely have no idea whathappened to you and why it took you so long to get here. I’ve been worried sick.”

“I was in the desert,” Alex told him, rubbing her cheek as if still feeling the sting of the biting sand. “It must be beneath us, down on the actual land. This cloud part of the world is very strange.”

Kaiden chuckled lightly. “I hear you. Did you see the city? Ostentatious, much?”

Alex felt her lips quirk in response, having had the same thought.

“Have you had a chance to talk to anyone yet?” she asked.

“So far I’ve only had contact with what I presume are guards. They brought me meals and let me out to use the facilities—which are as lavish as the rest of this place. No one has said anything to me, or answered any of my questions. Not even when I asked about you.”