Page 46 of Dance of the Phoenix (Cloak of the Vampire #3)

Ragnor

He watched Aileen sleeping for a few moments after he’d pretended to have fallen asleep, before he rolled out of the bed and got dressed.

Then, Ragnor left the room and the dorms, heading toward a training room, where he found Eliza.

She was sitting in a cross-legged position, meditating. But she sensed his arrival because she opened her eye and turned to look at him. “I didn’t find it,” she told him, her face filled with agony. “I’m sorry, Ragnor.”

He hadn’t had hopes for her to find it in the first place. Atalon was smart, after all. Far smarter than he’d let on. Atalon had a genius, cunning mind. He always thought ten steps ahead, while Ragnor could only think of eight.

“Will you watch?” he asked her now.

She rose to her feet and walked toward him. “I will,” she said quietly, “and I’ll do what you asked. I promise.”

He nodded, unable to speak anymore.

His only hope was that Aileen would not come to hate him again.

Yet he knew it was a futile hope.