Page 141 of Hidden

Why was I hesitating?

“Stay focused,” Miles’s voice thundered through my head. With it, walls rose from the ground, enclosing the flow of my abilities, and I was no longer free.

My bearings returned, and the thread pulled from my grip, fading away. The buzzing began to fade until I, at last, stood alone with Miles. The barriers fell.

“I did it…” My throat felt raw. I’d never resisted a memory before—usually a session ended when there were no questions left, or—in cases of working with older remains and objects—there was nothing left that could be told.

“With my help,” Miles pointed out.

Now that clarity had returned, shame filled me. The memory I’d been about to enter had nothing to do with why we were here. Of course, I wouldn’t know what it entailed until I’d actually seen it. But I knew it in my heart.

“Thank you.” I pressed my head against Miles shoulder. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

He cleared his throat and stumbled over his words. As if he was surprised I’d actually thanked him at all. “No problem. Are we done? I want to get out of here.”

“Yes.” The pinpricks of lights still tempted me, but I could hold back my power now. There was nothing left that stood out as being helpful for our purpose. I touched Miles’s shoulder, meeting his gaze.

He looked tired.

“We’ll go back together,” I told him. “Let me just…”

My words trailed off and his eyes widened as the dark space flashed in an explosion of white. An electric sensation passed over me, and when the brightness faded, he was gone.

And so was the emptiness. Now the space had been filled with life: trees, moss—wildness.

“Miles?” My limbs felt strange, and my voice different. I glanced at my hands—they were lighter, and the skin scarred across the knuckles. But it still took another moment for me to reorient myself, to fall back into the familiarity of my first form.

Well, this hadn’t happened in a while. But why now?

“I sent him back first.” The familiar words of our ancient language washed over me, and the words were almost accusing. “Did you find what you were searching for?”

Mu.

My heart jumped into my throat, and guilt filled me at the presence of the other man.

I shouldn’t have been surprised that he was here, this was his consciousness, too. But I hadn’t been ready. And thousands of years later, the sound of his voice still caused a shiver to run down my spine.

A gentle breeze blew through the glen, causing his long chestnut hair to gently sway behind him. His emerald robes contrasted brightly against his pale skin. And his jade eyes knowingly—and judgmentally—held mine.

His thick brows furrowed and he frowned. “We had an agreement.”

“I apologize.” The accusation stabbed at me. “I was running out of options. I needed to see—”

“I know what you needed.” Mu’s response was curt, but then his jaw tightened. A look that I knew to be regret lined his face. “And in this case, exceptions had to be made…”

My heart began to race.

Normally, Mu would have lectured me at the very least. Or at least pouted a while. But now he seemed resigned. This was unlike him. “You’re not angry?”

“Iamangry,” he said, studying his hand. “But not at you. This was just… unexpected. Though it changes nothing. Once again, you’ve pushed me outside of my comfort zone, and you were right for it. You usually are.”

This was new.

“But you know, you need to keep pushing me. I’m not going to break,” Mu said lightly. “I could never hold a grudge against you for very long. You’re one of the few who seems to be immune to that.”

“I’m not worried about that,” I replied. Although it was a lie, because I was worried. Yet there was another reason why I’d been avoiding this moment. “It’s just that—”

“You thinkshe’llbreak,” Mu said knowingly. “You know, wearethe same person.”