Page 24 of The Tracker's Dawn: Sunderverse

“Besides, bad things can happen to anyone, no matter what. At least, I haveyouto face them with, an unconditional friend, someone who would never abandon me. What else could I ask for?”

When she finished, I was blubbering like a baby. We embraced again, and I let my tears flow without trying to stop them. But I wasn’t crying for what we’d lost or because I felt guilty. I was crying because I was the damn luckiest person in the world.

Ihad the best friend anyone could ask for.

CHAPTER 9

Ileft Rosalina torest, closing the bedroom door softly behind me. She was still tired and weak. The witch had fed her only a few times, it seemed, and Rosalina had missed several meals for almost two weeks.

As I made my way to the kitchen, I ran into Jake in the hall.

“Hey, how is Rosalina doing?” He came closer, a line of concern etched in his forehead.

“She’s resting. She’s still a little weak. I told her about the agency.”

Jake winced. “How did she take it?”

“Not the way I thought she would.”

“How so?”

“She’s pissed. Super pissed.”

“That’s understandable.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m pissed too, but she’s off the charts. I’ve never seen her like that.”

Jake raised an eyebrow. “Maybe that’s why it seemed so magnified.”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “She’s always been so easy-going, it’s hard to see her like that.” I started walking toward the kitchen again. “I need some coffee, might help with this headache.”

Jake followed me. He had spent the night here, slumped on the sofa despite the fact that there were enough rooms in the house to host a football team. He and Eric had almost polished off the entire bottle of oakfire, while Damien took care of the Scotch.Bunch of drunks!

With good reason, this morning, Jake looked a little worse for wear. He had on the same clothes, his hair was standing on end, and his silver eyes were bloodshot.

“I could use a little coffee, too,” he said. “I don’t know how Stales get drunk all the time. I feel like shit. Oh, I should tell you, that girl, Em, she left.”