15
About an hour later, Knox walks me to my apartment. He still looks so pale, I hate to make him walk an extra yard, let alone all the way to my door.
“You don’t have to walk me home,” I say. “We’re only two floors apart, you know.”
Knox inhales deeply. “You’re worried.”
“Well, you know …” I grip the door handle behind my back and try to think of something totally honest—yet misleading—to say to Knox at this point. You look at death’s door isn’t what he needs to hear. “There’s a lot to worry about. I must find the Codex Mechanica and protect the fountain of magic. It won’t be easy.”
Of course, I don’t add in the part about destroying the fountain of magic. That will just have to wait.
Knox grips the upper ledge of the door. His body frames mine. Normally, the sensation of him loomin
