** Alaric’s POV **
The number still doesn’t work. I stare at my phone as if the answer might magically appear if I glare hard enough. It doesn’t.
The message thread is painfully short.
Me: Safe travels.
Me: Did they catch you up?
Me: It’s Alaric, btw. You know, the guy who helped you escape.
Me: Are you okay? Do I need to come and rescue you already?
That’s it. Just a one-sided conversation that’s been mocking me since she left. I tap the call button anyway; maybe she just missed the messages.
The phone rings once, then immediately disconnects… again.
“Still trying?” Bastian’s voice drifts across the cabin.
I don’t look up. “No.”
“Right.” His tone says he absolutely does not believe me.
I lean back on the couch, stretching my legs out across the small coffee table in front of
