I woke with a splitting headache and desperate thirst. Forcing my eyelids open, I spent several seconds trying to figure out where I was. Lilly snored softly beside me. Right — Raen's sister's house.

  I dragged myself out of bed, stumbled through the house searching for a bathroom, and stood under a stream of cold water until I felt marginally human. My head still pounded. I dried off with a towel from the cabinet, dressed, and followed voices to the kitchen.

  "Oh, Alice, good morning!" Amina's cheerful greeting made me wince.

  I collapsed at the table, buried my face in my hands, and mumbled, "I'm so sorry. I drank too much last night. I'm mortified."

  "Oh please, we all overdid it. Patrick!" Amina called toward the door. My head felt like it would explode.

  Patrick came in, and I felt a gentle healing wave wash over me. I lowered my hands from my face, relieved.

  "You're a god," I declared. He laughed.

  "See? You just need to know who to drink with," Amina said with a wink.

  I stood, poured coffee, and grabbed a roll from the table. Lilly appeared in the doorway looking like death itself.

  "Here comes number two. Patrick, you're in high demand today," Amina said brightly. Patrick approached Lilly with understanding and eased her suffering too, then kissed his wife and returned outside.

  "I thought we were drinking good wine. Why did I feel so terrible?" Lilly asked.

  Amina snorted. "The wine was good. But mix any wine with whiskey and you'll regret it."

  "Whiskey?" I asked, surprised.

  "Yes. When the wine ran out, you announced your brain wasn't sufficiently 'shut down' and you needed additional measures. Or something wouldn't happen."

  "Reboot," Lilly supplied.

  "Right. The reboot wouldn't happen. So we all started drinking whiskey. Thank god I put the kids to bed right after tea, so they didn't witness that disaster."

  I shook my head. Great. Not only suspended from work, now Raen's family thinks I'm an alcoholic. You're really climbing that ladder, Arcaness Lamard.

  "We actually succeeded in getting wasted, Alice. And it wasn't even my idea, notice," Lilly teased.

  "I'll think about my disgraceful behavior later. Should we take that promised forest walk?" I redirected.

  The women enthusiastically agreed. We called the children, Patrick, settled happy Busty in his carrier, and set off.

  ***

  The forest was mesmerizing. I walked barefoot on the soft mossy carpet, grateful when rare sunlight pierced through the dense canopy of tall conifers releasing their sharp, unmistakable scent. I'd need to come here alone sometime. I wanted to be alone with nature, but the noisy group made that impossible now.

  The children ran around playing tag, Busty leaped after them, occasionally climbing trees. Lilly cheerfully chatted with Amina. Patrick and I walked slightly apart from the others in companionable silence. My soul felt peaceful.

  "Come visit us again, Alice," Patrick said. "By yourself or with your friend. You're both open people — it's pleasant spending time with you."

  "Thank you," I said, touched. "I really enjoy your company too. Lilly and I would love to take you up on that."

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  We spent another couple hours enjoying the forest before heading back.

  Near the house, in his familiar wicker chair, Raen was waiting.

  The girls shrieked and rushed to him, talking over each other excitedly. Amina kissed her brother's cheek. Patrick simply shook Raen's hand. Lilly smiled brightly and waved.

  I looked into Raen's eyes and froze.

  For some reason, it was difficult to break his gaze. I shook my head, turned away, and headed into the house, trying to hide my embarrassment and pull myself together.

  The case. I can talk about the case. I need to know what happened.

  Making an abrupt about-face, I came back outside and settled across from Raen, who'd been freed from the little bandits. I looked at him expectantly.

  "You want to know about Laurec?" he asked with understanding.

  I nodded, and he continued. "Well, when we brought him in, he denied everything. Now the twins have discovered his alibi was false. More importantly, we have a witness who saw Sevrin visit Lizzie's apartment the night of the murder. She saw him leaving just after midnight."

  "Wait — that's probably the neighbor who wasn't home when the twins and I canvassed the building."

  "Probably. Either way, the evidence is solid."

  "What about motive?"

  "Looks like jealousy. We found an arcanegraph of Lizzie and Sevrin embracing — more than friendly. And Liz wrote a love confession on the back."

  "Strange that he didn't run while we waited for the response from Grolas," I mused.

  "I thought about that too. Maybe he's overconfident," Raen agreed.

  "He didn't seem that way to me."

  We fell silent. Amina and Lilly emerged from the house carrying plates and a steaming pot.

  "Lunch time," Amina announced. "So end your work talk, wash your hands, and come to the table."

  Raen and I exchanged glances. I smiled at him and went to follow Amina's orders.

  ***

  An hour later, Lilly and I said goodbye to the hospitable family, pried Busty away from the clearly disappointed children, and Raen drove us home.

  When we arrived, Lilly quickly grabbed the cat carrier and her bag, waved at us, and rushed to her apartment. Apparently, she'd decided to give Raen and me time alone.

  I stood by the vex uncertainly, then finally offered, "Coffee?"

  "Coffee sounds good," Raen said and followed me inside.

  I kicked off my shoes, dropped my bag on the floor, and turned to face him.

  Raen was looking at me. Our eyes met, and I couldn't move.

  He approached slowly, leaned down, and kissed me.

  Something inside me switched.

  I threw myself at him like a traveler finding water after two days lost in the Burning Sands, dying of thirst. Raen hadn't expected such a violent reaction—at one point I caught his stunned expression. Hell, I hadn't expected it from myself either.

  I don't remember how we got to the bedroom, shedding clothes along the way. What followed was complete madness. I kissed him until we both bruised, scratched and bit. He responded in kind. Eventually — maybe an eternity later — we collapsed, exhausted.

  When I opened my eyes, the sun was setting. Reddish-soft rays penetrated the translucent curtains, caressing us both. I looked at Raen breathing steadily, noticed the dark circles under his eyes, and traced my finger along his lips.

  I needed to think about what came next. How to act around him now.

  Carefully extracting myself from bed, I went to the bathroom. The hard spray of water cleared my head somewhat, and I reached a conclusion: I needed space to think this through properly.

  I liked Raen — I was as certain of that as I was that the sun would rise tomorrow. But I hadn't joined the Enclave to start a romance with my boss. My priority was making sure Armon answered for his crime. And during my forced time off, I'd realized something crucial: I needed this work. I wanted to use and develop my abilities to restore justice.

  So once I could return to work, I'd behave with complete professionalism.

  I turned off the water decisively, dried off, threw on a robe, and came out.

  Raen heard the noise and opened his eyes. Seeing me in the robe, he quickly looked around and smiled.

  "Hel-lo," he drawled.

  "We already said hello," I giggled and sat on the edge of the bed.

  Raen stretched, pulled me into his arms, and kissed my neck. My thoughts started drifting again, but I forced them back into place and pulled away.

  He frowned. "Something wrong?"

  "Everything's fine." I paused. "Listen, I want to go away for a few days. I need to clear my head. I'm completely confused."

  Raen's frown deepened. "Confused about me?"

  "That too. Understand — I came to work for you, not to dive headfirst into romantic complications. You know I have a goal, and until I achieve it, I'm not sure I want distractions. And anyway, the regulations forbid personal relationships between colleagues, don't they?"

  Raen shot up from the bed, yanked on his pants from the floor, and growled, "Don't hide behind regulations! If you don't want any relationship with me, Arcaness Lamard, have the courtesy to say so directly!"

  I looked down guiltily and barely whispered, "I don't know. I really need to think. It doesn't feel like the right time."

  He sat on the opposite side of the bed and was quiet for a moment.

  "Demons take you, Alice. Go wherever you want. Let me know when you're open to talking." Without looking at me, he stood and headed for the door, gathering his clothes from the floor as he went.

  When the front door slammed loudly, I flinched.

  Well. I had time to think now. That's what I'd do.

  Just not here.