Book 15: Enemies Within

Blake

It’s quiet in my office. The air is still and empty, scented with coffee and fresh ink. I move from my printer and sit at my desk, fanning through the papers I’ve just printed, which are still warm. The door leading to my suite opens with a squeak, revealing Marianna, who peeks her head in and says, “She’s asleep.”

I can’t do more than nod. “Will you let me know when she wakes up?”

“I will. Um… the moonstone sphere? I put it on her bedside table. Is that where it needs to be? Or, like, under her pillow?”

For the first time in days, I feel a single slice of calm pierce the roiling mess of emotions currently taking up all the space in my mind. It’s simply because of her, the image of her clutching the door, her dark hair swishing around her shoulders and her eyes… so blue. The perfect blue. I don’t deserve this. I never have. “That’s just fine.”

Marianna’s gaze holds mine, scanning, deeply inspecting, but I’ve trained my entire life