Chapter 8 · A Name Still Alive

I have four hours until moonrise.

Cade's in the shower. I can hear the water running through the wall. He left me in his bed with clean bandages and a mug of tea I didn't drink.

The war ledger's in his study. Third floor. I know because I've scrubbed that room a hundred times.

I should go. I should get up, walk down there, and take the damn thing before Mira burns my life down. But my legs won't move. The mate bond's a vice around my ribs. Every instinct I have is screaming at me to stay here. To trust him.

Stupid.

I slide out of bed. My side pulls where the stitches are, but I ignore it. The floor's cold under my feet. I'm still wearing his shirt. It smells like him. Pine and smoke and something I don't have a name for.

I make it to the door.

My hand's on the handle when the water shuts off.

I freeze.

The bond flares. He knows I'm moving. He always knows.

"Sienna." His voice comes through the bathroom door. Calm. Too calm. "Where are you going?"

I don't answer. I twist the handle and step into the hall.