44. Gone （Again? Really?）
44
Gone (Again? Really?)
Talon
I woke up and stretched. Kaine was still sleeping, of course, and Nidori’s nest was already empty. My stomach rumbled, and I scratched it, looking around. There was a scent, a bit like cinnamon, which made me crave sweet rolls.
Ugh. I felt really groggy this morning, my eyes crusted with sleep, and I wanted nothing more than to curl back up. But instead, I forced myself out of bed and washed my face in some cool water. It must have just gotten dark, and I was hungry. It was quiet, except for the trickle of water and the breeze rustling the trees outside. No humming or singing or fluttering.
I glanced at Nidori’s nest again. Where was she? She usually peppered me with questions as soon as I woke up. I stood, pulling on my clothes and looking around. She wasn’t in the shack—perhaps she’d gone exploring.
“Nidori?” I called quietly as I stepped outside. “Nidori?” I tried a bit louder. My voice echoed back at me through the trees .
My stomach clenched as I called again, louder. There was no response.
My heart was pounding when I returned to where Kaine was still sleeping. I hesitated. Was I overreacting? What if I had just missed her?
But the alternative was terrifying. She could be in danger somewhere. Stuck. Scared. We’d only just got her back, now she was gone again?
I nudged Kaine with my tail. He grumbled and turned over, pulling his thin pillow over his head.
“Kaine,” I hissed, poking him again.
“Fuggof,” he muttered, wrinkling his nose and batting my tail away.
“ Wake up, ” I hissed, unsheathing the spike at the end of my tail and jabbing him.
He shot up, snarling. His bleary eyes were filled with early morning rage. “Fuck. Off—” he started, but I jumped in.
“I can’t find Nidori.”
He stood and grabbed my shirt with one hand. I froze. He blinked up at me.
“I swear, if we find her outside, taking a piss, I’m going to make you seriously regret waking me up,” he said.
My breathing hitched at his scowl, and the way he was pulling me towards him. He cocked his head to the side as my traitorous tail lashed behind me.
“Fucking perv,” he said with a grin, cuffing my ear. My face burned. Stretching, he yawned and gave me a beautiful peek at the subtle abs around his belly button.
I crouched beside him as he bent to look at the empty circle of flattened moss where Nidori had slept. He went still and lifted some to his nose. I saw a vein in his temple throb .
“What?” I said.
“Adderdine,” he spat. A plant that could be used to make a powerful sleeping potion. Shit, now that he’d pointed it out, the sweet, cinnamon-like scent was everywhere. Why didn’t I realise sooner?
“What do we do?” I asked, fear turning my veins to ice. Someone had come here last night, made sure we didn’t wake up, and took Nidori.
“We don’t have any time to lose,” he said, jumping to his feet and pulling me to the door.
“They took her that way,” he said, gesturing towards the shore. I went to move, but Kaine stayed still. He was looking towards the tower. “Shit,” he said, looking back towards the beach, and then back at the tower. He rocked on his feet. “Shit.”
“We’ll split up,” I said, touching his shoulder lightly. “You go find Nidori. I’ll keep going to the tower.”
“But Cassandra—”
“She’s looking for you ,” I said firmly. “So you shouldn’t go there alone. I’ll be more prepared this time.”
He chewed his lip, but I could see it on his face. There was no way he was leaving Nidori.
“She might not even be there yet. Maybe I’ll just be able to walk in and out with the relic,” I said hopefully.
“No, she’s probably waiting for us to come. You’ve fought monsters your whole life, right? What about sorcerers?”
“A couple of times. Not a lot, though.”
“She likes summoning spells. She’s pretty good at them.”
“That’s good for us, though,” I mused. “We just have to get through the creatures she summons, and she should be pretty straightforward to attack. ”
“Yeah, she’s pretty weak once you get to her. But she knows that. She’s got lots of tricks for slipping away.”
“We don’t need to kill her, just give ourselves enough time to finish the quest,” I said grimly.
“Don’t. Die,” he hissed, pulling me down into a kiss.
I kissed back, my fingers tangling in his soft hair.
He pulled away and grinned. “I’d be so disappointed if Nidori never got to experience that tongue of yours.”
I rolled my eyes. He was joking, but damn. That really did suck.
He vanished, and I heard him running away. I squared my shoulders and turned towards the tower.