Page 33 of Bloom in Darkness

“He’s comfortable here,” Bryn says quietly.

Caelan looks down at me, his fingers moving once through my hair. “Yeah. I didn’t think he’d settle this fast.”

Bryn rests one hand around my ankle where it sticks out from the blanket, his thumb moving slowly over the bone. “Too comfortable?”

Caelan’s hand stills for a second before starting again. “No. I like that part.” His fingers start moving again at the back of my neck. “It’s the shaking that worries me. I think he’s on something.”

I don’t move. Bryn’s hand stops on my ankle.

“You sure?”

“Enough that I’d bet on it.” Caelan’s voice stays quiet and practical instead of accusing. “The tremor comes and goes. Some nights he’s climbing out of his skin, and other times he gets too loose. I’ve seen his pupils go wrong more than once, and the crashes after his shifts don’t look like ordinary exhaustion.”

Bryn says nothing for several seconds. I can feel his attention on me even with my eyes closed, so I force my breathing to stay even.

Caelan keeps rubbing the back of my neck. “I don’t know what it is yet. I don’t know if he takes it recreationally, if somebody gave it to him for pain, or if Sabine has anything to do with it. I just know there’s a pattern.”

“Sabine.” Bryn’s voice turns hard enough that I know exactly where his mind went.

“Maybe.” Caelan cuts the conclusion off before Bryn can run with it. “Or maybe Astra chose it because it made the job easier. We don’t know yet. I’m not putting a reason in his mouth before he tells us himself.”

My fingers tighten slightly in the front of Caelan’s shirt. His hand pauses, and I force myself to relax before either of them notices. The jar in my bag suddenly feels like it takes up half the office. I can picture the little container tucked into the vanity kit, and the heat in my cheeks has nothing to do with the room temperature.

Bryn’s thumb starts moving against my ankle again. “He looked wrong before the auction too.”

“Yeah.” Caelan exhales slowly. “And whatever he’s taking isn’t working the same anymore. That’s what bothers me.”

I keep my breathing slow, terrified that if I inhale too deeply, they’ll know I’m awake.

Bryn shifts closer. “You think it’s getting worse?”

“I think there’s enough of a pattern that we need to find out.” Caelan looks down at me again, and his voice softens. “Carefully.”

Bryn’s hand stays around my ankle while Caelan keeps me tucked against his body, his bad leg stretched beneath the blanket and my cheek resting over his heart.

Bryn’s thumb moves slowly over my ankle. “He didn’t even wake up when I moved closer.”

Caelan keeps combing his fingers through my hair. “He woke up earlier, realized he’d been sleeping all over me, and went right back to sleep.”

Bryn glances down at me. “Didn’t apologize?”

“No. He just curled closer.”

I press my face a little deeper into Caelan’s chest while Bryn goes quiet for several seconds.

“I don’t think I want to let him go.”

Caelan doesn’t make a joke. His hand settles more firmly against my back. “Neither do I.”

My eyes almost open before I catch myself, my heart kicking hard enough that for one awful second I’m sure they must be able to feel it.

Bryn shifts again, the warmth of his palm settling over my calf beneath the blanket. “Then we need to know what Sabine actually has.”

“Yes.” Caelan’s voice changes slightly, becoming the one he uses when he starts turning a problem around in his head. “The debt, the contract, whatever leverage she has over him. We need to know what’s actually keeping him there.”

“If she controls more than that—”

“That changes the problem.” Caelan strokes his thumb once over my shoulder. “But we don’t move until we know what he wants. I’m not making choices for him.”