"Ari, I-"
"Do it!" she snapped. Glaring at her, I wiped my eyes and stood up, walking into the kitchen and wondering why she'd lost her mind.
"Arianna, what on earth is going on?" Lend asked.
I turned and ran back into the room and Lend immediately dropped.
And so did my stomach and my heart. Oh, no. No, no, no. I looked at Arianna and she nodded. I turned and marched mechanically back into the kitchen.
Lend woke up again.
"Okay, this time we both keep our eyes closed," I shouted from the stairs. Squeezing mine shut, I put a hand on the wall and felt my way into the family room.
"No good," Arianna said. "He's asleep again. "
"Bleep!" I screamed, opening my eyes and kicking the wall.
David put a sympathetic hand on my shoulder. "At least he's waking up at all," he said softly.
I tried to nod, but I couldn't. What good was a world in which Lend and I couldn't be in the same freaking room? If there was a wall between us he'd wake up, but as soon as there was physical proximity, bam, unconscious Lend.
Shoulders slumped, I walked back out of the room and sat heavily on the bottom stair in the foyer.
"Evie?" Lend called.
"Yup. "
"Apparently that one didn't work. "
"Nope. "
At least we could talk to each other. I'd already explained what happened in the Faerie Realms, telling him the whole tale of how I got him back. He hadn't said much about what happened to him there, his voice catching every time he referred to the Dark Queen. I wished I could hold him and tell him it was okay now.
Problem was, if I was holding him, he couldn't hear me.
Other problem was, it really wasn't okay now.
"Did you eat or drink anything in Faerie?" I asked, rubbing my eyes in exhaustion.
"Again, no. Nothing. I knew the rules. I didn't touch a thing. I wasn't even conscious for long before. . . she. . . made me fall asleep. I guess I have a knack for annoying authority figures. "
I snorted, remembering how crazy he made Raquel when he was locked up at the Center. Raquel, Raquel, where are you? She should have called me by now. I was really starting to worry. Why didn't I try to find her when I was in the Center?
Shaking my head, I wrapped my arms around myself. "Yeah, true. You excel at obnoxious. It's always been one of your most attractive qualities. "
I wished I could see him smiling. I was sure he would be. My cell phone beeped with a new message. From Carlee, of course. "Found perfect winter formal dress 4 u. is $$$ mite have to sell ur kidney will b worth it. call me bratt we need to tlk colors & decorations. " My finger hovered over the callback button, but I set the phone down sadly instead. No Winter Formal until I figured out how my boyfriend and I could actually be there together. Conscious.
I stood up with a sigh. "I'm going to go find Reth. "
"What? Why?"
"He might know something about this. I think. . . I think she cursed you, Lend. Reth might know how she did it or how to fix it. " Please, please let him know how to fix it. Talking to Lend through walls was not nearly good enough for me, and the idea that I'd never be able to see him awake face-to-face again made me. . .
I couldn't even think about it.
"Don't go alone," Lend said, his voice tight with concern.
"I'll take Jack. "