After the subject changed we talked uneventfully until reaching the forest. Under the canopy of branches it was much easier to hear each other. The drops of water just sort of slid down the vines or trickled off the leaves. I did notice, though, that being wet felt much worse out of the rain.

"Your turn," I said.

We had started taking turns asking each other questions a while ago. So far I knew that he was eighteen, he absolutely abhorred vegetables, and his favorite hobby was matching names with meanings.

He looked up thinking. "Ah . . . what's your favorite color?"

I didn't have to consider this long. "Blue and purple. Especially together."

"Hmm, okay. Go ahead."

"Same question to you," I stated. I was starting to get comfortable enough around him that I could, almost, just say what I was thinking.

"You can't keep doing that," said Ikovos.

"What?" I looked over at him.

For a moment I was stunned by the eyes and smirky smile looking back at me. Water was dripping down the strands of hair that dangled around his face. His pale skin damp as well. It fit perfectly with his crystal blue eyes and the lips below them that had gone pink from the cold.

I blinked double-speed for the moment.

"Asking me the same question I just asked you," he finished.

After a second of thought, I stuck out a pinky. "Last time I promise."

He locked it and released before answering. "Greenish-blue."

"Like turquoise?" I asked.

"Nope," he stated plainly. "Greenish-blue."

I paused. "One color just doesn't cut it, does it?"

He laughed heartily. "I guess not."

I jumped over a root and spoke. "Your turn again."

He thought about it. "What are your hobbies?"

"Nope," I retorted. "Can't do that one . . . I already asked it."

He looked at me with a playfully, incredulous face. "First of all, that is just ridiculous, you did it three times." I bit my lip smiling. "And second of all, you asked what my favorite hobby was, not all of them."

He made two inarguable points. "Okay." I sucked in a breath. "I don't know if I have any . . . my mom always says it's arguing, but, " I thought about it more, "well, I bake, like pastries and stuff. Actually I work at a cafe. And . . . I train a lot. Self defense with this older lady in Tiver. At least I used to. She died. After that I started running though. I guess that counts. Oh, and I like to draw." I put a hand on my chest. "And books, God, I love reading . . . I think I might have told you that already though."

When I checked up at him he held a lopsided grin.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"You said you didn't know if you had any hobbies. And here I'm wondering if there's any you don't have. "

Oh." I looked down. "Sorry, I was rambling wasn't I."

He chuckled. "I don't know about rambling, but I think it's the first time you've said more than one sentence in a row since I met you."

That's it, I was definitely rambling.

He looked back ahead. "You're probably going to start talking less again now, right?"

I didn't say anything. He was too right to argue with.

I noticed now that the forest was thinning. It was easy to tell because we were starting to get rained on again. The vines had all but disappeared as well, and the ground was nothing more than squishy, green, grass. I was happy to see that the sky had turned a very dark grey, but felt bad for Ikovos all the same time.

"Oh great, " he said. "I was just starting to dry out."

I winced. "Sorry."

He grinned and looked over at me. "Despite your weather-influencing wardrobe attempts, I don't think you're responsible."

I was a little taken aback that he had noticed this, but was much too embarrassed to reply.

"Well, we're almost there," he sighed. "Feel like running?" He stopped and looked at me curiously.

"Yes, only . . ." I bit my lip. "It can't be a race, okay? I'll get to nervous if it's a race."

He laughed. Apparently there was something about me that he found very funny today, because he kept doing that.

"No racing, I promise." He stuck out his smallest finger. "We can even pinky swear if you like." He was barely able to hold back his laughter as he said it.

I narrowed my eyes at him playfully, then, forgoing his pinky, pushed him over onto the slippery ground and started running.

Between heavy gasps, Ikovos spoke. "You . . ." more gasping, ". . . you are very fast."

We'd made it to the lodge in less than thirty minutes and were now bending over with our hands on our knees, bright red, and very sweaty.

I sucked in a heavy breath. "I told you I was competitive."

He tilted his head up to me still gasping. "No, you said you get nervous." He inhaled again. "That is not what nervous means." I lifted my eyes up at him as he shook his head. "I don't even think competitive covers it."

I smiled at him, but then lost my balance and fell onto the ground. He started laughing, at least as much as possible through gasps. I just sat up and made a face.

When he was finished, he put a hand over his stomach and grimaced. "Ouch. I have a cramp now."

"Serves you right," I stated as he leaned into the ground and turned to sit next to me.

After giving me a look mirroring mine, he threw his hands back behind him and gazed up at the sky. "I'm getting so sick of this stuff."

I scoffed teasingly. "It's barely been a day." He put his eyes on me. "Think how I feel getting stuck with the horrible sun all the time."

One side of his mouth went up. "If this is how it feels to you, then I'm very sorry." We sat with locked eyes for a moment before he turned ahead and began to get up.

"I have to go now," he said. "You should be able to make it back from here." His hand gestured to the building next to us as I eyed him wickedly.

Attempting to hide my disappointment, I asked as indifferently as possible, "Where are you going?"

He was standing in front of me now. "I've got to . . ." he eyed me. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but his face was unusually serious. "I'm going to check on Jaden."

"Oh." I said, too obviously upset by it. First Jaden had gone somewhere unsafe and now Ikovos was going too?

Come on, Evelyn. You have to get used to this stuff if you're staying here. I forced a smile up at him and he brightened.

"Cornelius should be around, but just head to the study if you like."

I nodded. "Alright." He offered me a hand, but I waved it off. "No, thanks. I just want to sit here for a minute . . . catch my breath."

He nodded somewhat apprehensively, turned around slowly, and started walking in almost the same direction we had come.

"Hey, Ikovos." I yelled after him. He turned around to face me. "Back before dark, right?"

He smiled, one of his big ear to ear smiles. "Back before dark."

He started walking backwards for a moment, then turned quickly around and jogged off.

I looked back ahead of me as I wondered how long it would be before I saw either of them again. I forced the thought to pass. The last thing two teenage boys wanted was a 'mommy' to worry about them every time they went out.

With a sigh I pushed up off the ground and patted through the puddly ground to the side door. I followed the hall down to what I thought was Cornelius's study, it took me a few tries. When I entered the room it was cold . . . empty and cold. I frowned sufficiently when I saw there were no magic flames to be found. It was the first time I'd been in there without them. I was glad that it was still fairly light out, because I wouldn't have been able to see anything without it. The small window of the bathroom was the only thing giving off light.

Apart from the lack of fire, which was still causing me to scowl, the study was exactly how I'd remembered. Cozy, loaded with books, ridiculously comfy furniture. I sighed with relief. What more could a girl want?

Ah . . . magic fire.

I rolled my eyes at myself and moved towards the bathroom to change. I was, after all, soaking wet. I turned the water on first thing. It was hot almost immediately and felt fantastic on my frozen hands. My body shivered with anticipation as I stripped and entered the steaming water.

It was one of the longest showers I'd ever taken. At least I felt like it was. My mind kept wandering to Ikovos and Jaden, if they were safe, if they were back yet. When I was out and dressed I felt a lot better though, the chill momentarily gone from my bones.

With nothing to do I scanned over the books on the walls absently, still wondering if I should go look for Cornelius or Sophie . . . Thoran wasn't in the mix.

Tucking a loose hair behind my ear, I read the title of a book. "Lost Works of Efreet." I ran my finger across each as I said them aloud. "Notes, Letters, Maps, and the Art of Compiling." "Mere Observance and Pose." "Lumination of the Haraatars" I could barely pronounce that one. "The History of Sharadeen Forest and its Expansion." Now that one sounded interesting.

Why aren't any of these books at our stores in Tiver?

I was about to pull the last one off the shelf when I heard a door open behind me. I spun around quickly and was relieved to see Cornelius standing in the doorway.

He looked much more calm and rested then when I'd seen him last. I was glad for it, but I hoped I didn't cause the same reaction after a few days.

"My dear, I'm so glad you're back." He said it with the warmest smile I'd ever seen.

I couldn't help but smile back. "Me too."

He moved closer. "I came because I thought I heard the shower running and suspected it was you."

I nodded. "Yeah . . . I was all wet."

His smile turned to concern. "Oh yes, I'm sorry you had to travel in the rain," he said. "It got quite heavy there for a while."

I decided not to tell him that I liked the weather and rocked my head casually. "It wasn't too bad. We were in the forest for most of it." I scratched my neck absently. "I felt bad for Ikovos though. He didn't seem to take well to it."

Cornelius's smile returned with a chuckle. "Yes. He acts quite like he's melting, doesn't he?"

I laughed too, then asked without thinking, "Is he back yet?"

Cornelius looked perplexed. "Didn't he come back with you?"

Dang it, Evelyn. I slapped myself mentally. The look of suspicion from Jaden popped instantly into my head. I collected my thoughts as quickly as possible, trying to remember the storytelling skills that had saved me repeatedly over the years.

"No, he and Jaden just said they were going to hang out by the pool for a bit. . . . I think. . . ." I added the last part because of how instantly guilty I felt.

He pondered this. "Oh. That's strange in this weather." I did a small, but not too exaggerated, palms-up. "Then again," he looked up a bit, "they are strange boys."

The corners of my mouth inched up at the words, but I quickly hid it.

"They said they'd be back before dark."

He nodded his acknowledgment, then put a finger to his mouth. "We'll just have to move you out sooner than I expected. Every time Jaden leaves, the study gets too blasted dark to see anything."

I was seeing a firsthand view of this. The light from the bathroom window had dimmed considerably and I was now barely able to make out Cornelius's face. I didn't want to leave the study though. I loved the books and . . . well. It felt safer to me than anywhere I'd ever been.

"Aren't there other offense artisans besides Jaden?" I asked, feeling very proud of myself for using all the proper dialect.

He considered this for a moment. "Yes, but I wouldn't trust any of them to use magic in here."

"What about Thoran?" I questioned.

Cornelius chuckled. "Well I suppose he could do it, but . . . are you sure you want to stay in here? It's not very close to any of the other sleeping chambers and there's no bed."

I nodded. "If it's okay with you, I'd rather stay here." I was surprised by my own candidness, maybe all this action was making me braver.

Cornelius smiled. "Then this is where you will stay."

I didn't know how relieved I would feel. "Thanks, Cornelius."

He chuckled again. "No, thank you. A girl like you is just what we need around here."

I gave him a yeah-right face.

"I'm completely serious." His brow scrunched in thought. "These young men have gotten too rough, they need to learn to be more sensitive."