*Lena*
Adrian was gone before I'd risen from bed the next day. A scribbled note on the dining room table simply said he'd be back in a week's time, and that was it. Clare had gone home shortly after I heard Xander's voice ring out through my soul, her face lacking its normal luster and her eyes distant, shadowed with confusion.
She said she'd felt fear and chaos.
I felt worse now than I had when Xander disappeared. I knew in my gut that something was wrong, and that nagging feeling I'd been ignoring that told me he hadn't just run off and left me for good was sounding in my mind as I made the strongest cup of coffee imaginable and sat on the front porch, letting soft gray daylight drift over my skin.
I closed my eyes and reached for the little thread of power I knew I had that tied
