Page 28 of Somnium

Reluctantly, she nodded.

With a quick dip of his chin, Elias went to retrieve her keys. He jogged back a moment later, hovering close, but careful not to touch her until she reached for his arm to steady herself, then gently guiding her to the passenger side of the car.

Cadi sat and stared out the window, cursing the quiet flow of tears that refused to yield. Her reflection in the side mirror made her wince; dried blood crusted the side of her face, but at least she wasn’t bleeding anymore so she didn’t have to worry about needing stitches.

The cars and buildings blurred together as Elias drove silently through the city streets, and it wasn’t until they passed her neighborhood transit station that Cadi noticed they were almost to her apartment, and she hadn’t spoken a single word of direction. With a jolt, she realized that this was not his first time following this particular route, as proven by the sigil necklace currently resting safely on her dresser.

“How do you know where I live?” she asked, shattering the stillness. His fingers tightened against the steering wheel in a movement so slight that it would have gone unnoticed had she not already been staring at him, waiting for an explanation. After a beat, he lifted a shoulder in a casual shrug.

“Gunner.”

He said it as if his single-word response provided all the explanation she would ever need. Cadi’s brows pinched, the motion sending a slice of pain across her skin as it tugged on the barely sealed cut. She grumbled at the faint dribble of warmth that reappeared next to her eye.

“What?” she asked, unable to contain her annoyance at the nonanswer.

Elias’s eyes darted to her before quickly returning to the road. “He’s the bouncer. At The Crow. The one who checked your ID.”

The memory of that night hit her like a gut punch. Everything had felt so new and easy, so full of potential. Now, it felt as though it had happened in an entirely different lifetime.

“Wait,” she said, the pieces slowly clicking into place. “That was weeks ago. How …”

A smile tugged at the corner of Elias's mouth as he smoothly cranked the wheel and pulled the car against the curb outside of her building.

“Turns out trolls have damn near perfect memories. Probably why they hold grudges for so long.”

He shifted to park before cutting the engine and climbing out without another word. Cadi shook off the unease that came from learning that every troll she’d ever encountered was apparently a walking Rolodex and made a mental note to watch what she said around them from now on. She reached for the metal handle, only for her fingers to close around empty air as the door swung open and Elias stepped to the side, extending his hand in offering.

She stared at his open palm, hesitating for a moment before slipping her hand into his. Her stomach flipped as he guided her onto the sidewalk, something she told herself was just a lingering effect from her head injury.

When they reached the front door, Elias held out her keys and placed them in her hand with a quiet jingle. She was spinning them between her fingers, searching slowly for the one that would open the door to her building, when she felt him hesitate beside her.

“I don’t want to overstep,” he said, “and I can make other arrangements if you want, but … you really shouldn’t be alone after a blow like that.”

She knew he was right. The last thing she needed was to slip into a coma with no one around, but part of her still pushed back, driving her to retreat into her shell of solitude and self-sufficiency where the world couldn’t get to her. Couldn’t disappoint her. She let a finger brush against the tender spot on her forehead, the pounding in her skull a reminder of the cost of putting her trust in the wrong people. A cost that could have been much higher had it not been for Elias.

Two weeks ago, she hadn’t even known he existed, yet here he was, standing on her front step and showing her for the second time that he was someone she could rely on. She just prayed that the price for trusting him was something she was still able to give.

“You aren’t overstepping,” she said after a long pause. “You can stay.”

Moments later, Cadi pushed open her apartment door and felt along the wall for the switch. Soft lighting filled the space, the familiar sights and smells of home quickly easing her strain. Shuffling inside, she kicked her pumps in the general direction of the growing pile of discarded footwear spilling across her floor before tossing her keys into the ceramic bowl in the center of the dining table that stood to the right of the door.

She turned back to find Elias still standing at the threshold, his brows raised as he surveyed her apartment. She winced as she watched him take in the piles of unfolded laundry overtaking the maroon sofa shoved against the wall next to the entrance, the hints of chaos just past her bedroom door in front of him, and the stacks of papers and books covering the dining table.

Glancing behind her, she noted that her kitchen actually wasn’t half bad. And in her defense, her place had looked a lot worse.

A win was a win.

She cleared her throat. “Sorry about the mess. I wasn’t expecting company.”

Elias’s eyes flicked to hers, quickly masking his shock with what she assumed was meant to be quiet appreciation.

“No it’s … cozy.”

It was painfully obvious that he was trying hard to spare her feelings, but Cadi couldn’t help the tiny smile that pulled at the corners of her mouth.

“We should get you cleaned up,” he said, gesturing to the cut at her eyebrow. “Do you have a first aid kit?”

Cadi nodded, tossing her thumb over her shoulder toward the kitchen. “Under the sink.”