I was staring at Luca, fast asleep next to me, wondering why my mother had warned me against him. I was tempted to enter his mind while he slept, but at the same time I wouldn't have liked it if he had done it to me.
"Mom?" I mind-linked her again, my thoughts reaching out into the silence, hoping, pleading, for an explanation that never came.
Where had she disappeared to this time? The emptiness on the other end of the link gnawed at me, a quiet ache that made the room feel even colder.
With a sigh that came from somewhere deep inside, I pushed myself up and left the room, padding down the hallway until I reached Cindy's quarters. She'd moved herself into Khimar's old area and, in true Cindy fashion, had claimed it completely. The once-dark and brooding space now looked alive, softened by her touch, her scent lingering in the air, her presence woven into every corner. She'd turned it into her domain, confident and commanding, the undeniable boss lady of the place.
