My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 518

Lyra

My phone rang. I glanced across the room to Odile sprawled on my bed, her gaze fixed on the ceiling. She'd appeared that afternoon, one soft knock before letting herself in like it was no big deal. I hadn't said a word about the kiss. Neither had Odile. I had no room for it in my mind, not with everything going on.

Outside, the window was slowly going dark. I hurried over and saw Mrs. Voss's name flashing on the screen. I picked up.

"Is Nadia with you?" she asked without preamble.

"Um...Good evening Mrs Voss. No, Nadia isn't here with me" I said.

"If she turns up, will you tell her to call me?"

"What happened?" I asked with a frown. If Nadia wasn't with her, where was she then?

There was only silence on the other end of the line. Finally, quieter: "Please, Lyra. If she comes."

The line went dead. I lowered my phone and looked over at Odile. "She's run off, then," Odile said from the bed.

I nodded.

I reached for my coat.

Odile sat up on the bed. "I know she was harsh the other night," she said. "Maybe she wants to be alone tonight."

I stopped with one arm in my coat. "She's grieving, Odile," I snapped. "Yes, she said things. That's what grieving people do. You can't just leave someone like that."

Odile's voice was softer now. "I understand, Lyra. But..."

"I don't blame you, Odile. For hesitating" I said coldly. "You don't know Nadia. She's not your friend. You were never close enough to her to feel anything. But I am. And I'm going to check on my girlfriend."

Odile stared at me, her eyes wide. "That's not fair."

I swallowed before pulling my other arm into my coat sleeve. I looked away from her hurt expression.

Odile rose slowly from the bed. "Fine. I'm coming with you."

* * *

Streetlights flashed past the tinted windows as we rode through the darkened city in stiff silence. Odile gazed out opposite me, her profile illuminated, then eclipsed, again and again. The car slowed, then pulled to a halt outside Nadia's father's house.

I stepped out of the car. The night air was cool against my skin. Odile joined me on the sidewalk, her movements stiff. We stared at the dark house before us.

The porch step sagged under my feet as I climbed it. Faded white paint chipped away from the railing. In the yard, a patch of grass grew long and wild.

Every window was shut up tight, the front ones curtained. Not a single light glowed from within. Even the front door looked darker than I remembered it, the matte black paint dull and worn smooth at the edges.

At the door I caught Nadia's scent, faint, from inside.

I approached the front door. The handle turned easily beneath my hand. I pushed the door open and stepped inside. The house was dark, but my eyes adjusted to it almost immediately.

A coat hung alone on a hook by the entrance.

I turned to Odile. "Wait here," I whispered. After a moment, she nodded. I moved down the shadowy hallway, the floorboards creaking beneath my feet.

One door stood open at the far end. I approached it slowly. I did not call out.

I stood in the doorway, hands at my sides, my breath held. Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating Nadia curled on her side, cheek pressed to the carpet, eyes closed, unmoving.

Her father's bed was made badly. His chair sat at an angle by the window.

"Get out," Nadia said.

I didn't answer. I slid down the door frame and sat on the floor in the doorway, my back pressed to the wood, my head bowed.

At the end of the hall, a faint creak rose from the front room, but I didn't look up.

Nadia took a long, deep breath through her nose. Her voice was flat and cold when she spoke.

"You brought her." She paused. "Into his house."

My mouth felt dry. "She wouldn't let me come alone."

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