The Valley of Lies (Lightkeepers #1)

Chapter TWENTY-FIVE: Dev

An entire day passed, and Liss did not return. Dev was becoming increasingly anxious. After breaking away from Pile and Rana when they'd arrived back at the village earlier, he'd spent half the morning in the Juniors Cottage curled up under his blanket, pretending to sleep. It was fortunate they had gone to the wildcat den on an evening when he didn't have training the next morning. There was no way he would have made it through drills. Not that he could sleep, not when Liss was out there somewhere unaccounted for. Because of him.

Nothing was really fortunate.

Before lunch he'd dragged himself outside. He hadn't been hungry, but he knew people would question his behavior if he didn't pull himself together. It was only a matter of time before Liss' absence would be noticed, before they would ask him where she was.

Again and again, he'd considered going to the Council or the Lightkeepers barracks to confess. But each time, he'd remembered how happy Liss had been when the magic came to life under her hands, and each time he'd waited. Another hour. Two. Maybe she would appear through the trees, a finger pressed to her lips, reminding him this was their secret. If the Council found out, they would forbid her from using the rift to travel. Dev just wasn't sure yet why they were hiding it. Was it for the clan's safety or to keep others from discovering the way out, as Liss had?

Dev still wanted to believe the Council had the clan's best interest in mind. But after everything that happened, he couldn't be entirely sure. He was no longer certain of anything. Everything felt surreal. There were even moments he wondered if he was dreaming, if he was trapped in some kind of hyper-realistic nightmare. But he had never had such a detailed dream, nor one that lasted so long.

When he'd arrived at the Great Hall, Pile and Len had found him. Dev had meant to eat alone, but it turned out that Pile and Rana had gone straight from their accidental overnight excursion to the stream for a morning swim with Len and Jess, one of Rana's girlfriends. The unusual heat and exercise had made them hungry, so they had ended up at the Great Hall for an early lunch at the same time Dev arrived for his late breakfast.

Pile had dropped his loaded plate next to Dev's and climbed onto the long bench beside him. "Rana and Jess are eating outside. They said something about putting juice in their hair to lighten it. Something Healer Mell told Rana? It sounds ridiculous, if you ask me."

"Rana is ridiculous. What did you expect?"

Dev had shrugged, taking a bite out of his apple, which tasted like dirt. It hadn't been his shining moment.

"What's going on with you, man? You've been weird all day. Did you and Liss get into it last night, is that the real reason she headed home early? Don't tell me you tried to–"

"Shut up!"

Hours had passed, but Dev's fist still ached from slamming it down on the table. Pile was always difficult, but the urge to punch him in his freckled nose had never been so strong.

"Calm down, I was just joking. Everyone knows you're not stupid enough to do something I would do... Where is she, anyway? Rana is worried about her."

Rana was worried about Liss? Dev had thought it was another joke. But Rana had sounded genuinely concerned back at the wildcat den, too. Lately, she had been acting differently toward Liss. At first Dev had assumed it was a futile attempt to get closer to him through his closest friend, but now he wondered if there was something more to it. Maybe Rana actually wanted to be friends with Liss?

"I haven't seen her yet," he'd admitted. Ashamed.

Pile's red eyebrows had sprung into his forehead, but he must have known better than to continue pissing off his stronger, taller friend, as the only further comment he'd made was to ask Dev to make sure Liss knew Rana was looking for her.