His tee shirt was rumpled, and his sun-streaked hair stood up in tufts, as though he’d been running his hands through it. It gave him a very sexy bed-headed look.
“Did you sleep?” he asked.
“Yeah.” I checked him over. He looked much better—the black circles beneath his eyes were diminished, and as I appraised him, his orbs gleamed emerald.
“Like what you—”
“Yeah, yeah,” I interrupted him. “Put a lid on it. We’re heading to get Trix from Kitani, and then for the vending machines.”
“Sounds like a plan,” he agreed, falling in behind us. “What’s wrong with your side?”
I realized I’d folded an arm over my ribs, as though protecting them. I dropped it. “Nothing. Is Talakai asleep?” I asked.
Matt shrugged. “Not in the room.”
My gut twisted. It seemed a bit odd. But then, so was Talakai.
When we exited the stairwell on the third floor, we ran into Sebastian. The Bellati’s brows were drawn low, and a muscle jumped in his jaw as he asked, “Is everything okay on the fifth?”
The departure from his usual frozen features rattled me. My voice came out higher than normal. “Seems so. A few students are still up. What’s going on?”
His roaming eyes finally settled on me, and the concern in them pierced clear through to my soul.
Then he said, “Someone just activated the forest gate. Neil, Bess, and Alex have gone to investigate it. I’m checking here.”
That surprised me. “They used it to come, or to go?” For some reason, Talakai flashed through my brain.
“I don’t know.”
Matt’s brows had drawn down over his eyes. “Dragons don’t need crystals to pass through. They have it in their blood.”
I stared at him in shock. Was he thinking of Talakai, too?
“There be a Dragonshifter that gated here earlier.” Sebastian’s lips peeled back from his teeth, a fierce expression that did nothing to calm me. “Friend of Talakai’s. I let him stay—couldn’t check out his story, but he seemed legitimate. His mate be an Empire Dragon. They took off flying, haven’t seen them since.”
“Would they have gone through the gate together?” I asked, my heart in my throat. Why had someone come to see Talakai? Could he have left with his friend?
“It’s possible. Anyone else would need a targeted crystal,” Sebastian said. “Neil and Alex be checking it out and will inspect the grounds, too. If they don’t find anyone, Bess will try to get a read on who activated it and how many may have used it.” His eyes sharpened. “I heard you had an altercation with Aaron.” When I nodded, he continued. “I be expecting a full debriefing in the morning. So you haven’t seen Talakai?”
“No. I haven’t.” I couldn’t breathe. Surely Talakai wouldn’t have just left? But he’d been acting so weird...
Matt straightened. “We can help.”
Sebastian assessed us, and for a moment, I thought he would simply send us back to our rooms. But then he nodded, and said, “You stay together, then. I’ll leave the building to you, and I’ll join those outside. The main doors be locked as a precaution.” He unclipped a series of keys from his keychain and handed them to me. “Don’t leave the building. I’ve checked the offices on the ground floor, and the windows be secured. Work your way through the floors, and don’t forget the coliseum.”
Matt nodded. “Yes, sir.”
The Bellati headed for the stairs.
My heart pounded as I met Matt’s gaze. “Talakai wouldn’t have left, would he?”
The Aussie Dire shook his head. “Bugger it, Angel, I don’t know. He’s been acting right weird. His friend was here. And he was pretty arced up about Darius.”
“What?”
“He was mad after the Night Game thing,” Matt translated as he headed for the staff quarters. “We still getting Trix?”
“Yeah,” I said. “She’s been with them all day.”
