Laurent wept for hours or days, mourning the loss of his companion. He didn't know where to begin searching for Gansey, and there was no sign that he'd left by anything other than his own will. His own impatience and displeasure with Laurent.

When he finally rose from the couch, his stomach ached with hunger and his head spun. He drank two glasses of water and leaned weakly against a doorway, trying to recover. What now? Return to his ordinary life?

He needed food, but didn't want to eat. Sinking to the floor, he stared into space and lost track of time again.

A tiny bell drew him from his misery.

He leapt to his feet, heart soaring with hope. Gansey.

Taking two steps into the hall, he forced himself to pause. No. Something was wrong. Gansey wouldn't have left like that if all was well. Perhaps, merely, he'd left in a fit of frustration, and now he returned to beg forgiveness.

Wary by nature, Laurent put on his cloak, slipping into the hallway and hiding himself in a shadow. The black mask helped to conceal him, but he also drew his cloak up over his face to conceal the distinctly human ridges of the mask. Melting into a rocky alcove, he waited, watching and listening to be certain of who was entering his lair.