Page 15 of Shadowvein

“That’s difficult to predict.”

“Try.”

He regards me for a moment. “Days, perhaps. Weeks. It depends on too many factors.”

“Whatfactors?”

“That’s a complicated question to answer.”

“I have time.” My voice is bitter. “Lots of it,apparently.”

“Indeed you do.”

He rises and walks a few steps, pausing at the edge of his desk to face me directly.

“This tower exists in a unique position.” His voice takes on a teaching tone. “The doorway appears and disappears according to patterns most cannot perceive.”

“Butwhy?Why would a door just appear and vanish?”

“Some boundaries are not meant to be permanent.”

“But we’re inside it. If it disappeared, wouldn't we?—”

“Disappear with it?” He shakes his head. “No. The tower doesn’t cease to exist. It merely … moves out of reach.”

None of this makes sense, yet I have no alternative explanation that fits what I’ve experienced.

“And you live here? In this tower that shifts between states?”

“I remain here, yes.”

Something in his phrasing catches my attention. NotI live here, butI remain. As though staying wasn’t entirely his choice.

“Can you leave? When the door appears?”

His expression doesn’t change, but tension creeps into the line of his shoulders. “My circumstances are more complex than yours.”

“What doesthatmean?”

“It means that while you merely need to wait for the door to reappear, my situation requires more … specific conditions to change.”

“You’re trapped here.”

He doesn’t confirm or deny, but his silence is answer enough.

“Why?”

“That’s a story for another time.” He turns away. “For now, you should rest. Eat. Regain your strength.”

“Why should I trust anything you say?” The question breaks loose before I can stop it. “For all I know, you’re the reason I’m stuck here.”

The corner of his mouth lifts. Just a fraction. “An interesting theory.”

“Is it true?”

“Would it matter if it were?” His voice is perfectly level. “Your circumstances remain the same regardless of who or what brought you here.”

He’s right. And that only makes it worse. Knowing won’t help. It won’t change anything.

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