Page 36 of Sage Haven
“Oh,” she said quietly. Then, after a breath, she added, “Well, Castor mentioned his brother. He’s not much of a talker. He can be... difficult.”
I sat up straighter.
A spark of something sharp lit in my chest.
“His brother?” I repeated the words like they were foreign because they were.
Sam nodded. “Yeah. Reich. That’s who was trailing you out of the festival when we found you.”
His name landed heavy.
Solid and unforgiving.
Like the man himself.
I hadn’t even known his name.
And somehow, hearing it made him more real.
More dangerous.
I murmured it under my breath, my fingers tracing the rim of my coffee cup.
Reich.
Why was this stranger leaving such an impression on me?
“I didn’t even know that was his name,” I admitted. My voice was quieter than I intended. Almost reverent, and I hated myself for it.
Sam frowned, puzzled. “Really? He didn’t talk to you at all?”
I hesitated. “All I remember is him in the crowd. He didn’t say much… just seemed like another brooding man but he stuck by me while we were in the crowd.”
I kept my voice steady.
But the unease curling in my stomach was harder to ignore.
I didn’t tell her about the man with the drink.
Didn’t tell her how Reich had appeared from nowhere and taken the danger from my hands before I even understood it was there.
Didn’t tell her how I’d felt safer in his arms than I had in years.
That part was too raw.
Too humiliating.
Another mistake to tuck behind my mask.
Sam scoffed and stirred her drink. “So, that’s Reich, I guess,” she said with a shrug.
But the casual dismissal made something twist in my chest.
Like I was missing something.
Why hadn’t Reich said more?
Why had it felt like we shared something deeper than a fleeting moment?
