Free Revived (The Lucidites Book 3) by Sarah Noffke

into thinking you’re protecting me. Meanwhile I’m going to find Chase and ask him directly.”
    His eyes widen with sudden horror. I don’t catch anymore of his expression of disbelief because I pivot and stride to the exit.
    “Roya! Roya! No! Get back here now!” Trey yells at my retreating back, desperation in every word. My threat isn’t empty either. I have every intention of finding Chase.
     

Chapter Eleven
    T he sun has risen in the real world, where Middlings worry about love or whether their dreams will ever come true. How similar and devastatingly different we are as races. The Tao offers only riddles to my problems so I abandon it for the Collected Works of Carl Jung . After a night of drama and little rest, his words should confound my troubled mind. In reality, every sentence flows into the next creating a beautiful volley of questions and answers, insights and interpretations. The continuity of his words feels like it’s begging me to keep reading, like hidden somewhere within the passages I’ll find the clues I’m looking for. The one great truth which quells the fires within me.
    The second knock that morning sounds at my door. I don’t jump this time. Actually, I’ve been expecting him. I ready my angry expression, take a breath, and say, “Come in,” through clenched teeth.
    The door “shushes” as it slides back.
    “Do you always just let anyone stroll into your room?” George says, coming around the corner.
    I sit up in my bed with sudden surprise. “Oh, it’s you. I was expecting Joseph,” I say, letting my head fall back on the headboard, a tiny bit of relief oozing out of me with a sigh.
    “Are you mad at him? Is that why your emotions are so strong?” George says, standing at the foot of my bed, regarding me with a sensitive look.
    “Is that why you came by?” I ask, tossing the iPad to the side.
    “Yes,” he says a bit sheepishly. “I hope you don’t mind.”
    “I have crucified you too many times for being sensitive to my emotions, haven’t I? You apologize almost every time you worry about my well-being,” I say. “Most people would be grateful to have someone who cares like you do.”
    “Our situation is different from most people’s,” George says, his eyes heavy like he hasn’t slept most of the night either. “I don’t blame you for sometimes trying to have some emotional privacy.”
    “Well, I think it’s only fair if I return the favor and ask after you. You look exhausted. Is everything all right?”
    George yawns, his eyes closing for a second like he’s about to pass out right here. “Yes, I’m fine. I want to know about you. Is it Joseph who has you so upset? I’ve felt a hurricane of emotion from you the last hour.”
    “I’ll tell you all about it, but you have to do something for me first,” I say, moving over to the other side of the bed.
    “Anything,” he says, swaying a little.
    “Come lie down here,” I say, patting the bed. “You look like you’re going to fall over.” George’s eyes slide to the bed and back to me. “Oh, get over here before I drag you onto this bed,” I threaten.
    A sly smile curls his mouth up slightly, but still he’s too tired for it to light up the rest of his face. Sluggishly he takes the spot next to me. I hand him an extra pillow. He grabs it, propping himself up.
    “Now tell me first why you look like a zombie,” I say. “Have you been off resurrecting ancient villains, because if so––”
    A tired chuckle falls out of George’s mouth. He closes his eyes and for a second I think he’s fallen asleep.
    “George?”
    “No villains,” he says, opening his brown eyes and turning his face to me. “I dream traveled last night to watch da Vinci paint the Mona Lisa .”
    “Oh. Is that all that has you looking so tired?”
    “Yes,” he says, an edge to his voice. “How did you spend that entire night following Bruce Lee around? I’m exhausted and couldn’t manage competing right now, like