Greykin Valley

| 64 | A Long-Awaited Call

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| Sebastien |

There was a whole shitstorm to report. Kane was still alive out there somewhere, they'd liberated Lumi, Kane was farming humans, and Jackson attacked Raphael, a crime which usually resulted in death or time in Daevor. But before all that...Sebastien needed to see if Clementine was okay.

When they got back to Reiner Manor, Sebastien took his mirror out of Jackson's bag and left Raphael to lead him, Wilson, and Damon to wherever Cyrus was debriefing everyone. He headed upstairs and navigated the long, winding halls until he found an empty bedroom; once inside, he closed and locked the door, and then he slumped down on the barren mattress.

His heart raced in his chest as anxiety enthralled him tightly. A part of him was too afraid to make contact in case he heard something that he wasn't ready to hear. But if he didn't reach out...he might never know if his mate was okay. So he tapped the small rune on the back of the mirror and watched it fade to black.

He waited....

And waited....

And just as he was about to let his worry consume him, the mirror flashed and lightened up, revealing a gloomy bedroom lit by a single lamp.

"Clem?" he immediately asked.

Clementine moved what must be a small hand mirror up until his face was entirely visible. He smiled and said, "Hey."

"Are you okay? Did something happen?"

"Calm down, Sebastien," he drawled tiredly. "I tried calling when I landed, but you didn't answer. I assumed you were busy with something out there."

He exhaled deeply and tried his best to relax. After taking a few seconds to examine Clementine's surroundings, he realized that his mate was actually in a hotel room. The white and gold-patterned walls were familiar to him, as were the silk sheets and the Balaur Blană bathrobe hanging on the wall to his right. He was staying at the Underground Royal, one of the safest places anyone could be right now.

"Sorry," he said with a sigh. "I was a bit caught up, yeah." He didn't want to tell him that he'd been a prisoner for the past few days and had just had to fight a wolf walker turf war. Clementine had a lot on his plate right now.

"Everything okay? Where are you?"

"Uh...well, I'm at the Ascela manor."

Clementine frowned strangely. "Reiner Manor?"

"Yeah. We bumped into Cyrus and his guys along the way." He shuffled back and leaned his shoulder against the wall. "So, how's the Underground looking these days? Been a while since I was there."

With a shrug and a sigh, Clementine laid down and held the mirror above him so that Sebastien could still see his face. "Different than it was the last time I was here. There's skyscrapers...and cars instead of horses and carriages. Oh, and they have a Deiganish restaurant down on Holland Street, so I was thinking I'd order dinner from there or something."

Sebastien smiled fondly. "Are you comfortable? They better not have stuck you in economy."

He laughed a little and shook his head. "First class, baby."

The kludde laughed with him.

"I might've gotten the penthouse, but I heard Zoe and Zerenity were up there."

"Even if they weren't, you'd still be in first class. The Reiners keep those penthouses empty in case they ever need them."

"Well, I can dream, I suppose."