Chapter 17

"Did you know Eli is here?"Miles glances at Arabella.

Shock ripples over her expression. "He is?"

I glance back toward the cafeteria and see Kellan headed toward us. My pace slows, and I let them walk ahead while I wait for him to catch up.

"Did you see him?" I ask the second he stops beside me.

"Yeah." His gaze is locked on the retreating figures of Arabella, Miles, and Ivan as they enter the dorm building.

"She didn't know he was coming."

"He knows she's here."

I tilt my head at the confidence in his voice. "How do you figure that?"

"Because there's no way he would set foot in this place without her."

He moves toward the building, and I fall into step beside him. We don't speak again until we're inside. People mill around—there are lots of familiar faces in the crowd.

"They put everyone in their old rooms."

"That's fucked up." Kellan floats upward. "I'm going to see what Miles is doing."

Drifting up through the floor beside him, we arrive in a dorm room just as the door swings open.

Miles enters first, and looks around nervously. "This used to be home sweet home."

The older man behind him scans over the interior, his expression cautious. "Da, it's just how I imagined it."

"We can push the beds together."

"Which one was yours? When you lived here."

"The one by the window."

Kellan stands in the center of the room, watching as Ivan enters the room and closes the door behind him. His gaze moves to Miles.

"Have you already forgotten about me?" He reaches out, but his hand goes through Mile's jaw.

"It's been years for them." I remind him.

"He looks older."

"They all do. He's twenty-eight."

He shakes his head. "I never noticed with Eli. He looks the same to me."

"Because you are with him most of the time. You haven't seen Miles since your funeral."

Kellan swallows, and licks his lips. "He watched me die."

I reach out and squeeze his shoulder gently. "I know."

Scrubbing a hand over his face, he sighs and turns his attention to the other man. "I guess this is Ivan."

"From the conversation I overheard, he's Russian, rich, and owns a bunch of art galleries."

"Hmmm." He walks in a circle around the other man. "I suppose he's good-looking, if you like older men." He turns to the desk beside the window. Energy prickles around him, and with a flick of his wrist, he sends the chair toppling onto its side.

Miles jumps. "What the hell was that?"

Ivan spins in the direction of the sound but shows no sign of being flustered by it.

"Kellan." My tone is a warning.

"What?"

"Scaring the shit out of them isn't going to make you feel better."

"You don't know that. It might."

"You don't want to hurt Miles."

"He could do a whole lot better. Maybe I'll just possess his lover instead, and remind him of what he's missing."

The older man walks over to the chair and puts it back in position. "The leg must be unstable."

Miles gives a little laugh. "Yeah. Of course."

"There are no ghosts here," Ivan continues. "It's your memories making you twitchy."

Kellan snorts. "Oh, you have no fucking idea." He focuses on the blinds and they shoot up.

I roll my eyes. "We're supposed to concentrate on Arabella and Eli, not prove to your ex's fiancé that we exist."

"But this could be so much fun."

"Kellan!"

"Okay, Okay. I'll just watch them fuck tonight instead."

I punch his arm.

"Fine! But when I find my way back, he's going to pay for cheating on me with someone old enough to be his dad."

Ivan moves up behind Miles, wraps his arms around his waist, and hugs him from behind. "I'm here if you want to talk."

Miles closes his eyes and nods. "I know."

"You loved Kellan."

He stills beside me, his eyes intent on the couple in front of us.

"With all my heart."

"It must hurt to be here."

"Yes." Opening his eyes, Miles turns around and presses his face into Ivan's chest. "But I need to say goodbye to him properly. You're right about that. It's time for me to let him go."

"Fuck." Kellan huffs out a ragged breath. "I'm going to find Eli."

I turn my head to answer him, but he's already vanished.