Sentry of the Arcane: Befall

Chapter Sixteen: Fitz

For some reason, I wake up at 5:30 with a massive headache. Groaning, I wake up and take a quick shower. The cool water rid me of my headache, but it also reminded me of all of the things we had discovered about Fitton. How he left his wife for a job after being married for thirteen years- never divorced. How he crashed his car as a ruse three years ago. And how Arien still loved him.

After I finish my shower, I dry myself before changing into a steel blue, button down shirt with blue jeans. I let the first two buttons be undone and the back of my shirt untucked since I wasn't going anywhere where I was to dress formally. Slipping on some brown leather shoes, I make my way to the elevator. Inside, I press the button for the ground floor. I doubt anyone else would be awake at this time.

So when the elevator stops on Level 7, I frown in confusion. The doors open to let Benen enter, then close again, heading down to the ground floor. "I didn't think anyone would be awake this early," I comment.

Benen shrugs sheepishly. "Well, I just woke up early because I was thinking about-"

"Laurel?" I finish, smiling. I chuckle lightly when the male Altruistic nods, a blush slowly spreading across his face Sighing, I say, "I woke up because I had a massive headache. Luckily, it went away when I took a shower."

"That's good," Benen replies, nodding. After a moment, he asks, "Isn't Mrs. Goldberg- Susan- sleeping in the conference room?"

I take a minute to ponder that. "Oh yeah," I muse. "Maybe she's awake."

"Or still sleeping," Benen adds as we both step out of the elevator. We hear the elevator besides us opens, and we can't hide our shock when Donovan steps out.

"What?"

Benen shakes his head. "You're awake," he says.

I shake my head. "What he's trying to say is that we weren't expecting you to wake up this early," I explain.

Donovan shrugs. "I felt pretty rested, so might as well come down," he says. I nod as he joins us in our small walk to the conference room. "Wait," Donovan suddenly says, causing us to stop. "What if she's sleeping?"

"That's what we're trying to see," Benen tells him. He then turns to me. "Oh wait- can't you just track her thoughts to see if she's dreaming or if she's actually thinking about something?"

"I can try," I say before closing my eyes. But I only hear thoughts about Laurel and about how telepathy isn't real. Opening my eyes, I look to the both of them. "I can only hear your thoughts about Laurel-" I begin, pointing at a now blushing Benen. "And your thoughts about telepathy not being real," I add, pointing to a speechless Donovan. "And by the way, telepathy is real. Well, now it is," I add.

Donovan shakes his head. "Okay, that is seriously awesome! Can we use on people?"

"I'd rather not get in trouble," I say, earning a pout from the male Sovereign.

Benen furrows his eyebrows. "But that's only our thoughts," he says, voicing my realization.

I nod. "But that's what I sensed. Let me try a farther range," I suggest. Then I hear Sophie, Laurel, and Audrey's faint and mixed-up thoughts, so I assume that they're still dreaming. I then look at the two boys again. "The girls are sleeping," I begin. "But no sign of Susan."

"Maybe she isn't in the conference room," Donovan mutters, his hand on the conference room door.

Benen shrugs. "Do you want to try again?" he asks me politely.

I nod. Closing my eyes, I hear an unfamiliar male voice think, God, that took longer than it should've... But I practically jump in surprise when I hear the words, Someone's listening to me. And the thoughts go away.