Despite Ian's rush of panic, Rinn allowed herself the chance to scan the spacious compound. In the very center rested a training field while the circular hall housed rooms and the mess hall.

It was an amazing set up to be sure. And Ian ignored all of it. Rinn wondered how often he'd been to this gym. She also wondered if she'd get a chance to explore it. It was surprisingly clean despite resembling a mini city. Most couples they passed by consisted of one E to one Yule. A fighting set.

Something else interested her—the high volume of Colony officials or enforcers mucking about. Ian said he ran with crooks, but if this place was any indication, he might have been playing both sides. That was never a good idea.

Ian picked up speed, his grip on Rinn's hand tight and she used all her might to pull him to a stop.

He let out a wince, which was laughable considering his strength compared to hers, but complied.

"We can't stay out in the open," Ian told her.

But that was exactly what Rinn longed for. His behavior disappointed more than angered her.

"Eight years has passed. I just remember three of them being stuck in a little cell with you. No window, no means of escape. And sure as shit not other people not looking to do us harm." The woe in his expression hurt her as well. "Maybe for you it's five years, walking around free is five years, but I literally just woke up to this. It's night and day."

She barely recognized her own voice but that wasn't all she found unfamiliar. This man was Ian. Time and time again, she struggled with the Ian she knew before she opened her eyes to this transformed one. And the faint traces of him excited her but brought sadness as well.

This wasn't like him.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but I can't do any better. Not when Colony goons are giving you shit without my knowledge."

"I asked him for that shit so why does it matter? No one's out to get us!"

Ian's grip on her hand loosened. When he turned to face her, his scowl deepened. "What? You asked him for it? What about me? You could have asked me."

Rinn didn't believe she could. Finally, she shook her head. "I told you something's wrong." Rubbing her right arm, she confessed, "And you tell me it's in my head, Bas. How am I supposed to feel about that?" At his silence, she whispered, "Something's wrong with me. I feel weird."

A silence fell between them, despite the people passing them by, chatting a mile a minute.

Try as Rinn might, she couldn't read Ian's expression. When he stepped closer, framing her face in both hands, he leaned in and whispered, "You have to trust me. And it's me. It's your Ian. So you've got to believe me when I say you are fine. Ain't nothing wrong with you."

He was begging for her trust and she nodded. "I trust you."

But his voice was the only thing that seemed steady. His hands trembled. Once or twice, it seemed as if something surged through him.

A hand came down on Ian's shoulder as Red said, "What part of the words don't leave until we run some tests don't make sense to you?"

Ian glanced back at her and answered, "Spending time with Rinn's more important."

"We—"

"There's nothing you can do. Even if you would break the law for me. So...just please let me enjoy what time I have left."

While they squabbled, there was a commotion coming Rinn's way. Harris, flanked by Val and even Jan.

"He's lost it," Jan said. "He's finally lost it."

Once they reached Rinn, Harris pointed at her in triumph and told Val, "See?"

The E blinked at him. "See what?"

Harris sighed. "You're doing this on purpose. Trying to be contrary." When Val gave him no response, Harris turned to Rinn and asked, "Say my name one more time."

A hand shoved him as Ian turned his attention to them. "That's twice you've approached my woman directly."

His words caught Rinn by surprise. "Ian...."

Harris ignored the aggression and said to Val, "This is important. You've even said she's wearing an image. Right?"

Val looked between Rinn and Harris then shook her head. "I—I might have been off."

"Since when?"

"Well, what you're suggesting is impossible. Maybe everyone's just on edge. It's not every day someone off Colony comes into our domain."

Red caught wind of the conversation. "Has something happened?"

Harris answered, "Yes," but Val said, "No," at the same time.

The back and forth didn't last long before Rinn felt ill. She took one step toward Ian and he held her up.

"Whoa."

Rinn said, "I think I'm ready for that room now. And no, I don't want a checkup or otherwise. I just want to get away from everybody, at least till my head stops spinning."

Red started to answer, but Val raised her hands and smiled. "Look at them. Considering Tell's situation, I think some alone-time is best. This is cutesy Yule stuff, Ma. Let's go."

Rinn liked being referred to as a Yule—a normal Colony human with no extra abilities—far better than a Meek.

Val turned to walk away but paused. "Meek? Who called you a Meek?"

Her words made Rinn blink. And then Rinn felt stupid. She was around Elementals, empathic Elementals and Val was dressed in a uniform for Colony defenses—of course someone was constantly listening in.

Ian stepped closer but Rinn met the E's gaze and admitted, "The—the big thing...with the fangs."

"The imp," Red said. "I'm surprised he's old enough to know that word. He must have been an infant when the Meeks were driven out."

"Meeks?" Ian looked between them. "Care to fill me in?"

"The Meek shall inherit the earth. It's nothing, just a sadistic cult that died out. They were the ones to originally catch and bring E's to this island. After that, a bunch of poachers got together and tried to emulate their practices." At their blank stares, Val said, "Meek's just another way of saying Yule to imps, I guess."

Val turned her mother around and ushered her on without looking back.

Red still struggled, "But—"

"Come on. We'll get you some food."

That left Harris and Jan who lingered for a long while.

Harris stared Rinn down, unafraid. "If you're really what I think you are, you shouldn't be around people. You'll hurt someone. And then you'll hurt yourself. It's—"

"Say one more word," Ian told him, stepping to block Rinn from view, "and I'll open you up."

The standoff was insane on many levels. This was Harris. The Harris. He was the most well-known enforcer in the Colony next to Met for no reason.

Getting between them was equally stupid so Rinn rubbed In's back instead, praying he wouldn't make any sudden movements and get pummeled to the ground for the threat alone.

Harris held his gaze, despite their height difference. When he broke the stare to glance at Rinn once, he met eyes with Ian again and marveled, "Do you know what she is? Do you have any idea what she is?"

Ian took one step and Jan jumped between them.

But while she was vocal in begging for them to stop, Rinn pressed her forehead to Ian's back. What did Harris see that no one else did? And could he explain this hollow feeling that had started suddenly?

"She's harmless," Ian said finally. "You're mistaking her for somebody else. I can explain it and I'll figure it out and I'd appreciate it if you'd all stay out of my business."

After a long bout of silence, Harris let out a heavy sigh. "You have no idea what you're stepping into—"

"Correction. I don't give a flying fuck. Back off."

Eons passed before Harris motioned for Jan to follow him and they walked away. Rinn tried to get her body to respond but her joints locked up. Ian made no mention of it when he looped his arm around her waist and guided her down the hall.

He had no trouble taking her to a room. Rinn made her way to the open door but Ian didn't step inside. Eyes fixed on the ground, Ian told her, "I'll be out here. Get some rest."

Rinn caught hold of his arm before he could walk away. "Hey. What?"

He kept his head hung. "It's—I shouldn't be with you in a tight space right now. So just rest there where I know you'll be safe."

So there was something—something he wouldn't say.

Despite the sincerity in his voice, Rinn was adamant. "You're coming with. Why are you acting like you're on your last lap on a rollercoaster that's about to derail?"

Ian shook his head but Rinn wasn't having it—she refused to let go.

Once he stepped inside and the door closed, Rinn pulled him close into a vice hug. They remained like that for ages. His stead heart beating against hers was heaven.

Yesterday—or five years ago, whatever, a situation like this with pain-in-the-ass Ian was impossible but now she couldn't imagine it any other way.

"Rinnie," Ian muttered, "you're kinda hurting me."

The absurdity of that joke made her step back. She expected a smirk but the man's anguish looked genuine.

Ian regarded her at a loss but Rinn was the one who felt hurt. It felt like a lifetime since she'd seen that face last. So when Ian stepped closer and held onto her instead, she melted into the embrace.

It wasn't much of a domicile. The single bed was small but on the opposite wall a long shelf that doubled as a desk extended from one end of the room to the next. They eventually sat at the two chairs there.

Rinn held Ian's face, taking him in. She couldn't get a smile out of him. She also couldn't get a hold of his hands—he kept slipping from her grip.

The stillness of the room washed over her, taking all traces of her previous anxiety. In that moment, she felt guilty. Till now, her focus had been herself—on her own unease. Never mind poor Ian. In the three years they'd known each other, he'd gone from one bout of trouble to the next. The fact that he could make it five years, and not just on his own, but while caring for her, humbled her on many levels.

"You look healthy," she said. "But it's like I blinked and you transformed."

Ian rarely met her gaze. "This is the kind of greeting I wished we had before. I...I'm glad you're feeling better. Y—you're feeling better, right?"

"I'm all right." Rinn answered. A red speck on his temple drew her focus. "What's this?"

Ian caught her hand and rubbed it off.

Rinn still watched the digit, awed. "Was that blood? Ian, are you bleeding?"

"No. Not...not me."

He struggled to respond and Rinn sighed. "Another fight?"

His silence was all the answer she needed. She finally understood the suit.

"Lost and found?"

Ian's look of woe and embarrassment made Rinn regret her words.

"Tell you what," she said, "that's a shower, isn't it?"

Whatever public one Ian'd gone to must have had a limited water allotted. Rinn looked up and around. What she found on the ceiling satisfied her. A structure like this, one run by actual Elementals must have had more than enough water.

"Hop in and I'll wait for you," she promised.

Ian set his mouth to protest.

"Or should I keep picking stuff outta your hair?"

Mouth shut in record time, Ian stood and made his way to the room in question. An hour later, they sat before one another, though Ian refused to meet her gaze. He hunched as if he was trying to shrink down somehow.

Each attempt she took at holding his neck or face came with a gaze of longing so she couldn't understand why he kept pulling his hands away.

From what she could gather from his mutterings, during her five years of sleep, he did odd jobs here and there, mostly with underhanded people. As unbelievable as that sounded, she decided to force herself to trust all he said.

But how did he pay for her? Had he rented a medical room all five years to provide food to a listless body? What about muscle atrophy? How did one as broke as Ian appeared, afford to keep a comatose person alive in his apartment for five whole damn years? Now wasn't the time to ask but she longed to.

Ian flinched often—rarely could he remain still. She took it for his hyper personality but it was something else and the fact that she couldn't figure out what it was scared her.

This prolonged quiet wasn't like him. Something was wrong.

"You okay?" Rinn asked.

Eyes still fixed on the counter, Ian shook his head. "Right as rain."

But he looked about ready to cry.

Rinn timed it, almost down to the very second her friend rubbed his face to keep his distress at bay.

"Ian—"

"I'm fine," Ian shouted.

That meant he wasn't fine. It also meant it'd take a lot to get the information out of him.

He surprised her by saying, "I caused someone's...someone's injury today."

Rinn pulled the chair closer. Once she took hold of Ian's shoulder, he hunched over.

"It's my fault."

The fight. Eyes closed, Rinn tugged him by the arm. It wasn't all that surprising when he nearly fell against her.

"Ian...." This, at least, was familiar. "What are you doing, Bas? I told you to lay off. And if you're not going to, then accept that some people get hurt."

Ian buried his face in her throat, shivering.

With a whisper, Rinn held his face then his shoulder and soothed, "You're going to have a panic attack if you keep this up. Come on."

Two strong arms gripped her around the waist and Rinn held on.

"Okay," Rinn soothed because she was at a loss. In the blink of an eye, five years had passed. Ian went from a beanpole to this gladiator.

Despite his size, not much else had changed about him with how he reacted to making a mistake. He slid from the chair, kneeling with his face in her lap.

Rinn rubbed his back, praying he'd stay calm. There were a number of factors in play as of this moment. One of them was Ian's claustrophobia

She looked up and around and concluded that it was contributing to his anxiety.

It took another ten minutes for Ian to let her go.

"Bassy," Rinn crooned, "what are you doing to yourself? Come on. We're all right now. Come on, you big baby. Get up."

"There's so much I have to tell you," Ian confessed. "And none of it is good."