“Shara,” Jareth said as he rushed toward me. His expression held panic and relief at the same time. “Shara, thank the Moon Goddess. I thought something had happened to you.”
He grabbed my hands. His palms were damp.
“I have been calling you for an hour. Why was your crystal communicator off? Where did you go?”
I blinked at him with innocent surprise.
“My communicator?” I said softly. “It must have run out of energy. I forgot to charge it last night. I am sorry. Did I make you worry?”
“Worry?” he said. “I was losing my mind.”
His eyes searched my face carefully, looking for anger or suspicion.
“Celene told me you came to the tower. Why did you not come to my office? I was in a meeting but I would have ended it for you.”
“I did not want to interrupt,” I replied calmly. “Celene looked very stressed and she said you were busy. I only came to leave the blueprints.”
“But where did you go after that?” he asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. “You were gone for hours.”
I paused.
I allowed the silence to stretch just long enough for his heart to race.
“Oh, something important came up,” I said casually. “I went to visit a lawyer for unbinding decree.”
The room fell completely silent.