When we arrived back in Marston, the sun had set. Whatever that phone call had been about had set Valen on edge.

I had never felt this sort of tenseness from him before.

Other than his default calm and collected demeanor, I’d seen him irritated with my chatter at most. Even his outburst when he’d discovered me and Bethany had seemed somewhat controlled. The closest he’d come to this reaction was when he’d gotten the call that had interrupted our first meeting. ...