Victoria took a couple deep breaths once Illyad left. She pulled her hands from her hair and sat up a bit straighter. Her brows furrowed when Alex’s voice reached her from the kitchen. [i]Speakerphone?[/i] 
	[b]“Hey.”[/b]
	Victoria jumped to her feet and spun around, her heart racing at the sudden reminder of the existence of portals. She looked at Alex for a short moment before the reason she had agreed to see him replaced her surprise and his simple greeting sunk in.
	“‘Hey?’” she started softly, her voice growing stronger as she continued, the pang of knowing what he was keeping her on edge. “After everything that’s happened today, the best you could come up with is [i]‘hey?’[/i]” Not wanting to look at him any longer, to see what he was and had hidden from her for so long, she cast her gaze to the floor, keeping only his feet in her sight.