The silence stretched uncomfortably. Laura could feel her cheeks burning.

"Did you two have a productive night?" Nikolai asked with a slight smile.

Laura nearly choked on her own spit. "We were researching."

"Is that what they're calling it now?" Dante muttered into his food.

"Dante," Zephyr warned.

"What? I'm just saying." Dante finally looked up, his red eyes intense. "Some of us might have been worried about where you disappeared to."

"We were in the research tent all night," Laura said. "Working on understanding the curse connection."

"All night?" Lucian's voice was quiet, but there was an edge to it.

Laura felt like she was being interrogated. "Yes."

"And...