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Chapter 13

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Oh, so people can just appear in my house now?

See, even as an extrovert, I have some reservations.

Alexios stares at me after I'm finished explaining that we've been invited to movie night, and he is a terrible son. Hand on my hip as I shove eggs around in a frying pan, I hiss, "I mean, seriously ? You've not been here for over a week. Why didn't you tell your parents you were going somewhere before ? Where even were you?"

Oop.

Well.

I guess I wasn't quite finished.

Wholly disinterested, Alexios lingers in the kitchen and drawls, "I was with Castor, helping him take care of Ash."

"And you didn't leave a note? I understand that you're a full-grown thing and even Meda goes off on little adventures now and again, but over a week of absence? Without telling anyone who cares about you ?" I snap. "What is wrong with you?" That line gets through to me, making my nerves pinch as my own tone echoes in the back of my head. I sound like my mother. The last thing I ever want to do is sound like my mother . Releasing a breath, I calm myself, rein in my tone, and say, "Kass and Pollux have been worried. You could have communicated better."

Bracing an elbow against the counter, Alexios arches a brow and murmurs, "What did you want me to say? ‘ Hey, Pollux and Kass, I'm heading to Castor's. Don't wait up. '?"

"Yes."

"Somehow, I don't believe that would have gone over well."

Huffing, I glare at him. "You're an adult faerie, aren't you?"

"Regrettably."

"That means you're allowed to make your own decisions, right? That means you get to say, hey, Mom and Dad, I'm going to go try drugs with some homeless friends in the back of a Walmart parking lot. It's not about whether it goes over well. It's about people who care about you knowing where you are in case they need to help. You have good parents. Act like it."

"In my defense, Alana knew where I was, and now everyone knows where I am, so you're really having a reaction to outdated information ." He smiles, and his stormy eyes crackle. "Are we having a lover's quarrel?"

"That would require us to be lovers, Xios." I dump the scrambled eggs onto a plate and hold it out to him.

His smile vanishes as he looks down. "No."

I shrug, snatch a fork, and grab the ketchup. Once I've covered my eggs in ketchup, Alexios stares at me like I just kicked a baby bat. I take a bite. "What?"

"I… Are you messing with me? What in the world did you just do to your food?"

I stab another lump and bring it to my lips. "This is a perfectly normal way to eat eggs."

"It isn't a disgrace to your family name?"

I pause chewing to shudder and remind myself that Kassandra is very silly for thinking Alexios and I are alike in any way. After all, she only probably knows the both of us better than anyone else who knows the both of us.

Stabbing another egg, I point my fork to his lips.

The man jerks back as though I have shot him with a gun.

Red floods his cheeks, making his pale skin appear ketchup smeared. "H-hold on," he stammers. "My heart. It's…" He fights for a breath as he plants his shaking hand over his chest, twining it in his clothes. Soft, he says, "It's reacting very poorly to this situation…"

"Do I need to do the airplane?"

His panicking eyes hit me.

I reel my fork back. " Nroom ."

Pain suffuses every last one of his pores. "Snowflake, please… Don't infantilize me when we're on the verge of an anime micro-trope."

Oh. So that's what's happening right now.

Unable to hold back my smirk, I say, " Aah ."

He swears, whips his back toward me, and braces himself against the counter. His long braid falls over his shoulder as he trembles.

I roll my lips into my mouth in an effort not to laugh at him. Whatever is going on in his body at the moment, it's probably physically painful to experience. Poor guy. I really shouldn't abuse him like this. "Are you going to experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity or what? My arm is getting tired."

A shaking finger rises. "W-wait just one second. I'm so conflicted."

"Five, four, thre—"

His mouth wraps around my fork, pulling the morsel off, and I get to watch the fireworks in his expression go from pop-it to super shell . A visible shudder barrels through him.

My mirth rises and overflows in ways that might suggest I am not a good person and God is not proud of me.

Alexios's eyes water. His mouth moves, then he's hunching over the sink. " Why is it spicy? " he croaks.

Laughter bursts out of me before I clamp my hand to my mouth and remember this is an actual, literal disorder, and I should be imprisoned. "Are…" I swallow the giggles committing mutiny in my chest. "…are you okay?" My eyes are watering now, too. I take a breath and repeat it's not funny, it's not funny in my head. But I am just really a rotten example of a human being. Can I blame the fae blood in me? Or…do I have to take responsibility for my own actions? Ew. "The tang is probably the vinegar in the ketchup?"

Eyes narrowed, he scrubs a dish cloth against his mouth and mumbles into it. "How are we soulmates?"

"Maybe we're like that one nursery rhyme with the thin husband and the fat wife. I forget their names. Rhymed with splat , I'm pretty sure."

He blinks, slow. Gathering himself enough to straighten while I merrily go about enjoying my after-school snack, he says, "That almost sounded like an acceptance to our having a future matrimonial relationship."

I bark a laugh. "No, no. Absolutely not. I would never marry someone who treats their mother so poorly without a good reason. And you can't have a good reason, because Kass is my friend and has never done a bad thing in her life."

"Have you not tortured me enough?"

I grin. "I dunno. Want another bite?"

"Cruel goddess of pain and suffering. With what offerings might I appease your infernal bloodlust?"

"Go to movie night and talk to your parents. I'll stay here and take care of baby."

He arches a brow. "And if they ask why you're not with me? I cannot lie. And if you give me lies to say, Pollux will catch on to my awkward language immediately."

I scoop up more eggs and ponder.

Alexios's nose wrinkles as he removes his gaze from me.

"Xios," I murmur, "have you eaten today at all?"

His gaze flicks to me, then off. "I ate yesterday."

"See, in these here parts, we call that a no to my question."

"This body will last weeks without sustenance so long as I suffer the sensation of imbibing fluid. I am almost growing used to it, you know? Water is…consistent. And cool. It staves off the hunger. I'm even gaining a grotesque appreciation for the way it moves down my chest and into my stomach."

Setting the rest of my food down, I grab a cup, fill it with water at the fridge, add a couple ice cubes, and take a gulp. My brows jump as the cool sensation rides down my throat and into my chest before landing like a ripple in my stomach. "My dear good brother in Christ, why are you paying that much attention to what happens after you swallow?"

"Are you suggesting there's a way to…to turn it off?"

"Have you not mastered dissociation?"

His mouth opens and closes. "I don't know if that's a good thing to master?"

"Well, frankly, sir, which is worse? A little bodily disconnect, or starving to death."

The darling proves that his origin story was Alana's depression with the way his contemplation takes several long moments.

" Xios ."

"Right. Sorry. The starvation seems worse. If encountered and at all possible, death should be swift."

I think I can answer my you good, bro for myself this time. No, no he is not.

"Here's what we are going to do, buddy," I state as I sip my water. "You are going to practice… swallowing and focusing on anything but how it feels…and I am going to order you enough protein shakes to make a bodybuilder cry. We'll find a brand you can tolerate. I'll get so rippin' buff on the ones you can't."

He snorts, covers his smile, and murmurs, "Careful. You might convince me you care."

"Care about not having to drag your corpse out of my living room? Yeah. What if you die upstairs ? You expect me to thump your head all the way down? What if your eyeball pops out? You expect me to pick up an eyeball ? With my bare hands ?" I snap my palm to my chest. "I am a fragile young lady."

He gives me a leisurely once-over.

Something sour rises on the back of my tongue.

He drags his attention away. "Forgive me. It seemed an invitation to perceive your…fragility, but your emotional response says otherwise."

Before my head and my heart can wrap around the extent of his consideration, a familiar voice speaks. "Razah. I was wond—"

Blurting a swear, I twist on my heel and plaster myself back against the fridge.

Perfectly chill in his ornate robes, Castor sits at my island counter, hands clasped on the granite. His head tilts, and his long white hair cascades like a waterfall to account for the action. "What?"

"You probably shouldn't just appear out of thin air like that, Castor," Alexios provides. "Human-raised creatures tend to be skittish."

I am not skittish.

Castor's lip juts. "Kass barely squeaked when I did it to her."

"Kass is mated to fear. Zahra is mated to me ."

Castor hums, tapping his thumbs together. Merciless, he says, "Anyway, Razah, I was wondering if you might help me get a cell phone. The Discord chat Wade mentioned the other day is of interest to me. I've spent the weekend contemplating it. Setting up a plan using any of the human funds Xios has access to would raise untoward questions." He smiles, displaying his fangs. "What joy you have also found financial success through the exploitation of your gifts online."

I have…no words.

None at all.

Oh wait. No. I found them.

"I know you aren't asking me to purchase a phone plan for you. I just bought a family car."

He says, "I fail to see the correlation."

"Yeah, 'cause you're blindfolded," I mutter.

His smile tips as he lifts his hand to the cloth around his head. "That is easily remedied."

"Ha ha." I sigh. "You don't even get signal in Faerie. What's the point?"

"If I sit close enough to a trod leading to the human realm, I get signal."

My shoulders droop. "The more you know…"

"There's a trod in my garden. I intend to put in a bench. It's been a while since I've woodworked."

Letting my tongue roam my cheek, I fix my eyes on Alexios.

Charming, he sweeps his gloved hand to his chest and bows. "I can inform Willow through message that you are charging me rent, then transfer the funds."

Castor gasps. "An excellent idea."

These people suck.

The deepness of my sigh portrays their suckiness in surround sound, I'm sure. "Xios, go get my laptop. Castor, have you had dinner?"

Castor's smile mutes as his lips part. "I…" He swallows, wets his lips. "No, Razah, I haven't."

I catch Alexios's soft smile as he locks his arms behind his back and meanders out of the kitchen. Firmly ignoring it, I ask, "How do you like your eggs, or are you also a problem?"

He frees a gentle laugh. "Could I…perhaps…trouble you for an omelet?"

"Fancy tastes. All right, mister. Toppings." I pop open my fridge. "I've got onions, baby spin…no, wait, that actually no longer looks edible. Um. Cheese. I have like fifteen different kinds of cheese, and, yes, that is an exaggeration." Cocking my hip against the door, I throw a look back at my unwanted guest. "Swiss, cheddar, colby, pepper jack. Turkey bacon and chicken. Onions. And, don't tell Xios, mushrooms."

"Swiss, chicken, and mushroom?"

Alexios reenters the kitchen with my laptop, and the smile he was wearing when he left vanishes. "What was that about mushrooms ?"

"Absolutely nothing." I get a can from the pantry after pulling out a carton of farm-fresh eggs I got from my neighbors. "How many eggs, Castor?"

Not gonna lie, I did not expect him to say ten .

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