Page 6 of The Daughters of Nyx

“And you hate it.” Thea cracked two eggs in the pan, followed by three spoonful’s of pesto. “It’s not worth it.”

What she didn’t know was that I’d been trying to save for a deposit on a café. It was why we worked our asses off doing jobs we hated.

The dream was a bookstore that stocked indie and second-hand romance novels that doubled as a timeless café and bakery for Thea. It was the reason I’d been stuck with this dead-end job that’s exhausting, and why I worked my butt off to publish four books a year—more if I could.

“I don’t want to risk it, especially with the rent on this place. I don’t want to leave you high and dry.”

Thea looked up from the eggs with a knowing smile. “Did you go and read your two-star reviews again? Because I swear togod—”

I couldn’t help but laugh, shaking my head. Finishing the coffee with a half-assed latte-art heart, I dumped the now-empty milk jug into the sink and leaned back against the

counter, cupping the warm mug between my hands. “It’s not that. It’s…” I pressed my lips into a line.

Other than working a job I hated and trying to save, there’d been something elseoffabout me. A restless feeling that seared my blood and twisted something in my chest. Like there was something I should be doing, something I shouldknow. It had become a nagging feeling, sitting on the tip of my tongue, and yet I couldn’t placewhy.

I didn’t want to sound crazy, so I didn’t say that to Thea. Though, after our psychic fiasco last week, I wasn’t sure if that was entirely possible.

It wasn’t just the nightmares now. It wasmore.

“Alright,” she said, flipping the eggs before taking them off the heat. The bagels popped out of the toaster and she made a face as she pulled them out and set them onto two plates. “Are you behind on that fancy schedule again?”

“No, it’s not the schedule or the reviews.” I took a plate as she flipped one of the pesto-eggs onto the waiting bagel. “I think I just need like a day or two to catch up on sleep.”

Thea rounded the side of the island, eyes narrowed. My best friend wasn’t stupid. She was one of the smartest people I knew. A mastermind in the kitchen, especially when it came to her baked goods.

But the weirdness of the dreams and everything else…she didn’t need to know about that.

“And anyway, I have that writing retreat planned for this weekend, remember? I’ll catch up on all my work then.”

Thea gave a slight shake of her head. “Whatever you say, babes. Whatever you say.”

~

A brisk wind picked up strands of my dark hair and whipped it around my face as I left the lobby of our apartment building. Beside me, Thea made a face as the sky above us darkened.

She wrapped her arms around herself with a frown. “I miss summer.”

I laughed. “No, you don’t. You hate sweating in the kitchen, remember?”

Thea made another face and said something under her breath as Mr. Owens, our neighbour, brushed past with a brown moving box.

“Are you leaving?” I asked as he stopped beside a truck parked out front of the building.

He looked up with wide, furious eyes. “I’ve been released from my lease,” he spat, shaking his head. “Apparently I no longer represent the values of this building.”

Thea and I shared a look. Either it had something to do with the cigarettes he smoked inside his apartment, or the lovely women he brought home every Friday night. Mr. Owens was in his late-sixties, though he could pass off as eighty, and although we’d tried to be good neighbours—dropping off fresh meals once a week, offering to help clean the apartment, even taking his groceries up the five flights of stairs when our elevator was out of order—he’d rebuffed all our efforts with a snarl or a weathered, mean look.

I should be sad to see him go. But I wasn’t.

“We’re so sorry to hear that,” Thea said, though her voice was monotone and she looked anywhere but the huge,

scandalous painting of a naked woman leaning against the side of the truck. “We should get going now. Goodbye, Mr. Owens!”

Thea linked our arms as we hurried away from Mr. Owens and his mess. When we were far enough out of earshot, I snickered. “We’re so sorry to hear that?” I asked. “Since when do you lie?”

“Since I don’t want that old bastard to haunt us once he kicks the bucket,” she replied, laughing as we turned down one of the many busy Forthampton streets.

I slammed into a hard body. The impact almost put me on my ass, and if it weren’t for Thea still being at my side, our arms locked, I would have fallen back onto the cold sidewalk.

---