Page 13 of Incurably Cupid

I frowned. “How do you two know each other? You’re in completely unrelated tech fields.”

Lance laughed. “Leo knows everyone.”

Leo, for once, remained silent. Humility? From Leo? Huh. “I see.”

I moved into Mesmer’s line of sight. He was gazing around Devotion with wide-eyed wonder. It was early morning, and the sky was a masterpiece of pinks, corals, and dusky purples, the clouds thick and puffy, close enough to touch. The grass here was the greenest anywhere, the air purer, the colors more vibrant. Being here was like switching from low resolution tohigh definition. At least, that’s what others said. To me, it was just normal. The real contrast was when I visited the mortal world.

“This is the Isle of Steadfast, and I reside in the city of Devotion.” I held up Leo. “This is Leo, my right-hand man. He’s a sentient tablet that can essentially do anything.”

Mesmer raised an eyebrow. “Is your tablet blushing?”

“He’s sensitive.”

Mesmer nodded, though he still looked skeptical.

“Okay, moving on. Lance is a fae-built wheelchair. More comfortable and ergonomic than a traditional one, he adjusts to match your frame and is even strong enough to transport you in rock form. He has a built-in GPS—even in the human world—so you just tell him where you want to go, and he gets you there while you rest. His magic-powered parts never need charging, and he’s fully sentient, which means he’ll make decisions in emergencies. If you’re too injured to think clearly, he’ll get you to safety and find help.”

“As mentioned before, he’s sentient,” I added, “so he might talk your ear off. Try to be patient. Sentient tech loves to work. They practically refuse vacation time.”

“I beg your pardon!” Leo huffed.

“Nah, man, she’s right,” Lance said. “You’re a workaholic.”

Leo blew a mechanical raspberry.

I ignored them. “Pick a spot in the distance and ask Lance to take you there and back. You need to get comfortable with him.”

Mesmer nodded, clearly exhausted. Dark circles shadowed his gray eyes, and his pallor had deepened. While he went off with Lance, I went inside to prepare his room.

Leo snickered as I fitted fresh sheets onto the new adjustable bed. “The fae engineers were losing their minds over this thing.”

I finished tucking the sheet in. “Hopefully not literally.”

“They’d never seen anything like it, so they had to go to the human world to study electric models before building a magic-powered one. Lila said they spent all dayoohingandaahingover it.”

Lila, the beverage machine in the fae engineers’ creation chambers, was a notorious gossip. Given her lonely post, I didn’t blame her.

When Mesmer returned, Lance wheeled him into the room, and I grabbed fresh towels. He eyed the bathroom warily. “Nothing in there talks, right?”

Lance, Leo, and I snickered. “No. It’s just your average beauty products, walk-in shower, commode, and towels.”

Mesmer nodded and yawned.

“Do you want to get cleaned up first? You can’t shower, but I can help wash your hair, and you can do a sink bath. You just have to keep your bandages dry.”

He ran his hands through his dirty hair and winced, looking wistful. “How would we wash my hair?”

“I can recline,” Lance offered. “I can back you up to the shower and then recline so your head is over the drain. There's a removable showerhead.”

“And this shower doesn’t have a bottom lip. It’s completely wheelchair-friendly,” I added.

Mesmer looked tempted but also uncomfortable. I guessed it was because he would need help with something he'd probably done a million times before.

“Feel free to say no, of course, but I think you’ll sleep better.”

Mesmer hesitated, then finally nodded. I quickly moved to turn on the shower, grabbed an empty water pitcher from the kitchen, then scooted past Mesmer and Lance to set everything on the counter. Once ready, Lance carefully backed into the bathroom, then reclined all the way, positioning Mesmer perfectly for hair washing.

Mesmer’s skin turned about two shades paler, and I winced in sympathy. This must be excruciating for him. “We’ll get you your pain meds after this. Leo,” I called into the next room, “can you order something to eat for Mesmer and me?”

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