Page 44 of Caelum

Ah, that explained his mood.

I turned to Nestor, who said, “Lorelei.”

Wow. In just that one word, I had my answer. My mouth started watering and not for fries. Squeaking, “I’d never have guessed,” my cheeks burned when the three of them chuckled.

“You’ve never been around a male Lorelei, have you?” he rasped, making everything deep inside me quiver. Things that I didn’t even know could move.

Wow.

“Well, not really. I guess they must have been around me here, but you know no one speaks to me.”

It wasn’t a complaint, and it sure as heck wasn’t one now considering the punch he packed when he spoke.

But I frowned at the other two. “You must have had a Lorelei day.”

Stefan and Eren shrugged. “We shielded you from it.”

“Why?”

“Because you weren’t ready to hear it,” Stefan reasoned.

“And I am now?” I wasn’t sure why they’d think that.

“Yes. You’re adapting to life here.”

I was? Okay, I was getting used to the day-to-day routine, but adapting was a strong word.

I barely understood what people were saying, and though I was reading through the class material as fast as Mjolnir traveled when Thor called his hammer home—the boys had a thing about Marvel movies—I was still in the dark about most things. At least, I thought I was.

Rather than argue with them because I’d seen how testy the HellHounds could be—I knew from my own personal experience that as a mild-mannered person, when that mood hit me, I could ram my fist into the wall—I instead questioned, “Eren? What are you today?”

“Were.” That was Eren, ever short and sweet. He didn’t say much, but he watched. Hard. Sometimes I thought I was far more interesting than the blood and guts that were always spilling in the movies they insisted on watching.

The first time? I’d sobbed at the sight. Now after two weeks of two movies a day? I was gradually getting used to seeing people’s insides.

“Why don’t you and Stefan go work out together instead of watching movies? You know you’ll both feel better.”

Stefan murmured, so close to my ear that I was grateful today wasn’t his Lorelei, “Are you trying to get rid of us?”

I gaped at him. “No. I’m trying to make you feel better.”

He smirked at me. “Don’t worry about that. Just being with you puts me at ease.”

“It does?” I half-squeaked that, biting on my lip when the others started snickering at me.

“It really does.”

“You’re surprisingly good for our moods,” Nestor stated, his tone matter-of-fact.

I’d noticed little things about all of them like that. How Nestor was usually reasonable and how Eren wouldn’t use three words if he could get away with saying two.

Mostly, I picked up on this because I let them interact around me without having much to say. Not because I wanted to stay on the outskirts of their conversation, but because I had no choice. I felt as though I were still speaking English while they conversed intongues. It was very hard picking up on their meanings when they used so many phrases that we’d just never used back at the compound.

“Well, I’m glad I am. But I don’t think I do anything,” I admitted, not about to take credit for something I hadn’t done.

Stefan squeezed my arm. “Sometimes you don’t need to say or do anything, but being there helps.”

Because I understood that sentiment, I didn’t argue. Instead, I settled back and watched the movie on the screen. I was getting used to never watching the beginning or the end because invariably, someone called us away before the movie finished or I came into a room after it had started. Surprisingly enough, it didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the stories.

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