Page 107 of Veil of Death and Shadow

"Kinky,” I teased. “To be fair, I did consider going that route, but when I suggested it to Sora, she made the very good point that if we really wanted to keep the location a secret, we would need to murder you and then dispose of your body, which wouldmake the entire tedious process far more work than it was worth."

Levi grunted and when I spun around to face him, the reason for it was immediately clear.

Sora had attached herself to him, her arms stretched around his waist in one of her signature hugs. The kind that made breathing a thing of the past.

For being so tiny, she had one hell of a grip.

"You came," she squealed. "I'm Sora, though apparently we already met and spent half the night together a while back.” She glanced up at him with a devilish smirk. “Tequila really must have worked her magic that night—you don’t even look vaguely familiar."

"What now?" Rose, one of Sora's cosmetology friends, asked from the living room, her voice filled with indignation.

Levi's eyes bulged wide as they met mine, his discomfort palpable.

"Nothing nefarious," I shouted back. "We hung out, Sora blacked out on tequila, we parted ways."

"Thank you," Levi mouthed, awkwardly patting Sora on the top of her head like he wasn't quite sure what to make of her—almost like she was a feral animal that terrified him. It was, perhaps, the most normal reaction to someone like Sora I’d ever seen.

True to his word, Levi and I hadn't really spoken in months. Last time he was in town, I had a shift at Mac’s, and while he stopped by for dinner and to check in, it had been a particularly busy night, so we weren’t able to catch up much. This afternoon had been the first I’d heard from him since then, and I’d already committed to making an appearance at Sora’s get together.

Surprisingly, he wanted to come. Said he’d never been to a proper house party before, though I wasn’t sure what exactly made a house party a proper one.

At the time, I thought he was kidding, but judging by the clear discomfort etched into every line of his body, his expression devoid of its usual snark, I was inclined to believe he’d been telling the truth.

Where he’d appeared so smooth and composed while teaching me how to throw a punch, he seemed way less at ease around larger groups.

Made total sense now why I’d spotted him lurking alone at the bar both times I’d seen him in the wild. Maybe he hadn’t been kidding before—maybe he really was as much of a loner as I was.

Which meant that he was probably even less used to friends than I was—something I would have never guessed possible.

"Let's get you a drink, shall we?” I asked, making my way over to Sora's puke-green mixture.”

“Yes, please.”

I scooped him out a ladle’s worth, then doubled it. He'd need some liquid courage to survive the mental stamina of this group.

Sora had these party nights once a month, and I usually made excuses to avoid them at all costs, sometimes even begging Chase to schedule me on those nights so I’d have an easy out. When that didn’t work, I usually dipped out of the center of things after an obligatory hour or two and holed up in my room with a book until everyone took off.

Her friends were nice, but they were almost all extroverts, which meant that I was generally exhausted for days after they left.

Sora peeled herself from Levi's side and made her way back to the party where people were arguing rather animatedly about which game they should play next.

"Thanks." Levi held the questionable liquid to eye level, like he was trying to manufacture the courage to take a sip.

"It's best if you don't overthink it and just drink," I said, taking a giant gulp of mine and wincing openly now that Sora wasn't here to see. "She takes great pride in her concoctions, but they are?—"

"Not good,” he hissed, smacking his lips. "I didn't even know you could make alcohol taste like that."

"We all have our gifts. Be careful though—a few glasses of that will hit you out of nowhere. So," I studied him, my own growing buzz making it difficult to suppress the smile stretched across my face, or my general excitement that he was here, “how've you been?"

“Still alive.” He took another sip and shot me a smug look over the rim of his glass. "I guess that means your friendship hasn't killed me yet."

“Well,” I smirked, "the night is still young."

“Guess you and Sora will have to figure out how to dispose of my body anyway then.”

"Hey Mars." James, a guy who worked in the back at Mac's, walked into the kitchen. He had on a mustard-colored beanie that made his light brown hair curl around the brim. "Never Have I Ever or King's Cup? We can't decide."

Levi stiffened slightly at the nickname, his brows pinched in question as he shot me a teasing look and mouthed “Mars?” silently when James wasn’t looking.

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