Page 58 of Veil of Death and Shadow

Levi made a sound that was stuck somewhere between a laugh and a cough.

“Are you guys going to try being friends?” I asked. It wasn’t unusual, not for Sora. I didn’t know a single person who’dmanaged to stay mad at her for long, even when she broke their heart. She was just one of those people you did everything you could to keep in your life for as long as you could, even if that meant swallowing your pride.

“Maybe.” She shrugged. “She makes a mean spinach dip and she’s great at party games, so friendship isn’t off the table as far as I’m concerned.”

I snorted. “Give her some time to fall out of love with you and to make sure Becca’s cool with her stopping by the apartment. They’re exes, too, you know? We can’t all be as,” I thought for a moment, “evolved, as you.”

Levi took another sip of tequila, his expression somehow smooth, as if he was drinking water and not liquid fire.

“Maybe I can set her up with one of my friends. Fastest way to fall out of love with someone is to fall in love with somebody else.”

Levi chuckled again, the sound low and oddly melodious.

Sora studied him for a moment. “What about you? You ever been in love, Levi?”

He coughed, choking more at the question than he had at the booze, and handed the bottle back to her.

“Jesus, Sor.” I massaged my temples, feeling almost bad for the guy. Sora didn’t do subtlety; she saw no point in it. I turned towards him. “Feel free to ignore her. She does well with boundaries. Sometimes.”

He was quiet for a moment, then said, “No, I haven’t.”

“You should try it some time.” Sora sighed, leaning back. “I love being in love.”

I felt his stare on me. “And you?”

“Me, what?” I asked, tossing a twig into the water and watching the impact ripple.

The sky, a stretch of deep pinks and oranges, so vibrant it hardly looked real, was starting to darken.

“No,” Sora snorted, “Mars doesn’t even do romance, let alone love.”

I shot her a glare.

“What?” she shrugged. “It’s true. You’re all dark and moody and anti-love.”

“Not true.” I flicked some dirt at her. “I love you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and do you know how much work that took—worming my way into your life? Good god, I can’t imagine even rocket science being more difficult than that.” She leaned forward, turning towards Levi. “But fair point, I stand corrected. Mars loves me, but only because I forced her to. She otherwise acts like it's an affliction and refuses connection on any and all levels.” When I started to protest, she pressed her hand over my mouth. “She won’t even adopt a dog despite being obsessed with them.”

I licked her hand, and she tugged it back towards her chest with a half-disgusted, half-amused squeal.

“Well, we also couldn’t afford one. And it’s not like there’s room in Oleg’s studio for a single other thing.Wecan barely even fit in there.” I straightened my posture and shot her a look. “Some people might call the no pet rule a responsible choice.”

“Shut up.” She snorted. “You know that’s not why you have a no pet rule.”

Levi’s lips twitched, and I saw the light outline of a dimple from the corner of my eye. “Why would someone refuse love . . . or dogs?”

“Because,” Sora wiggled her brows, eyes dancing with mirth, “she’s cursed.”

“Sora.” I shot her a warning look.

“Well?” she pressed. “Do you deny it? Because if I’m wrong, tell me I’m wrong.”

Heat crept up my neck. Hopefully the shadows cast from the trees surrounding us were dark enough that my blush wasn’t obvious.

Other than Amto Amani, who’d vehemently opposed my developing theories about the death curse, Sora was the only one I’d ever voiced the fear to out loud. Partially because she’d been around for its resurgence in my adolescence and had witnessed the heavy weight of that guilt firsthand. How else could I explain the fact that my first girlfriend, at age thirteen—a sweet, brief romance in the way romance often was at that age—died from a heart issue, or that my first boyfriend, at age fourteen, died in a hiking accident less than three weeks after we started ‘dating.’ Safe to say that after that, I gained quite the reputation at our school.

And then of course, there was Rina—the death that struck deeper than all, save for Amto Amani’s. It burrowed into my chest, setting up a permanent residence there. Any lingering doubts I had about my curse disappeared entirely that night, even with Sora’s insistence that if I ever wereactuallycursed, that was the night it was broken. Since that night, she’d made it one of her lifelong missions to prove it to me.

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