Page 57 of Veil of Death and Shadow

Luxurious waves of hair that bled from black to gray. Dark, unreadable eyes. And lips that—well, they were fucking perfect. And I knew for a fact that they tasted perfect too.

Mareena.

My new charge.

Which made her officially off limits, and me officially screwed.

This was going to be fecking agony.

9

MAREENA

Approximately Nine Years Ago, Three Years Before The Undoing

Our short bus to Fremont and the following ten-minute walk to the canal was stilted and awkward on my part, though Sora worked her magic and ate through most of the silence.

She detailed her short, dramatic breakup—unsurprisingly, Penny didn’t take the news about us moving in with her ex well—and then spent most of the time running through color palettes and decor options for the new apartment.

Levi, though quiet, didn’t seem disinterested, and he did a decent job of offering opinions whenever Sora shoved pictures of various rugs and art prints under his nose. None of them, of course, were items we could actually afford, but Sora loved digital window shopping.

By the time we reached our favorite spot on the canal—between two thick trees that were perfect for setting up a hammock, my earlier tension about Sora trying to force something romantic between me and Levi had eased. She wasgood at making friends, and maybe that was all she was hoping for from this evening—a distraction from Penny. By her estimates, one person out of our life probably just made room for another to enter.

There was a cool breeze coming off the water, and we stood there for a moment, watching as a family of ducks and a kayaker drifted past us.

“It’s beautiful here,” Levi said.

“It is.” I sat down on a smooth, dry patch of dirt, and let my legs dangle over the side of the ledge, feet hovering above the soft current.

The canal was a long, narrow stretch that connected the lake downtown with Puget Sound.

My favorite part of Seattle—and one of the reasons Sora and I chose it in the first place—was that it was nearly impossible to find a neighborhood that wasn’t a short trip from the water. When I closed my eyes and focused on the smell of salt in the air, I could almost feel myself back with Amto Amani, the memory of her salt-and-pepper hair in the wind as we collected rocks along the shore suddenly vivid and clear.

“Best city in the world, didn’t I tell you?” Sora plopped down on my left and took another long pull from the bottle before shoving it into my hands. “You lucked out finding us when you did you know—we can show you around. We’ve gotten pretty good at scavenging up cheap and free stuff to do in the city. At the very least, we can save you time going through the trial-and-error period.”

Sora had a habit of spotting and befriending strays. We had a difficult first few months when we moved here, and she seemed convinced to make sure others had it easier.

“So,” I took a small sip as Levi sat down on my other side, trying to ignore the gentle pressure of his arm against mine andthe way it shot warmth through my body like a lightning bolt, “I take it you’re not from around here then?”

He shook his head. “Just passing through.”

“Where’s home?” I passed him the bottle, glancing out of the corner of my eyes as he pressed his mouth to the glass and took a swig.

“I don’t know.” He shrugged, something unreadable in his expression. “Is that weird? I’ve kind of lived all over the place.”

“No, not weird.” I’d moved a lot over the years, and each time, it felt like that feeling of home had to be rebuilt. It was often very grueling work. “Sometimes home isn’t a place.”

Mine had always been people. First, home was with Amto Amani in her cottage by the water. And then, eventually, it just became Sora. Still was, regardless of where we ended up crashing.

"Damn right,” she said, her shoulder bumping playfully against mine. “How long are you planning to stay?"

He considered for a moment as he watched a duck dip its head beneath the water for some food. “Not sure yet. I’m in the area for a work thing."

“Well then, you’ll absolutely have to come to our housewarming party if you’re still in town,” she said.

“I think we should sign a lease and move in before you send out invitations,” I said, though I couldn’t help but grin. Her excitement was contagious. We were this close to getting out of Oleg’s shed and building the life we’d been dreaming about for years.

“Yeah, yeah.” she scrunched her nose, glancing at me from the corner of her eyes. “You think I should invite Penny?”

---