Page 64 of Luca

I was honestly ready to crawl out of my skin, and despite Cair’s extremely thorough sponge baths, I needed to feel hot water scalding away the lingering stench of death. Now that I’d regained control of my physical and mental self, I’d realized dying hadn’t made me fear it happening again. Not really. It may have been an “unexpected” trauma response, especially for someone who supplied the anxiety at every event, but the incident had given me a better outlook on life, a newfound appreciation and desire to get up and actuallylive. The first couple of days, yes, I’d admit, I’d needed to self-regulate, to work on the nightmares creeping in whenever I closed my eyes and rebuild the strength that I’d lost, but now… enough was enough. I needed stimulation.

I needed to not be so fucking cramped.

Or alone.

A playful knock sounded at the door, jolting me from my thoughts. My brow furrowed when neither Cair nor Zadok entered. I slotted my bookmark in between the pages I’d been reading—a dull section on the don’ts of pyromancy—before setting the tome on the side table. On top of the other two books I’d already read today.

“Come in,” I called as I sat up straighter.

Surprisingly, Gary’s cheery face peeked around the door. He was the last creature I’d expected. Except maybe Cee. “Hey, boss,” he said, bounding in with a tray balanced precariously in his hands. “I brought you some, er… Actually, I haven’t a clue what it is. Your da’s not much of a chef, but he tried his best.”

I smiled. “Thank you. I’m sure it’ll taste fine.”

He trotted over, placing the tray in my lap before proceeding to plonk himself down at the far end of the bed, propriety non-existent. I was stunned for all of two seconds. It was Gary; he did what he wanted. I wasn’t mad about it.

“So…” he said after a moment. “You died, huh? What was that like?”

I damn near choked on my first mouthful of possibly-stew.

And it in fact did not taste fine. It was inedible, but that was beside the point. “You don’t waste any time with small talk, do you?”

He shrugged. “Small talk’s boring. Why ask you how you are or if you’re enjoying the weather when I know the answer’ll be‘Well, I died, so uh, how the fuck do you think I am?’or‘I haven’t left this room in a week and don’t know if it’s raining or shining, so take a wild guess.’Might as well skip to the fun stuff.”

I had to say, his impression of me was a little off, but I couldn’t exactly argue with his logic. I hated small talk too. “Well, I suppose dying itself wasn’t actually that bad,” I said, indulging him. “I felt pretty shitty leading up to it, but the two minutes before my eyes closed? Total peace. It was as if everything was right in the world, and for that split second, I was happy to go. Waking up was the worst part. Not because I didn’t want to—of course I wanted to—but it hurt like hell.”

“Oh?”

“Apparently, my da—Zadok—used his magic to try drawing out the poison. When that didn’t work, he attempted some ancient spell that was supposed to transfer a fraction of Cair’s life force to me, but it sent me into a fit instead.Then, to top it all off, I was electrocuted.” I huffed lightly. “I might not have felt it at the time, but when I woke up, it was as if I’d been hit by a bus.”

His head tilted. “Bus?”

“Oh, like a horse, but bigger, and made of metal.”

He blew out a long breath. “Well, shit.”

I nodded. “I think my magic manifesting was probably the sole reason I didn’t plead for death again. It seemed to work like a really strong painkiller.”

“That, and seeing your mate again.” He wiggled his not-really-eyebrows. They were more like ridges. “He’s so gone on you, you know. I’ve never seen anything like it. I thought we’d have to storm the capital, right there and then.”

My smile wavered.

Gary meant well, but I still felt a stab of pain in my heart at each reminder of what Cair had gone through—even if having someone willing to burn the world for me was incredibly comforting. And hot.

I cleared my throat and set down my spoon. “Do you have a mate?”

“Nah, I’m mated to my work,” he said, unbothered by the question. “Though I do have plenty of bodies to keep me warm at night, if you catch my drift.” He winked, but then he thought about it. “Not in a serial killer way. I only meant… Well, I guess, Idohave lots of bodies in that sense too, but?—”

“I get it,” I laughed. How this guy became a top assassin-slash-spy-slash-scout on Cair’s payroll, I’d never know—unless he decided to word vomit his backstory too—but oddly enough, I already trusted him with my life.My second life?He’d proven himself a reliable ally, and he was fun. That was enough for me. “I kinda thought you and Cee had an enemies-to-lovers thing going on.”

My adoration of fictional romances had probably influenced my perception on that one. Those stories where the grumpy love interest saw the other as the bane of their entire existence, while the sunshine character did their best to be as irritating as humanly possible? Yeah, those were top-tier literature.

Or maybe I’d just spent too much time around Teighan and Alex.

“Me and the battle-ax?” he said incredulously. “Noooo.” The mere suggestion must have activated his stress-eating response, because he snatched the bread off my plate, taking a messy bite. I wasn’t going to attempt it anyway. “I mean, there was one drunken night four years ago. Hate sex isbanging, by the way…” He trailed off, pausing mid-chew. “What the fuck is in this, sawdust?” He set it back down with a repulsed look. “Anyway, we both agreed it was a mistake. She prefers ’em a little prettier than me, and while I love getting pegged as much as the next guy, we’re not compatible in other ways. We just work better together. She might glare at me every second, but she secretly loves me.”

“Uh-huh.”

He sprawled out on his back, arms crossed behind his head. “The whole crew are pretty good eggs. Maybe you’ll get to meet them at some point.”

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