Page 56 of Forgotten Arcane

“Oh, definitely not,” Ransom grins. “It will be color-coded, and a whole binder full of them.”

“Exactly,” Doc grins.

“We should all take it in turns to cook dinner when we’re at home, obviously. We’re not going to be able to do it while we’re elsewhere working cases,” Raiden suggests.

“That sounds good,” Coen agrees. “I really do enjoy it, so I can help out whenever.”

“I’m definitely going to need help,” River frowns.

We all laugh, and Reed explains what we find so funny to Coen and Neith.

“Last time he cooked, he somehow burned it and left it raw,” Reed smirks.

Coen’s eyebrows rise, “That’s actually quite impressive and not easy to do.”

River grins, “I’m a genius.” Before any of us can point out the flaws in that statement, he continues and points at me. “That’s nothing compared to Van.”

I groan, “I panicked.”

The guys burst out laughing.

“He set the saucepan on fire, not just the contents, but the whole damn thing, and then seemed to completely forget that he was a supernatural that could control water, so he started yelling hysterically and caught the curtains on fire on the back door, and burned the steps on the deck as he launched the whole pan out of the door,” River carries on explaining.

Everyone’s laughter gets louder, and Neith joins in after trying to give me a sympathetic look and failing.

After a moment, Coen shakes his head, still smiling, “Yeah, I think this might be harder than I thought it was going to be.”

“Probably,” I shrug.

“The foods here,” Ransom says, as he gets up, having been alerted by the ward. He looks at Doc, “I’ll come with you. I’m fairly certain that we ordered a lot.”

“We always do,” Doc grins, as he puts a hand on Ransom’s shoulder and they both disappear.

Neith

Iwoke up this morning far too hot and surrounded by Griff and Reed. I fucking loved it, and I loved their morning kisses even more. Unfortunately, we’re on a time crunch now since Calia wants to teach us a couple of recipes later today for the banquet, which means we need to get there early. So instead of being able to see where those kisses may lead, we all had to press pause and get up.

“We’ll leave you to get dressed,” Reed says reluctantly and then pulls back. “As much as I want to take this further, we don’t have the time right now, and I am sure as hell not rushing it.”

“Fuck no,” Griff agrees, his voice rough as he kisses me again and then joins Reed at the door. “See you at breakfast, Gorgeous.”

I nod, and as soon as they’re gone, I groan. Damn it, that was so fucking hot, and now I’m all flustered. Even though I have to admit that they are right. I don’t want to rush either.

Right, the first thing I need to do is have a cold shower.

I hop up and head over to my closet. I need to find something that’s comfortable enough to do research in, but nice enough for a meal at Van’s parents since I don’t want to change if I don’t have to.

I finally settle on a pretty summer dress, some black Dr. Marten-style boots, and a leather jacket that I’ll put by the front door so it’s ready to go. It’s not too cold, but there is a chill in the air in the evening, and the banquets are always held outside at this time of year.

On the way to the bathroom, I remember my phone. I put it on charge before we went to Sully’s yesterday, but then I completely forgot about it. I dump my clothes on my bed as I pick it up and unlock it.

My eyes widen at the sheer number of texts that I have, and then I realize that they’re all in the group chat between Navy, Neera, Joey, and me.

Clicking on it, I frown.

There are nearly a thousand messages, and I’m not even kidding. How the hell have they managed to send that many messages to each other? That’s an insane amount.

I’m not even sure that I know how to have a conversation that long.

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