Page 157 of I Ran Away to Evil 3
“Perfect timing,” Julian called over his shoulder when I came in. He had his sleeves rolled up and was wearing an apron covered in unicorns. The tea service from last night had been washed and was sitting in the dish rack, and Julian was washing the breakfast pan. I stopped and stared.
Why was he so stupidly hot?
“I made London Fogs,” he said, drying his hands on a cloth then pointing at the table.
There were place settings, with two hot drinks and plates piled high with scrambled eggs, bacon, ham, cheese, hash browns, and toast. Julian was terrible at making hollandaise sauce, but he’d whipped up a sweet and tangy barbecue sauce to drizzle on top.
I didn’t take my seat. I stood there staring at the breakfast and the clean dishes and Julian. He took off his apron and came around the kitchen counter. I thought he was leaning down to press a kiss to my forehead, but he tilted to the side andbit my ear.
“Ack!” I jumped back. “Julian!”
“You looked lost.” A half smile pulled at his lips.
“You didn’t need tobiteme,” I retorted.
“You liked it.” Julian pulled out my chair and waved.
“That’s beside the point,” I grumbled, taking my seat. I took a sip of tea to calm my nerves. It was lovely, with just the right amount of bitter star fruit juice to give it a rich vanilla flavor. “Thank you, this looks lovely.”
“Youlook lovely,” he replied, biting into his toast. He’d always been playful, but for some reason, his flirting today felt … different. Or maybe I just thought that everything was different.
I gave in to hunger and speared a slice of ham with my fork. We ate in relative silence for a few minutes.
I broke first. “Why haven’t you asked about it?”
“About what?”
“About me! My past. Who I am.” I put down my fork. “About last night.”
“Gerda.” His smile was as gentle as his good mood, and as fake. “Are you ready to talk about it? Or would it just make you worry and push me away? If I asked about your old life, would you long for it even more?” I made to reply, but he continued. “Don’t get me wrong, I want to knoweverything. But you forget—I’ve only ever known you as you are. Your past is your past … I only regret forcing the issue.”
“I think Alice forced the issue,” I grumbled. That celestial was going to be the death of me. Again.
“No.” He shook his head. “I lost my temper. I’m sorry.”
“There is one more thing I haven’t told you …” I said. “I was just trying to find a way to explain it.”
Julian reached out and put his hand on mine. “I’m all pointy ears.”
I pulled away and wrapped my fingers around my warm mug; Julian hesitated before grabbing his own mug as well.
“In my world—”
“In youroldworld,” Julian corrected. I shot him a glare for interrupting, but he returned it with an encouraging look.
“In myoldworld,” I repeated, “I could read about and watch this world.”
“In a book or crystal ball?”
“Both.” I tapped the mug. “Imagine a crystal plate that showed what was happening but also had written notes on the bottom. And mine had the ability to follow Henrietta around for this year, showing me all of the different futures shecould’vehad—including one with you.”
“So even without your [Oracle] abilities, you had a good picture of the future.” He said, nodding. “Which is how you amassed wealth, found the Master Crystal, and became Madame Potts.”
“Yes,” I confirmed. “But now, I’ve pushed the story so far off from the original that I’m just relying on my powers.”
There was a moment of silence as I sipped my London Fog, Julian appearing contemplative.
Suddenly, he downed the last of his drink andthunkedit on the table. “I have a question.”
