Page 15 of A City of Hearts and Feathers (The Order of Anubis #1)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

K ahil's heart rate had only gotten back to a normal rate when Zoe appeared on the roof. She had calmed him down further, right before kissing his cheek and shooting that calm to hell all over again. He was, he realized, turning into a complete idiot over her.

Kahil had stopped counting how many lovers he'd had over the centuries. There had been too many meaningless hook-ups to count because he had long stopped believing in love. He would be the first to admit that it had been a while since he'd gotten laid, but a grateful kiss on the cheek shouldn't have made him so ridiculously flustered.

Blame it on the day's excitement , he told himself firmly. Every day since Zoe's birthday had been chaotic, and he doubted that was about to stop. Worse still, she made him care about her. If he didn't like her so much, he would hate her for that most of all.

Kahil had been more upset over the kidnapping than Zoe was. When she had been driven away, his heart had stopped and only fury had remained. The driver was lucky he wasn't dead. Kahil would have cut a throat for a lesser offense, but he hadn't wanted to scare Zoe more. She was finally starting to trust him, and he didn't want to do anything stupid to compromise that.

Downstairs, Kerem gave Kahil an assessing look before his eyes flicked to the smile on Zoe's face. She had them all wrapped around her little finger, and she'd only been in the city for a few days. They thought they were ready to deal with the codex once and for all, but nothing could have prepared them for Oman's daughter.

"Okay, boys, let's look at this jewelry box, shall we?" Zoe said, pulling it out of the bag with the leather folio. She put it on the table and opened it up with obvious pleasure.

"Ohhhh, look how pretty you are?" she cooed at the papyrus. "Kahil, do you think this is part of the lost codex? It's written in hieratic too."

Kahil joined her at the table and tried not to breathe in her perfume as he examined the text.

"No, it's not as old." He touched the edge of the papyrus. "It doesn't have any magic on it either. To the naked eye it does look the same."

"Arslan will be here soon. He can tell us what it says for certain," Kerem said. He opened the polished jewelry box and ran his fingers over the red velvet lining. His brows bunched together. "I can feel something here, a concealment charm maybe?"

Kahil rubbed his chin. "It might only reveal itself for Zoe. Oman wasn't a fool. I doubt he would have trusted Hasan not to look inside the package."

Zoe was still lost in studying the manuscript, her dark eyes scanning the lines of text. Kahil couldn't help but smile. The box could have been filled with gold and jewels, and she probably wouldn't have given them a second glance. To her, the manuscript was the real treasure.

Kahil leaned against the table beside her. "It's not going anywhere, balim ."

"Hmm, what? Oh. The box. Right." Zoe dragged her eyes away from the pages. "What are you smirking at?"

"Me? Nothing." Only the fact that she was so stunning when she was excited that Kahil couldn't look away from her.

Zoe turned her attention to the box, running her fingers over the mother of pearl inlays. "Nothing loose." She tipped the box upside down, checking the bottom before reopening it. She moved her fingers around the lining, pulling her hand back with a hiss. Blood dripped down her fingertip. "Ouch! There's a staple or something sticking out there."

"Wait, that could be important," Kahil said, taking her hand and holding it over the box. "Trust me?"

Zoe nodded, and he moved the tip of her bloody finger around the inside of the box. Magic hissed against his hand as the spell broke, and the bottom of the box popped up.

"Good thinking, Kahil," Kerem said. He took a small knife from his pocket and began to pry up the square piece.

"A blood sacrifice. Why didn't I think of that?" Zoe said sarcastically.

"You'll get used to it." Kahil lifted Zoe's hand and gently sucked on her cut index finger. Sweet iron and soft skin filled his mouth. "All better."

Zoe's cheeks turned a dusky pink, and Kahil felt like he'd gotten her back for the unexpected cheek kiss. She turned back to the box where Kerem was lifting the bottom out.

"That will be the next piece of the codex," Zoe said, her eyes going wide. She reached inside the box and pulled the burgundy leather folio free. It was the same as the first section of the codex, the leather humming with a preservation spell. She placed it on the table and hesitated. "I need to wash my hands and make sure I'm not bleeding everywhere before I touch it."

"Always the book restorer," Kahil teased.

"The codex is thousands of years old! I can't just… Oh! You're an asshole. Stop baiting me with your nonsense," she grumbled.

"I can't help it. Come with me. I saw a first-aid kit under the sink. We'll get you a band-aid for your boo-boo."

"Fucking kick you in the boo-boo," she muttered, but she still followed him.

Kahil had searched through the kitchen when he had been cooking. He pulled out the kit and found a band-aid. Zoe washed her hands, drying them on a towel.

"Here we go," Kahil said, dabbing her finger with some antiseptic cream. "God knows what was on the metal." He placed the band-aid over the cut.

Zoe gave him a sarcastic little smile. "Thanks, Mom. You going to kiss it better too?"

"Thought I already did. If you want another one, you only need to?—"

"Arslan is here," Kerem interrupted them, and Zoe took a step away from Kahil.

"I'll go get the door for him," she said and hurried down the stairs.

Kahil tossed the wrappers in the bin and put the kit away. "Say it if you're going to."

"Be careful, Kahil. She is too good to be a notch on your whittled bedpost," Kerem said. His tone was calm, but his eyes were filled with all kinds of threats.

"I don't intend to make her one. I genuinely like her, Kerem," he admitted.

"She likes you too, so I ask you again to be careful. Don't encourage her if you don't mean it."

Kahil didn't have the chance to say anything else before Arslan appeared with Zoe. He so rarely left the Order's grounds that it was odd seeing him out in the real world.

"I don't understand why baba would put an extra non-magical codex in with the box that had the real one in it," Zoe said to Arslan. His golden eyes glanced between Kerem and Kahil. Kahil could read the question in them, so he lifted his shoulders in a slight shrug. Don't worry about it, old man.

"Oman wouldn't have added in the extra manuscript without a reason, so let's see what it is," Arslan said, turning his attention back to Zoe.

Zoe got her restoration kit out and put her gloves on. There was something about the little white gloves and the glee in her eyes that made Kahil want to kiss her senseless. He couldn't remember what it felt like to get that excited over anything. He wanted to know what it tasted like.

"I'm going to have a look around the shop's perimeter," he said and went down the stairs before anyone could object.

He needed to get away before he was caught staring at her again. Maybe he should let Kerem take care of her instead of him. Zoe was too damn distracting. It didn't matter what wild thoughts went through his head. Kahil knew he couldn't walk away from her. She had made him care, and he needed to focus on his duty, and not how kissable she was, before it got them both killed.