Page 26 of A City of Hearts and Feathers (The Order of Anubis #1)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Z oe wanted to crawl back into bed with Kahil wrapped around her. She was planning to get up to eat whatever delicious thing he was cooking and then drag him back to bed. Kerem's arrival had dashed that idea to pieces.

Probably a good thing to have a break , she told her reflection in the foggy mirror. Her lips were red and swollen from kissing, her throat and chest dotted with suck marks. Her smile was smugger than she thought it was physically possible.

Kahil laughed at something in the kitchen, and her heart pounded, wanting to hear it again.

"Be normal. Don't act like a blushing idiot," she told herself, pulling on a shirt that covered up the marks on her throat. Her phone buzzed in the pile of clothes she had brought into the bathroom.

Azi: How did it go last night?! Did the dress work its magic?

Zoe laughed softly. Her cousin was so nosey, but it was nice that she was checking in. It had been a while since Zoe had a close female friend.

Zoe: I met Akamos, had my drink spiked, and came home. I'm fine. Kahil gave me an antidote.

Azi: Good to know you're okay. Did you make out with him at least? Stop holding out on me. My tea leaves this morning said something happened between you two.

Zoe: Fine! We hooked up! Stop looking into your tea leaves about my sex life.

Azi: Sex was involved too?! Nicely done, cousin. We need to hang out. I need details. Those Order boys have always made me curious with that elixir of theirs and what it can do.

Zoe: It was something else, that's for sure. As for hanging out, maybe we have to wait a bit. I have to go and see Lydia tonight.

Azi: She's the worst in the nicest possible way. You'll see what I mean. Don't let yourself be alone with her. We can catch up soon. CALL ME. I know you need a friend right now, and I'm it.

Zoe: I will, and I appreciate you. STOP looking into your leaves.

Azi: Just make sure you're using birth control. I bet Kahil has an appetite. Big boy like him has to.

Zoe's cheeks went red. "Does he ever."

Honestly, she'd never been so happy to have an IUD in her life. She liked that Azi had bothered to check in on her. It had been months since she had really opened herself up to the idea of having a close friend after losing the last one the same time as her ex-boyfriend. Azi was family too, and it made Zoe feel squishy with happiness.

Zoe finally finished braiding her hair, and once she deemed herself presentable, she wandered out to see what Kahil had made to eat. She was starving, her body demanding that she eat and hydrate.

Kahil and Kerem were setting up at the dining table, the latter settling just for tea instead of breakfast. Kahil placed a plate of shakshuka in front of Zoe with a wink. He had put clothes on which was a shame, but his hair was still a messy riot.

"You're the best bodyguard ever," she said with an adoring smile. She scooped some of the spicy baked eggs into her mouth and groaned. "Damn, this is so good. What brings you here so early, Kerem?"

"You call midday early?" he said, trying not to laugh.

"Long, long night," she replied, grinning like an idiot.

Kerem rolled his eyes to heaven. "One that I don't need to know all the details of. I only want to know what Akamos wanted."

"I think he wanted to check me out, and he gave me baba's chess set back."

Kerem brightened. "He did? I'm surprised he had it. Oman loved that set."

"It was strange. Akamos said baba gave it to him before he died," Zoe said and ate another mouthful of food. If she hadn't been in love with Kahil already, that breakfast would have done it.

"Odd. If your last clue from the Serpent Column led you to Akamos to get the set, then Oman must have hidden something in it. Did you check it?" Kerem asked, looking about for it.

"We haven't had the chance," Kahil replied. "Zoe was drugged when we got home, and we had to deal with that first. Then other stuff became a priority."

"I bet it did," Kerem huffed out a laugh.

Zoe bit down into some toast. "Let me eat and then we can hunt mysteries. I need caffeine to get my brain working properly. It's a little sleep deprived."

"I made another full pot of tea, don't worry, balim ." Kahil's ankle wrapped around hers under the table, and she smiled into her breakfast.

Kerem pointed at them. "Are you two going to be this ridiculous from now on? Because if you are, Arslan can deal with you."

"I haven't done anything," Kahil said innocently.

"Just eat your breakfast so we can get to work." Kerem drank some of his tea while Kahil pulled a face at him. "You two have a meeting with Lydia tonight, so you need to get your energy in check. She will know something is up and try and use it to her advantage."

"I promise I won't drink anything she offers me. I learned my lesson," Zoe said, crossing her heart.

Kahil leaned back in his chair. "I don't like how pushy she has been since Zoe arrived. I worry about meeting with her more than Akamos."

"So does Arslan."

"Akamos said he didn't want to use the codex to raise an undead army but to keep it for his collection. We don't know why she wants it," Zoe said.

"And you two believed him?" Kerem asked, brow going up. "He's the leader of the dark, Zoe. You can't believe anything that either side claims."

Kahil shrugged. "I don't know. Akamos did seem sincere. He's held his power base here for over a thousand years. He doesn't have anything to prove. Lydia is ambitious, and that makes me suspicious of her motivations."

Zoe didn't like the uneasiness that was suddenly snaking its way up her spine. She trusted Kahil to get her through the meeting, unscathed, but she was already feeling overwhelmed by it all.

"I don't think I'm cut out for the magical world's politics," she said, getting to her feet.

"Once you deal with this book, you won't have them up in your business so much," Kerem assured her.

Zoe squeezed Kahil's shoulder on her way to the kitchen. "Thank you for cooking."

"Anytime," he replied, with a smile. She was tempted to kiss that grin, so she quickly looked away. So much for not being a heart-eyed teenager. She was a wreck.

Zoe let the boys clean up while she went looking for the chess set where she had left it the night before. She found it downstairs on a bookshelf, not far from where she'd kicked off her shoes. She was surprised she had remembered to grab the set at all with the state she had been in. It was large, heavy, and made of black and white marble tiles.

Upstairs, Zoe placed the chess set down on the cleared table. Kerem's face flashed with emotion before he shut it down.

"What's wrong?" Zoe asked him.

"It's nothing, just memories. I gave Oman this set, that's all. If you pull on that drawer, you'll find the pieces. They are all Egyptian deities," he replied.

Zoe tugged on the small brass knob of the drawer. "Must be stuck or something."

"Enchanted," Kahil and Kerem said at the same time.

Zoe sighed. "I'm going to have to cut my finger again, aren't I?"

"Poor little finger," Kahil said and pulled a knife out of thin air. It made her wonder if he was always armed. He offered it to her, but she shook her head.

"You better do it, or I'll chicken out," she said.

Kahil took her hand and kissed the inside of her wrist. Before her brain could stop fuzzing, there was a sharp pinch on the tip of her index finger.

"That was cheating," she complained.

Kahil let her hand go. "It's called a distraction."

"And gross," Kerem said. "I don't need to see you kissing my goddaughter."

"Then look away."

Zoe ignored their light bickering and ran her cut finger around the seal of the drawer of the chess set. Instead of the drawer sliding out, the marble pieces on the set started to shake.

"Ah, guys?" she said, trying to get their attention. The pieces started to slide about like a puzzle, rearranging themselves into a complex design before splitting apart like a blooming flower. Inside the center was another familiar red leather folio.

"What kind of magic is that?" Zoe asked, unsure whether or not to try and grab the part of the codex.

"I have no idea," Kerem replied, eyes wide. "It's beautiful. Take it, Zoe, before the tiles rearrange themselves again."

Zoe reached in, grabbed the book and a scrap of paper that sat underneath it. "Do you think Akamos knew he had this the whole time?"

"Not a chance, or he would never have given it back," Kahil replied, crossing his arms. "How many more pieces of the codex do you think there are left?"

"I don't know. I never got a chance to see it when it was all together," Kerem said. He held out a hand to Zoe. "What's that paper?"

"A receipt of some kind," Zoe replied, passing it over.

Kerem took it and read the faded printed script. "It's a locker receipt for the Galatasaray Bathhouse."

"Another breadcrumb," Zoe said with a sigh. She washed her hands, put on a new band-aid before getting her gloves on and opening the folio. Kahil went off to shower, leaving Zoe and Kerem to study it alone.

"Do you think I'll be able to bind it back together once I have all the pieces? I don't know what spells baba used on this leather. The paper is so fragile too," Zoe said, unfolding the first pieces.

Kerem was still staring at the chess set in its new flower shape. "Oman knew magic I didn't. I had no idea he could do things like this."

"Maybe Arslan will know. I'm starting to feel nervous, Kerem. I don't know what to do once I have it all together. I told Akamos I'd have an auction like baba planned, but I don't know if that's the best course of action either," Zoe said, slumping down into a chair. She felt like she needed another six hours of sleep.

Kerem finally pulled his glance away from the chess set. "An auction would be best. It's the fairest, and it has always been the go-to move of the Kartal family."

"I don't think I want anyone to have it. They are all pushy jerks and to make matters worse, I know one of them had to have killed baba while trying to get it."

"Unfortunately, those pushy, murdering jerks won't leave you alone while you have it." Kerem gave her an encouraging smile. "I know you'll make the right choice, Zoe."

"The only choice I want to make right now is to have another nap," she said, rubbing at her tired eyes.

"A good plan if you're going to have to meet with Lydia and her priestesses tonight. Leave the bathhouse investigations until tomorrow."

Zoe nodded, staring at the pages of the codex. Worry clawed her gut, how was she going to keep it safe? She didn't have magical training like Oman, and the longer she had the codex, the more she was putting Kahil in danger.

Before, she had accepted that protecting her was a part of his job with the Order. Now she couldn't bear to see him hurt. If she sold the Sais Codex to either the light or the dark, she couldn't trust they wouldn't use it. Selling it to Arslan meant making him and the Order a continuous target.

Why did you have to buy this book, baba? she complained to his ghost. No amount of money was worth being in danger all the time, and Zoe had a feeling that her father hadn't learned that lesson until it was too late.