Page 26 of A Phoenix Reborn at Christmas

A hand pressed against his shoulder and squeezed. Percival leaned into the touch.

“I’m sorry,” Leo said. “But just because I don’t know you, doesn’t mean I’m not going to look after you. I’ll find people who know you. I’ll get you safe. But for tonight, we’ll just go to my home and sleep. We all need sleep. We’ll work out everything tomorrow.”

He turned to Leo, whose deep-brown eyes held so much promise. The tight grip around Percival’s lungs released. “Thank you, Leo. Thank you so much.”

Leo gave him a lopsided smile and dropped his hand. “Of course.”

Percival wished Leo had kept his hand where it was. He walked closer to the man, so his bare arm brushed against Leo’s coat. “So how do we know each other?”

“I own a bakery with my family. I work there, and the last few days you came in and bought food.”

“Oh.” His brows lowered. “So we’ve only known each other a few days?”

Leo nodded.

They really didn’t have that much to do with each other. He pressed his lips together.

But maybe he’d wanted to be friends with the man. Or maybe he’d even had a crush on him. Perhaps that was why Percival felt such an intense draw and desire to be near Leo. It could be a possibility that he’d watched Leo and pined for him since he’d first come into the bakery.

He could see that happening.

Still, Percival wished he knew what was true. He wished he’d not forgotten everything.

His throat tightened.

Who am I?

The words circled in his head.

Who am I?

Would he get his memories back? And if so, when?

He sought the answers in the recesses of his mind. But there was just a never-ending darkness within.

Then he remembered being tucked away behind wooden crates that towered over him. Darkness surrounded him. Then he’d heard a bird. The panic inside him had stilled.

Percival turned to stare at the raven hopping along beside them. Then he’d heard a human’s voice, Leo’s voice. He’d wanted to get closer to that man, knowing on instinct he’d look after Percival.

Then Percival had grown. The smell of fire and flames had filled his nostrils.

“I am a phoenix,” Percival said. He knew that much. “I am a phoenix.” He clung to that knowledge, to that single truth.

Everything else he had known might be gone. At least for now. But he knew one thing to be true. “I am a phoenix.”

“Yes,” Leo said.

“Do you know anything else about me?” Even if they weren’t friends, maybe Leo had learnt some things about Percival when he’d come into the bakery.

“Not really. I’m sorry.” Leo stared ahead.

Percival’s shoulders slumped.

“You have high standards.”

“What does that mean?” Percival asked.

Leo rubbed the back of his neck. A pinkish hint stained his cheeks. “I guess, you just like things done a certain way.”