Page 28

Chapter 27

AND THE NEW STATUS QUO IS…

“ L eela, wake up.” Blue bopped me on the nose, then tickled me with his whiskers. “Pashim says breakfast is almost ready.”

“I think I’m broken.” I cracked open one eye. “Do I look broken?”

“You look like ya need to get up, you lazy moo.”

“Lazy? I was training till midnight.”

“Is that what you were doin’?” Blue sniffed. “Last I saw, you were star gazin’ with Ravi.”

“We do that when we take breaks, and what were you doing out of the nest so late anyway?”

“Nosy thing, aintcha?”

“Says the spying rodent.” I rolled onto my back, and he hopped onto my chest to stand, hands on hips, his favorite pose when he was about to deliver a smackdown or words of wisdom.

“You been burning the candle, chick. Both ends and the like. You need to sleep more, and you need ta be in bed on time.”

“What I need is to pass the gauntlet, which is in two days’ time. I can’t let up now. I almost ran the whole thing yesterday.”

“Yeah, you’re fantastic, but if ya don’t rest, you’ll bugger up your chances on the real thing.”

Maybe he was right. Maybe I needed to give my body a break between now and the run. Weapons training had intensified the past week, and now that I was using a mace, it took extra concentration to hold back when I swung it.

“Fine, I’ll ease off, okay?” I rolled out of bed, and Blue leapt clear, landing by Araz’s bed.

He sniffed the air. “Where is tall, dark, and crotch-heavy this morning, anyway?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” I pulled on clothes and stifled a yawn. “He’ll turn up at training. Always does.” I ducked into the bathroom and shut the door before he could follow me in and watch me pee.

“I’ve seen it all before, you know,” he called from outside the door.

I flushed, brushed my teeth and hair, then joined him in the main room to find him in a face-off with Araz.

“I told you to keep your rat out of my room,” Araz ground out.

“Who you callin’ a rat, you generously hung male specimen?” Blue shot back .

Araz’s jaw ticked. “Make it stop doing that.”

“She don’t control me, sweet pecs,” Blue replied.

Araz looked like he wanted to smash something. “Get out. Both of you.”

“Gladly.” Blue flounced to the door, tail swishing. “Come on, Leela, let’s leave heavenly abs to his morning musings.”

We ducked outside, and I made it halfway down the corridor before bursting into laughter. “You’re terrible. One of these days, he will squish you.”

“Nah, he loves me really.”

“You’re delusional.”

“Best way to be, chickadee, best way to be.”

Pashim was at his usual corner table sitting with his back against the wall, legs stretched out. His hair was unbound and framed his handsome face in a silken waterfall of silver and blue.

His eyes lit up when he spotted me, and my chest warmed.

I hurried to join him while Blue scampered off to talk to Eve’s ferret, and why did that sound like a euphemism?

“I hope you’re hungry,” Pashim said.

He’d made omelettes and fresh buttered bread, and my mouth watered because it smelled delicious .

“I’m always hungry when you cook for me.”

He’d been my companion most mornings and evenings, and people were starting to talk—the usual stuff about how he must like me. Dharma had asked me a couple of times how I felt about him, and I honestly didn’t know what I’d do without him. He was warm and caring and had become my go-to person here in Aakaash, and I’d wished on more than one occasion that I’d been paired with him. But he was still unmatched, and there was every chance another demigod would be brought to Prashikshan and be matched to him, so I kept my feelings in check.

It was hard enough dealing with Araz’s attitude toward me, which oscillated between derision and indifference, but to fall for Pashim and have him fall for someone else would break me. Besides, if I was honest with myself, there was still a part of me that craved Araz’s attention and his touch.

I hated that part.

Being with Pashim made it smaller somehow.

I’d been tempted to ask Pashim about his last demigod on more than one occasion, but that would mean admitting to listening to gossip. Better to wait till he volunteered the information. I was sure that time would come the closer we got.

He watched me eat with a small smile.

I swallowed my mouthful. “What? Do I have food on my face?”

“No, Leela, I simply like watching you eat. ”

My cheeks warmed. “Okay, whatever floats your boat.”

“I have no idea what that means.”

I smiled up at him. “Oh, I know.”

His gaze softened and dropped to my mouth, and my stomach fluttered. He looked away quickly. “How do you feel about the gauntlet? Guru Mihir says you’ve become more confident.”

“You spoke to him about me?”

Twin spots of color bloomed high on his cheeks. “I asked about all the students, and we may have spoken of you a little.”

“I’ve been training with Ravi at night.”

He blinked sharply. “The rakshasa?”

“Yes.” I sipped my chai. “He’s helped me a ton.”

“It’s not wise to be around his kind,” Pashim said. “They have the tendency to get attached, and their appetites are feral.”

“You keep saying that. But what do you mean, appetites ?”

“He means sex,” Blue said, hopping onto the table. “They like lots of sex, and they like it rough.”

I choked on my bread.

“I’m sure they love that sound too,” Blue added.

“Fucking hell, Blue. Foul mouth much? Seriously?”

“Just clarifyin’ for ya.”

Pashim’s lips twitched. “He’s right. On all fronts.”

I stared at him in shock. “Don’t encourage him.”

“Pashim and I have an understandin’, don’t we, boo?” Blue scampered up to sit on Pashim’s shoulder. “He gets me and my foul-mouthed ways.” He dropped a whiskery kiss on Pashim’s cheek, then hopped back onto the table.

“I value honesty,” Pashim said. “And you, Blue, are as honest as they come.” He said the words to me because Blue was a part of me. An extension of me. “Finish your meal. I’ll see you at class.” He rose fluidly, scooping his long, thick hair up into a knot and securing it with a tie he kept on his wrist. My pulse skipped because you’d have to be blind and have no pulse not to be affected by him, especially when he was decked in his black training armor.

“He’s good for us,” Blue said once Pashim was gone.

“We can’t have him.”

“I know.” Blue picked up my leftover bread and nibbled. “Ooo, this good.”

He was so easily distracted by food. I smiled fondly down at him, then offered him my leftover omelette. “I’ll see you at training.”

“See you there,” he said with his mouth full.

It was time to batten down the hatches on my strength and act like everyone else. This was going to be draining.