Page 50 of Moonlight Hearts

“Shit.Did I?I didn’t meant to be that obvious.”

“You weren’t, but I pay attention.You don’t like them.Something they did or just you not liking the idea that we need them?”

I frowned.“I guess it’s me.He was just…weird?Like, I didn’t think he wanted to be there or work for us.”I hesitated, not sure whether I should go on.“You’re not going to be mad?”

He sighed.“Not at you.Never at you.”

“But not at them either?I think maybe I did overreact.Just a bit.Because of…you know.The witch and all that.But they weren’t thrilled about us still using pen and paper.Fair, I guess, but that’s how we do it.They were throwing around names I didn’t know what to do with, and all of it was weird.”

He tapped his fingers against my chest.“Probably just testing you or trying to get you to react a certain way.People do that sometimes when they want to see how connected you are.I thought you’d really like them.Hmm.”

I played with the bubbles and bit the inside of my cheek.I had no proof at all that Thaeros was anything other than a server—I mean, my co-manager—or that anyone but Soyer was paying them.Then again, if this truly was a flicker of paranoia due to what had happened to me, Soyer should know.

“He wouldn’t be… He’d not be working for Cecilius, right?”

After a pause, Soyer laughed.“Fuck no.Absolutely not.My heart, there is no one at the Moonlight who hasn’t been vetted thoroughly.Thaeros apparently has a reputation for rubbing people up the wrong way, but that’s about it.I didn’t think he’d drip acid around you.I’ll talk to him.”

“No!I mean, that’s not necessary.I guess we talked.It’s just something he said about family… Look, I overreacted.Can you not make that his problem?Please?”

“Ah, this independent streak of yours.Of course.Whatever you want.”He kissed my neck all over again, and for the next half hour or so, we didn’t say another word.We barely even moved, just letting our skin turn wrinkly.

Eventually the water cooled, and we left the bathtub.

“How about we have an early dinner and talk about when I have to leave town?”

Soyer was helping me into my fluffy bathrobe, the steam from the warm water still thick around us, his wet hair nearly falling into his eyes.

“Sure.Can I help you in the kitchen now?You always say you’re doing everything because I was on my feet all day, but I wasn’t today.”

“Nice try, but no.You can set the table, that’s it.”

He hung his towel over the bathroom rack and walked out naked, likely to end the conversation.It worked, too.I found myself looking more at the tail feather of his phoenix than at his naked behind though, and thinking about how Soyer would frown if he knew that made me smile to myself.

I ran a comb through my hair and followed him to get dressed.It was easy, this.Coexisting and sharing our space—what had once been his space.Even though I’d moved in only a few months ago, this place had quickly become home.

We’d split up his room-sized closet space between us—easy enough given that neither he nor I had an abundance of clothing.Not even all the soft sweats he’d bought for me had changed that.

“Stop eyeing my socks.”He closed the drawer filled with his wild collection.

“I wasn’t.”

“Liar.One day, I’ll find these refolded and organized, or some such nonsense.I can see it in your eyes.You’re plotting to steal my sock chaos.Once a thief, always a thief.”

I looked at my ring.“Would you like this back, then?”

He gave my shoulder a playful slap with the octopus feet of his socks.“Don’t you dare.Put on some clothes, will you?The bathrobe is too alluring.I’ll be downstairs.”

“Too alluring?”

“Yes, you are.”

He headed down his winding staircase while I hurried to catch up.I found a pair of those soft sweats, dark blue with an indigo pattern running around the sleeves.Giddiness rose inside of me, different from the shadow of sleepiness I would’ve felt after working a full shift.I wanted to set the table, wanted to maybe sneak into the kitchen and see if I could do something to help after all.

I made a mental note to ask Elias about this.Not so much about how working differed from working less—I wasn’t sure he’d ever done anything regular like my job—but about whether it was going to be the same years from now.Decades.

I ran a hand over my very soft sweater, enjoying the feel of it.With a pair of extra fluffy socks on my feet, there was no way I wasn’t going to be comfortable.

So, prepared, I hurried down the stairs.Soyer had a pan already going on his stove.He had veg set out next to him and was busy chopping garlic.