Page 5 of The Sirin Sisterhood (The Sons of Echidna #2)

Lucy

“Didn’t take him for your type.” Xim shrugged as they were left alone.

Lucy picked at the food that had been delivered to the table, enough to feed a group of six.

She was hungry, but she always felt weird eating alone.

Xim wasn’t going to touch the greasy fries, that was for sure.

To her surprise, however, the woman reached over the table and picked up a cheeseburger, taking a small bite.

Lucy didn’t know if Xim was doing it just for her, but she was grateful and inhaled a plate of onion rings.

“He’s not. Just a friend. Well...I don’t know him that well. He just kinda got involved in my mess. He’s not that bad, though. I promise.”

They satin silence for a while, comforted by each other’s company, picking at the food.

“I’m not done being mad at you.”

“I would be disappointed if you were.” Lucy smiled.

“So,are you going totell me exactly what’s going on? I’m still struggling with the ‘pirates and dragons’ story.”

“That is the honest-to-God truth. Gods,” Lucy corrected herself, unsure of what was accurate after all she’d learned.

“I got there, and the house was super sketchy...” Lucy spilled the entire story, keeping back a few more intimate details.

She and Xim were together, on and off. Who knew.

.. It was never a committed relationship, but she still felt guilty even though Xim openly boasted about her exploits.

Xim sat in stunned silence, mulling over the avalanche of information. “How do you always end up in weird messes?”

“I wish I knew. Also, please add one more to my body count,” Lucy confessed, looking out of the window meekly. She couldn’t keep anything from her.

“Oh? Don’t stop there.” Xim let out an amused laugh.

“We agreed on no details, remember?”

“Yeah, that was before they could shape-shift into monsters. Was it with a human form, or...?”

“Human form!” Lucy gasped, scandalized, wishing the booth seat could swallow her whole.

What was Xim imagining? How would that even work?

Lucy didn’t need to lie to herself. She’d read enough books to know the exact logistics of monster fucking, and now, despite her poorly acted-out embarrassment, she was regretting not exploring that scenario when she had the chance.

“Could’ve guessed. You are so vanilla,” Xim laughed, squeezing Lucy’s thigh. “So, how’s that whole getting yourself back on your feet going?”

Lucy reached down and caught Xim’s hand in hers. “I should have gone into the military.”

“Then I wouldn’t see you for years. Hey, I’ve told you. I can take care of you. Why are you fighting it? I can ask dad to get you a job at the company. You don’t have to go on struggling like this.”

“I’m supposed to go out and make my own path andcome back to you successful.Your family has already helped me through so much.”

“Yeah, I’m aware of the plan, although you seem to be working backward, if you don’t mind my saying so.” Xim smiled. “Let’s just worry about tonight, okay?”

“I need to pick better bosses.” Lucy sighed as Xim got up, not bothering to ask if Lucy had finished. She ordered for the food to be cleared and nodded towards the exit.

“Or I can be your boss?” She suggested optimistically, offering Lucy her hand.

“That’s true. The only thing I have to offer is... Well, nothing right now.” Lucy got up as well, feeling a little bit queasy after eating. It could have been the food, or it could have been the sinking feeling in her stomach over having to rely on others again.

“I can think of one thing you can offer,” Xim winked, heading toward the waiting helicopter, her expression hardeningthe instantthey were outside.

“Your company, for example,” sheadded in a whisper, climbing into the cabin and taking a seat next to a man dressed all in black.

She motioned for Lucy to sit opposite her.

The fries she hadeatenattempted to escape when Lucy even thought about flying.The last time she was up in the air, it didn’t end well, but at least this time she was sharing the flight with someone she trusted.Lucy swallowed, managing to keep her dinner down, and climbed awkwardly inside.

She was handed a headset, and the sliding door slammed shut, cutting off most of the propeller noise.

Lucy watched the city below, feelinga tinge oflonging when she spotted Al’s apartment.

She wondered what the family was doing. Were they thinking about her?

Was Lai safe? Probably. He was the only oneof themwho looked like he belonged in the neon-lit streets.

She was more worried about Aris and the boys.

Ariswas actinglike a dog on a car ride to the vet, and she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

The new world she’d explored with him was mostly just strange.

Exploring this one for the first time must be terrifying.

The boys, Ryan and Lou, she hoped were settling in front of a T.V., or getting some sleep. She had no idea how they felt, but they had to be reeling after all they’d been through.

“The penthouse is empty today.” Xim’s voice came from the headset, startling Lucy. “You can stay with me.”

“Lucky us.” Lucy smiled back, but she knew what that meant.

It wasn’t going to be just them. There were going to be cooks, maids, guards.

For Xim, they were part of the décor, but Lucy still saw them as people.

As strangers, but people. She could never relax when someone constantly walked outside her door or when someone cleaned every little mess or announced every visitor.

That was why she never stayed with her best friend, opting out to share cold, moldy downtown flats rather than the cold luxury of Farrowatcher Towers.

Lucy almost cried with relief when they landed at the top of the tower, stumbling a few steps to the brightly lit elevator that greeted them. Only she and Xim entered, leaving a dozen guards outside. The towers were secure, so they might have some freedom and privacy.

Xim pulled her inside the elevator, pushing Lucy against the mirrored wall and catching her lips in a desperate kiss before the doors were even shut.

“We probably shouldn’t,” Lucy whispered, but her hands were already around the woman’s waist, pulling her closer.

“You’re probably right,” Xim whispered back, lingering in the embrace. “Sorry, but I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

“You weren’t supposed to stop! I’ve missed you.” Lucy smiled, about to go in for another kiss, but the ding of the elevator interrupted her.

Reluctantly, Lucy pushed against the mirrored wall, catching her reflection.

They looked like they were from entirely different worlds.

Xim, in her perfectly fitted cashmere sweater, her hairdefyingphysics by laying perfectly smooth withnot a singlestrand affected by the static and humidity.

And then there was Lucy, looking like she had just been rescued from a castle dungeon, her hair a frizzy and tangled mess, wearing an oversized shirt, leather pants, and Al’s jacket.

She’d loved the look back at the manor, but now, entering the sterile and minimalistic penthouse, Lucy once again felt utterly out of place.

Xim pecked her on the cheek, waking Lucy from her stupor. “You know, you can probably use this place for your friends. It’s only me here most days.” She took out her phone and, with a single tap, woke up the house. The lights, the shutters, the air conditioner —everything kicked in at once.

To her surprise, it was just them. The apartment was completely silent. Lucy knew that quiet, empty houses rubbed Xim the wrong way, and as she glanced back at her friend, a T.V. rose from a white entertainment unit, and the sound of late-night shopping channels shuttered the silence.

“Where is everyone?”

Xim shrugged. “I don’t have permanent staff here. I get followed all day, so being alone is nice. Besides, you went off to seek your independence, and I thought I’d do the same.”

Xim tapped at her phone, and the coffee machine whirled into action, steaming as a cup of freshly made brew began to fill. The woman turned to Lucy with a victorious grin.

Lucy was actually impressed. Granted, the machine was doing most of the work, but Xim was trying. It was more than she had ever done before. The drinks had magically appeared in her waiting hand ever since she was a child. Anything she could desire was delivered at the heiress’s whim.

“I wouldn’t want to intrude.Theycan be a bit much,” Lucy admitted, following Xim into an open-plan living room.

“Well, I’m curious to meet them now. So how about I tell the dads that I want some privacy for a while, and you invite them here?”

“They aren’t going to question it?”

“I’m not a teenager, and they trust me.I’lljustsay I need to study.I have a dissertation to defend. They’ll understand. I’ll deal with Grace and the security part of the problem.”

“Alright, just not tonight.” Lucy forced a grateful smile. “Tonight, it’s just us.”

“You know where the shower is. I’ll make us a drink in the meantime.” Xim pointed towards one of the doors on the right. She wasn’t subtle. It wasn’t a suggestion. It was a command.