Catastrophic Attraction - Eve Langlais Page 0,34
laughed.
“Now I’m kind of wishing I’d done it.”
“Not funny.”
“Wasn’t trying to be. Just proving my point. You should accept it gracefully.” She popped another piece of bacon into her mouth and eyed him. “How do you feel? Because you look like shit.”
“Feel it, too.” He grimaced as he reached for the bacon. Grabbed three pieces just to be sure.
She eyed his hand before going for a piece of cut fruit, the flesh of it orange and yellow striped.
“What happened?”
“I went a little too deep. I’ll be fine.”
“How would you know? Done this before? Do you collapse often?” The questions came fast and furious.
“Would you believe never?”
“Titan wouldn’t have a remedy if it never happened. And he’s only been here a month.”
“It happens from time to time. Depends on how hard I push myself. Of late, because of the threats, I’ve been expending more than usual.” He shrugged.
“The good king putting his people ahead of himself.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re an idiot. You should never give more than you can handle.”
“I handled it just fine. We lived.”
“And had there been one more bad guy left, you’d be dead.”
“Then it’s a good thing I had you.”
“Exactly. Now if only I had a clone.”
“I thought you had a twin brother.”
She glared at him. “We are not the same person.”
His lips quirked. “A good thing. I don’t think the world can handle two of you.”
“Meaning what?”
“You’re an interesting lady.”
“Don’t call me lady,” she grumbled, grabbing for the last strip of bacon and giving him a defiant glare. She had no idea how appealing she appeared.
A nudge by his side had him lifting his arm that Sachi might step lightly into his lap, pacing over his thighs, purring.
“I think your cat is happy you’re alive.”
“Actually, she’s here for this.” He gave Sachi a piece of bacon.
Casey’s eyes almost fell out of her head. “I can’t believe you gave the cat a piece!”
“That cat earned it. She’s the reason I began forming the shield before the bomb went off.”
“Then you should give her a bigger piece.” Casey handed over the three-quarter strip she had left. Sachi gave her a regal regard before grabbing the piece and bolting.
“Have you tried the waffle dipped in the syrup?”
“I’ve dipped everything in syrup at this point.” She rolled her eyes. “And had all the bacon yesterday.”
He froze, the piece halfway to his mouth, dripping syrup on the blanket over his lap. “Yesterday? How long was I asleep?”
“A day and a half.”
“What?” He flung back the blanket, suddenly awash in worry over just about everything.
“Get your ass back over here.”
“I need to check.”
“On what? The castle is fine. The city is fine. The princess is getting to be a fine shot with a dagger.”
He slouched on the edge of the bed. “Meaning no one needs me.” Funny how there were days he wished for it. Wished for a simpler time when he was only responsible for himself.
“Oh, they need you all right. You should see them come knocking and whining because they need your help with everything.”
“And then do what they want anyhow.” He shook his head but slid his legs back under the blankets. Mostly because he realized he needed more food and drink if he wanted to make it out of this room and not take a header down the stairs.
He poured some jelly into a glass of cream. Mixed it until it turned pink. Casey eyed him then did the same. At the taste, she groaned.
While in his bed.
A good thing the thick blankets were scrunched in his lap. It was more than a weakened king could handle.
“How did you make a shield?” she asked after guzzling the sweet and frothy concoction.
“How do you step into shadow?”
“By wishing no one could see me.”
He blinked. “That’s it?”
“When I was little, being noticed wasn’t a good thing. The teachers I had after the Creche weren’t the most nurturing kind. And I wasn’t the most obedient child.”
“They beat you.”
“Among other things. There are many ways to punish, and before I was Charlie’s age, I’d suffered most of them. Cam, too, mostly because of me. They say necessity breeds skill.”
“Power is inherent.”
She shrugged. “Maybe. All I know is when I needed to hide, the shadows welcomed me.”
“A handy skill.”
“So is making shields out of nothing.” The angle of her head had her regarding him quizzically. “Those people in the basement, they were sent to kill you.”
“Rodoh was sent to kill me. The others in the group were apparently just for cover.”