think like that.
She stepped out into the kitchen, glancing over to the fire that had burned down to embers. Eva was curled up on the floor in front of it, three bottles of wine resting near her head, her glass tipped over. The room wasn’t nearly as warm as it had been before, which she was thankful for, though there was still heat and energy here. Topher was gone. He must have slept in Eva’s room, as he often did.
Jayna didn’t blame him. It was better to sleep there, comfortable on the bed, rather than sleeping on the floor or in one of the chairs, especially since Eva rarely used her own bed. In the time they had been home, Jayna thought she could count on one hand how many times Eva had rested in her own bed, and many of them had been times when Jayna herself had carried Eva back there after she had passed out in front of the fire.
The kitchen was a little bit of a shambles. Topher had made a delicious meal for them, but hadn’t bothered to clean up.
Jayna owed it to him to take care of the cleaning. She would do that later. Given that he was the one cooking for them—and he did it incredibly well—she should at least give him the chance to relax afterward.
She hoped she showed enough gratitude to Topher.
It surprised her that she wasn’t as bothered by his presence as she would’ve expected. He offered her something she had needed but hadn’t given much thought to. There were too many times when she and Eva lacked a certain level of self-care. They were so focused on chasing down dark magic, so focused on their tasks, that they both often got too distracted. Jayna simply because she was trying to figure out where the power was coming from, and what she needed to do with that dark magic, and Eva because she would drink to the point where she would collapse, then ultimately sleep through much of the day.
Topher added something to the mix for both of them.
He might not necessarily provide a whole lot when it came to helping Jayna search for dark magic, but he was a dular, after all, and he was . . .
What is that?
She found a small coin resting on the table.
It looked like one that Topher had made, though the detail on the coin was different, more complicated. Topher’s coins typically had a simple pattern, little more than a spiraling circle, but this one contained a pattern that looked like a series of interlocking circles occupying the entirety of the coin, as if smaller coins had been stamped upon its surface.
She squeezed it for a moment, wondering if this was Topher’s work or if he had acquired this from someone else.
“What are you doing?”
Jayna spun, looking over to the fire where Eva rested.
“You’re up,” she said.
“I’m up.” She glanced at the fire, her brow furrowing, and wrapped her arms around herself as if she were cold. “You were leaving?”
“I was going to go visit Char yesterday, but when Topher offered to cook, I figured I should take advantage of it,” Jayna said. “So now I’m going this morning.”
“It’s early,” Eva said.
“Maybe, but not so early he won’t be available for me to visit.”
Eva lowered herself back down to the floor and curled back up, pulling her knees into her chest. “Don’t make too much noise.”
Jayna just chuckled. She looked again at the mess in the kitchen—the stack of dirty dishes, the flour and spices and remnants of last night’s food—and hesitated a moment, looking for something to write a note to Topher on, but there was nothing. Hopefully he would still be sleeping when she returned from visiting Char.
She headed out, closing the door behind her and sealing it with another burst of magic, then made her way along the street. When she was a block away from her home, she realized she still held on to the enchantment she’d claimed from the table. Topher might be upset with her, but she would explain she had taken it accidentally. She stuffed it into her pocket and headed through the streets.
It was early. The sun was up, though it was only slanted across the horizon, sending shafts of pale light streaking toward her. She looked up at it, squinting as it peeked above some of the buildings. The crowd in the morning wasn’t nearly as thick as it was in other parts of