Me: We’re in the meeting room. Is someone coming?
Ezekial: On it. You’ve done well, brother.
The door to his office opens and his assistant enters. She bows her head at my presence whilst quickly unloading a copious amount of food from several bags. When she removes a pale pink box too, I can’t help rolling my eyes.
Me: This food is for her. Not me.
Ezekial: She got you to sleep, maybe she’ll get you to eat. Helps that you both like the same food. Seems you do have good taste after all.
Ezekial: Thought it might be too early for the whiskey though ;)
When Jasmine returns, her eyes widen a fraction at the feast before her.
I stand as she comes closer. “We weren’t sure what you’d want. I know it’s a lot.”
“We?” she asks, her eyes darting to the now-open pink box of pastries.
“Ezekial and I.”
“He knows I’m here?” She takes a seat, I copy, taking the chair directly beside her rather than the one I previously used.
“Yes, he came to check on us when you were sleeping.”
She digests my words then simply nods. I’m relieved by her response, or rather lack of it.
Then she reaches for a pastry. “Do you even enjoy eating?”
“I enjoy watching you eat.”
Her cheeks flush as she bites off a small piece. I watch as it slips between her lips, catching a glimpse of her tongue sweeping the soft flakes into her mouth.
I could watch her eat a million times and never be rid of the satisfaction it brings.
She runs her other fingers over the table as she chews and swallows, studying the colours pulsing beneath her touch. “The table, is it like the one at the house?”
“Yes.”
She frowns, studying it in more detail. “What’s it made from?”
“Mainly Ezekial’s power, but pieces of ours too,” I explain, focusing on the small change in her expression, how a line forms between her arched brows as she concentrates.
But I want her to look at me. Focus on me, not the table.
“When we lose control, physical manifestations of our power help to ground us to this realm.”
She looks up—yes.
“So, you can all make these?” She produces a rock of Sai’s darkness from her overall pocket and holds it between her fingertips.
I stare at it, a sudden, unreasonable envy twisting in my chest. “Yes.”
She frowns. “Why does that make you... unhappy?”
Of course she felt that. “It draws on your own darkness to help power it. You may sometimes feel drained for a while afterwards, but I can provide an alternative.”
“Oh?”
I level my gaze with hers. “Use me.”
