“What else do you require, Josephina?”
“Josephina? What are you? My mother?” Jo leaned on the back of the couch. “Do you have one of those you’d recommend me? Preferably one not in. . .”
“Elvish?” he finished for her, confirming her supicions.
“Yeah.”
“You want to read?”
“You don’t have to sound so surprised.” She walked back to the kitchen, hoping to hide the small amount of offense she took at the shock in his eyes.
“I do have one I’d recommend. I actually think you’d enjoy it. It’s one of Samson’s favorites, actually. . . But it is in Elvish.”
Jo poured herself a cup of coffee. “Bummer.” Well, there went the idea of cutting herself off from tech for a few blissful hours.
“Why does that bother you?” An offended tone took up residence in his words.
“I can’t read—oh.” Jo brought up her palm, smothering her face for a second with a groan. The elf had the audacity to give a low chuckle. “I’m exhausted okay! I forgot I had translation magic.” She leaned against the counter, cradling her mug, and clarified, “It’ll work on languages that. . .”
“No longer exist?” The words were steely, almost practiced, almost in a manner she’d expect to hear from Snow. “Yes.”
“Then pass over the words.”
Eslar stood, departing the room for several minutes (long enough for Jo to finish her cup and wash it) before returning with a tome in hand. There were a few runes stitched into the leather of the front. Jo blinked at it several times: nothing. Just when she was beginning to get paranoid that her mind was too taxed to mentally translate anything, they shifted.
“The Bow of the Goddess?”
“An old folk tale about a man who was gifted a weapon by the Goddess of the Hunt, making him her chosen champion in her war against the Goddess Oblivion.”
“Sounds like fun.” Jo shrugged.
“Does it?” He seemed skeptical.
“I want something that I’ve never seen before to cleanse my mental palate. And I’m fairly certain I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
“The likelihood is slim,” Eslar agreed before strolling over to the couch. Jo started for one of the chairs by the pool that she and Nico usually sat out on, awash in the morning’s sun. She thought the conversation over, but then Eslar added, softly, as if debating if he wanted to say anything at all, “Keep it as long as you need. Let me know what you think when you’re finished.”
“Yeah, sure,” Jo mumbled, staring at the elf. It felt almost like… friendship? Closer than she’d felt with the man since their first wish.
Jo took up her seat, and a few hours passed in blissful silence. Her mind soaked up the words. All too soon, she no longer even saw the script-like runic language, and instead, became absorbed in the story that hailed from a time when magic was real and gods seemed just a little more possible.
What was shaping up to be a surprisingly peaceful morning was, unsurprisingly, ruined by Wayne. Jo didn’t even hear him come in, but he must’ve made a direct line for where she sat. “Wow, doll, you look like hell.”
Jo startled, nearly dropping the book. Her eyes drifted up to where he stood at the edge of her lounge chair. “Good morning to you, too?”
“I take it you were successful?”
“Right to business I see.” Jo closed her book and set it aside. “I’m trying to hold you in suspense, is it working?” Really, what Jo wanted to say was “turn on the damn TV.”
“Should I get Takako first?” Wayne posed the question loudly enough to be fielding Eslar’s opinion as well.
Jo stood, making a show of stretching, hoping she didn’t have to be the first one to speak. She didn’t know what the right answer was here. But something possessed Eslar to look her way.Why did this come down to her?She swallowed hard. “She’ll find out one way or another. I think she should be here. It could be a relief to wake up and see everyone evacuating.”
“I’ll get her then.” Wayne scurried off.
As he did, Jo made her way over to the couches, sitting diagonally across from Eslar in what had become her usual spot. She focused on situating herself on the cushions, looking at the elf from the corners of her eyes. Eslar must have come from a time with no notion of awkward looks, because he ignored her deftly. Or maybe he just didn’t care.
Jo opened her mouth to speak, just as he did the same.
