At her words, Nash looked like he’d bitten into a sour lemon. Lark looked like a deer caught in headlights.
I smiled. “We’d love to.”
CHAPTER 19
LARK
Iwas nervous.
It was weird. I didn’t get nervous. Not when I’d parachuted from a plane. Not when I’d snuck through the high-tech security of a terrorist cell. Not when I’d hidden for hours hunting a target while vicious guards dogs had prowled the grounds.
But holding Bastian’s hand and walking into the Styx restaurant with Georgie and Nash made me nervous.
We were going on a double date.
I’d never been on any sort of date. I was probably going to suck at this.
A glossy, smiling hostess greeted us and showed us to a table. The best one in the restaurant, of course. The restaurant had a giant wall that was a massive aquarium, filled with vibrantly colored fish. A lazy starfish was climbing up the side of the glass.
The bottom of the aquarium was dotted with rocks, and I realized, small, weathered statues. There was a fierce, three-headed dog. And ancient Greek temple nestled in the shadows of a rock. There was an elegant boat, the oar manned by a man in robes. I could just make out his skeletal face.
I smiled. Charon, the ferryman in Greek mythology who carried souls to the afterlife across the River Styx. Charon was often depicted in a similar way to the Grim Reaper. He was aided by Hades’ three-headed dog Cerberus, who would devour souls that tried to escape the Underworld.
I loved how Bastian had leaned into the underworld theme at the Avernus.
He held out a chair for me before sitting beside me. Across from us, Nash rested an arm across the back of Georgie’s chair. The woman smiled at him, leaning into him.
She showed her feelings so easily.
I fiddled with my napkin.
“The lobster here is excellent, Lark,” Bastian said. “I know you love it.”
“You like lobster?” Georgie asked. “It’s a favorite of mine, too.”
“I do.” I eyed him. “I didn’t know you knew that.”
“I know lots of things about you.”
I stared blindly at the menu and realized this man knew me better than anyone on the planet.
“Lark, I take it that you and Bastian…cleared the air,” Georgie asked cautiously.
“We did.”
“Good,” Nash said. “I wasn’t looking forward to killing you.”
Bastian growled.
Georgie gasped. “Nash.”
Nash’s face hardened. “I’m not going to let her kill my best friend.”
“I said I’m not going to kill him.” I sipped my water. Dinner wasnotoff to a good start.
Thankfully, a smiling server arrived to take our orders.
“So Lark, where’s home for you?” Georgie asked.
