And Hektor, stone-faced and silent, cursed the morning, the desert, and his decision to join a team endorsed by Eros.
This was going to be a long assignment.
After the food arrived, and the siblings finished making exactly the kind of pointed comments that now grated along Hektor’s nerves, he cut clean into the conversation.
Work. Logic. Distance.
“Report,” he said flatly, ignoring Zara’s bright eyes and Pythorus’s entirely too pleasant smile.
Pythorus folded his hands neatly. “We’ve searched the western reaches of the sandstone quarter. A few suspected bloodlines, nothing confirmed. Yesterday, we expanded toward the lower caverns. Still no viable descendants.”
Zara nodded along, leaning, just slightly, toward the basilisk.
Hektor forced his jaw to stay relaxed.
Why would he even register that?
Why would it matter which way she leaned?
Focus.
Pythorus continued, competent, composed, annoyingly smooth. “I thought today we’d push farther out. The deeper tunnels haven’t been touched in years. And now that you’re here, Hektor, well, we can accelerate.”
Hektor grunted. Neutral. Disinterested. Entirely unbothered.
Zara perked up. “Farther out? That sounds incredible?—”
“Dangerous,” Hektor corrected.
Pythorus tilted his head. “Naturally. But efficient.”
The siblings exchanged a look. Liora raised her brows like she was watching theater. Elian tried, and failed, to hide a smirk.
Hektor ignored them.
“How long to cover Solkaris in full?” he asked, voice clipped.
Pythorus tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Less than a week. Even if our land is vast, habitat is limited. Basilisks prefer specific climates, stone densities, proximity to the heat caverns.” He gestured elegantly. “There are only so many places where we live, and fewer still that house old blood.”
Zara leaned forward again, interested, smiling, too close to basilisk charm for Hektor’s comfort.
He stared at his plate instead of her expression.
Why would he even look? Why would he care who held her attention? She was free to flirt herself into a coil’s nest if she wanted.
He cleared his throat. “Then we begin immediately. The deeper caverns first.”
Pythorus nodded. “I’ll prep transport.”
Zara clapped softly like someone had just announced a parade. “Adventure,” she whispered, turning to Hektor.
He only answered, “We are working.”
She rolled her eyes. “You make everything sound like a tax form.”
Elian snickered. Liora grinned. Pythorus looked amused.
Hektor reached for his drink and willed himself, every inch of him, not to look at her again…not to think about basilisk charm…or the absurdity of feeling anything at all about who Zara leaned toward.
