“Quit looking at me like that.” I prod him on the sleeve, checking to see if the material feels like it looks, and when my hand touches nothing but skin, my eyebrows shoot up. “Are you even wearing clothes?”
He rolls his eyes, ignoring my questions as he guides us over to a glittering platform. “Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies.”
“Do you know how annoying it is for someone to only speak in idioms and stupid phrases?” I ask him seriously. “Very. It’s very annoying.”
Torin snorts loudly, failing to stifle his laugh with a cough that has Jack glaring at him.
“I hope you enjoyed the magical lift at the Dry Dock as we’re on the seventeenth floor.”
Instead of heading for the staircase, like I thought, he circumvents it, leading us to a patch of marble floor that’s shimmering with flecks of gold.
“I think I’d rather take the stairs,” I reply.
“That’s not happening.” Jack grips me by the elbow and tugs me forward until all four of us are standing in the middle of the shimmering air.
The floor immediately begins to ascend, surrounding us with a glittering light that’s no less terrifying than the other magical lift. I squeeze my eyes shut while Aster wraps his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. I rest my forehead in the crook of his neck and take deep breaths.
“Let me know when we need to step off.”
I’m surprised when a wall of heat warms my back as someone plucks the straw from my hair. Then I feel another hand on my upper arm, rubbing up and down in a gentle motion.
“Yes, I’m a sorcerer,” Jack says from beside me, and I realise at least one of the hands on me must belong to him. “A very underpowered and shameful one. My family are of an ancient line who have been interbreeding for greater power for centuries. And all I can do is change into a raven, which is worse than having no magic at all.”
“Oh.” The silence that falls is a little awkward, so I find myself lifting my arms in an exuberant shrug that I quickly cut off when I realise it’s pulling me away from the safety of Aster’s chest. “Well, apart from Aster, none of the rest of us have got any magic, anyway.”
“And mine’s nothing to write home about.”
“Considering most sorcerers are pricks, I don’t think we mind too much that you’re a rubbish one,” Torin adds.
Jack just snorts. “Well, as sweet and uplifting as it is to know I have your support, we should all get some rest. Something tells me tomorrow’s going to be a trial for us all.”
Aster squeezes my hip, and I peel one eye open to see that we’ve stopped in place. Avoiding looking downward at all costs, I step forward and we set off in search of our rooms.
It turns out that Aster and I are sharing again, which I find oddly comforting. Not just because without me, he can’t communicate with anyone, either. It’s also for the selfish reason that I feel entirely out of my depth here.
We unlock our room beside Torin’s and across the hallway from Jack’s and the two of us openly gape at the mixture of opulence and magic that’s on display.
“I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Me neither.”
There’s the heated stone floor beneath our feet.
The water already mixed with a dozen options for scented bubbles pouring from the tap in the bathroom.
The fireplace which crackles in the very centre of the room with its purple flames and no sign of a chimney, where the flames don’t burn when they touch.
... don’t ask me how I know that last part, Aster wasn’t pleased with my method of finding out. He channeled Torin’s attitude to shoot me a dirty look, shaking his head and silently tutting and then seemed confused when I couldn’t help grinning back at him.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
I shake my head wordlessly. I don’t know how to explain the feeling in my chest. It’s a twisty, burrowing kind of warmth that hits me whenever I think about how different Aster looks now to when Frannie and I found him, curled into himself like he was an abandoned puppy.
It’s only been about a week, but his colour’s back in his cheeks, and he’s already filling out more after enough proper food and rest.
Both of us then take full advantage of the bath, and Aster takes his time testing out the different fragranced water until he works out which one he likes best. Afterwards, the two of us sit side by side with our thighs touching on a loveseat in front of the flickering flames. We’re both wearing white robes that are the softest, fluffiest things I’ve ever felt before.
And I can’t stop staring at him. Taking quick peeks at the handsome face that’s grown even better-looking from filling out slightly, his cheeks less gaunt after days of Cookie’s huge portions.
