“More power to you if you want to drag that out of him,” Xeni says. “I had more important things to do this morning.”
“I think he meansBash,” Ego whispers loudly to Sakane, who chokes on his drink as Xeni bites back his smile.
“So, that’s it, then? We’re leaving?” Sakane asks, and Xeni nods. “How long is the drive to your village?”
“We aren’t that far out of the city, so it’ll take us two days,” Xeni says. “If we leave after lunch, we should make it by tomorrow night.”
“Will they be happy to see us?” Sakane asks with obvious concern in his eyes. Like Ego, he’d never left Atlanta, but he lacks her confidence in new situations.
Xeni nods slowly as he finishes chewing. “The plan was always for me to convince Bash to come with me. A few extra leeches won’t be a big deal.” He tosses a haughty glance at Cato as he says it.
Sakane’s attention shifts behind me and Xeni, and I turn as Sovran approaches. He drops onto the bench beside me, and I swear it groans under his weight.
“You have satisfied your appetite?” he asks.
Xeni snorts as I jab an elbow into his side.
“Oh, yeah,” Xeni says, still trying and failing to hide his grin. “It’s been satisfied.”
Sovran’s brows knit, but he doesn’t comment on Xeni’s giggling even as Ego snickers too. I shake my head and shoot him a look that I hope conveys my apologies for their behavior.
“Good,” Sovran says with a decisive nod. “You will leave shortly.”
“Oh… kay,” Ego drawls. “Way to be subtle about wanting to get rid of us.”
Sovran fixes his eyes on her. “You eat a lot for a small human,” he finally says. “I am merely concerned about their supplies.”
Ego shrugs, stabbing a piece of apple off Cato’s plate before he can object.
“What will you do, Sovran?” Xeni asks. “Are you going back to Atlanta?”
Sovran nods and stands. “There are things I must do there. Loose ends to be tied before I leave the city.”
“You’ll leave?” I ask.
He stares off into the distance for a moment. “My time there is at an end,” he answers, once again falling into his cryptic riddles, and this time, no one tries to solve them.
We collect our bags and walk as a group around the corner, where Chakri and Johannes wait. Beyond them is a black SUV with a crumpled hood and cracked windshield.
My brows fly up as I glance at Xeni. “You drove that deathtrap?”
He pats the dented front quarter panel lovingly. “That thing took out the fence at Ljómur and kept kicking. She’s seen better days, but she’s good. Well,” he adds with a grimace, “shewas, until she overheated on the drive down.”
“The engine’s been repaired,” Johannes says as he crosses his arms and nods at the vehicle. “We have an incredible mechanic that looked her over. You won’t have any problems getting home.”
“I could’ve fixed it,” Cato mutters.
Xeni turns to him with another syrupy smile. “Aw, of course you could’ve,” he says in a placating tone.
Cato scrunches his nose at him, an argument brewing on his tongue.
I interrupt before he can get Xeni riled up. “You said there’s fuel?” I ask Sovran.
He nods. “Fuel, food, and water. Plenty to get you home safely.”
Xeni’s snarkiness fades as he approaches Sovran, displaying a rare seriousness as he dips his head in a bow. It’s a show ofrespect rarely given by their side, and always towards someone viewed as a superior.
Considering where Xeni came from and how his parents raised him, it’s a big offering, and I hope Sovran realizes the enormity of the gratitude Xeni is showing him.
