“Rest is good,” Zizi agreed, flicking the light switch.
The room plunged into near darkness. He sat on the floor next to the bed, leaning his back against the frame.
Rui tapped the top of his head lightly. “You don’t have to sleep there.”
Zizi looked up over his shoulder. Half his face was in shadow, but she could see the dubious arch of his eyebrows. “Looks like you have a twin-sized bed. I’m six feet tall and—”
“You sleep on a crappy mattress on the floor of your shophouse,” Rui reminded him. “I’m sure my Academy-issued bed is fine.”
“—a gentleman.”
She sighed. “Oh, just get in.”
Zizi shook his head with amusement. “This wasn’t how I imagined our first night together.”
Rui’s jaw dropped. “Have you actually imagined—”
He pressed a finger to her lips. “Didn’t mean to say that out loud. I must be tired too. Please ignore whatever I just said—thank you, I will join you in your tiny and uncomfortable Academy-issued bed.”
She laughed and made room for him to climb in. Draping an arm around him, she rested her head on his chest.
Zizi’s hand found hers immediately, his fingers stroking her knuckles absently, like a habit so ingrained it’d become a natural part of him. Rui smiled. It feltright, like they’d always been together, lying side by side, fingers interlaced, two pieces of the same puzzle created for the sole purpose of fitting together.
“If your spiritual weapon was a conduit for the blue fire, then isn’t the fire also a form of spiritual energy?” he said suddenly. He must be thinking of the first time her blue flames had manifested on the highway, when she drove her flaming sword through Aloysius—and him.
“Aloysius said it was similar to yinqi.” Rui shivered. She didn’t want to think about the Hybrids.
“That’s impossible.” But she thought she heard a hint of doubt in Zizi’s voice. “Anyway, it’s late,” he said, holding her tighter. “You should get some rest. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
Rui nestled into him, wishing the night would last forever, that she could lie in his arms, the two of them hidden from the rest of the world.
The pitter-patter of rain against the window woke her. Stretching her stiff limbs, Rui found herself alone in bed.
Something scratched her skin. A pink sticky note on her arm. She recognized Zizi’s slanted writing.
Went to the hotel. Didn’t want to wake you. Back soon!
Rui smiled at the comically large heart drawn over the last two words. Had he gone to ask his grandmother about her blue flames? Or did his head hurt again? Either way, she wished he had taken her with him.
She frowned at the red thread looped a few times around her wrist. It looked like the one Zizi always wore. He must have taken a length from his own and tied it there. Was it meant to be a romantic gesture? Smiling to herself, Rui found her phone and checked the time. It was almost noon. Crap. Too late to see Ada off on her mission.
She tramped into the bathroom. The hot water from the shower was a welcome reprieve from the cold weather and the lingering chill in her bones. Trying to absorb all the warmth she could, she stayed in there until the skin on her fingers puckered. She was pulling on a sweater when she heard a noise.
A whisper.
Was someone in her room? She stuck her head out of the bathroom. The room was empty.
But there it was again. The same childlike voice.
“Hello? Hel-looo!”
It was coming from her bed.
Rui tipped the pillow over.
Nikai’s mirror.
“Nikai?”
