Ranth stripped off the fleece jacket. His arms flexed as he placed it over the back of the chair. We were both munching mizuna and arugula when Ori’s voice filled the kitchen. “Hey! Exciting news. Freddie got a phone number, but there’s no answer. It’s an Egyptian country code. He’ll try again in their morning.”
“The Ahknim have a listed phone number? I thought it was a secret society?” I chuckled.
“It’s not the Ahknim, but something that’s supposed to be affiliated. You know Freddie, he’s vague. He called a friend who has a cousin, who has a friend that once knew someone…”
“Quit. I get it. I suppose we’ll owe him for this?”
“He’s coming over to collect.” Ori giggled.
“What does he want?”
“First born,” we said together and both laughed.
I speared some sweet potato. “Seriously, what did he ask for?”
“Love charms. You’d better give him a super duper one.”
“Okay.” I laughed again, then mused over charm recipes. Freddie was an incredible person but hard to get to know. He’d been raised by his aunt, but his family was the pack of brothers he ran with. At his core, he was a loner with a standoffish presence and an affinity for too much cologne. But if Freddie took you into his fold, you were like blood to him. That part of him, I really appreciated and respected. I knew deep down he was a friend for life.
I ate the last two chickpeas. “Will you send us the photo of the amulet and the museum hours? Ranth and I can go in the morning. They have an epic alchemy exhibit I’ve been wanting to revisit, anyway.” Ranth had finished his salad. He got up with the bowl.
I took the phone off speaker and held it to my ear.
Ori yawned. “Sorry, I need some sleep. The piece might not be in the viewable collection. If it’s close to the description, I can get someone to call in, and we can make an appointment.”
“That sounds perfect. Thanks, Ori. Sweet dreams. I’ll call you first thing.”
“You going to be okay? I can come over. I mean…”
She meant Ranth. He was leaning against the counter, studying me. I studied my empty salad bowl and replied, “I need you rested, and you coming over means we’ll stay up all night talking and plotting.” I laughed. “I’ll keep my phone off silent. But I feel the love.”
“If you’re sure.”
The salad turned into rock in my stomach. “Yup. All good.” I hung up. It was the first time it occurred to me I would have to sleep in the same room with him. Did I really trust him? I couldgive him the guest room, but what if the wards didn’t hold? My room was the safest place in the house, and we both needed to stay alive.
I sat back in the chair. “For safety, we’re going to need some house rules…” I was channeling my stepdad.
Ranth crossed his arms, nodding for me to continue. Had his lips twitched?
“I get the bed. You get the floor. Zones are rigid. No crawling into bed with me in the middle of the night. No snoring. No leaving the room without waking me up and no opening doors or windows. And no touching my stuff. Deal?”
Ranth continued to look at me as if I were saying a bunch of words he didn’t understand.
“Agreed?”
He raised his hands, palms together under his chin, and closed his eyes. In that moment, he glowed with a light I hadn’t seen before. It made my memory of the skeletal version of him even brighter in my mind.
“I need to ask you something. It’s going to sound weird.”
He opened his brown eyes.
“Maybe you’d better sit down.” I waved at the chairs.
He sat down, and his gaze roamed over me as if I was an interesting object that would reveal a secret.
I took a breath and exhaled. “When I’m in a protective circle, I see you differently. Do you know what I mean?”
He tilted his head. “I don’t think so. What do you see?”
