I set her bowl down. “Hey you,” I said, picking her up and draping her over one shoulder. She nipped at my hair, and I inhaled the traces of thyme and rosemary. “Okay sweetie, time for bed,” I whispered, stroking her as we walked past Ranth. I set her down, and she ignored Ranth and went to her bowl and began to drink.
“Seems as if she is accepting you?” I breathed out.
“Cats pick up on human emotions.” His wry smile did not hide the sparkle in his eyes.
“Well she usually sleeps with me, and there’s no chance I’m leaving her down here with random portals opening.”
“Right. Well, I like cats.”
I smothered a yawn. “Let’s go to bed,” I said, thinking the words weren’t a great choice. I knew exactly what sleep meant, and my personal safety was more important than any mission.First, be safe.My mother’s words echoed in my head.
“Bed sounds good,” he replied, his lips twitching.
“Look, let’s get this out on the table. You’re attractive but not my type. Okay? You got that? I need to know I’m safe with you.” I crossed my arms.
“You will always besafewith me.” He rose, and my heart leaped into my throat. “But you’re lying about the other part.” His voice dropped to almost a whisper. He came close. Too close. He held me spellbound as he focused on my lips.
“I don’t lie.” But my heart was beating against my ribs. I didn’t have a type. That part was true. But alichwasn’t usually a consideration. “But good, let’s go and see if Ant comes up.” I walked around him, heading for the stairs, conscious with every step that the bedroom was a place to sleep and do other things that I shouldn’t be considering, but the memory of the kiss lingered close.
I had to trust Ranth, and I did, but there’d be a graphite circle and a wormwood and lavender spell that would wake me up if my line was crossed.
Because the one person I knew I could trust was always me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Iwoke with sunlight streaming through the windows, and Antimony nestled full length beside me like a graphite line. Ranth was still on the floor, lying on his back with arms crossed like a mummy. We’d spent most of the night and early morning exchanging childhood memories. I knew his deep love for fresh dates and milk, silence on a clear night staring at the stars, and the joy of mud on his hands as he made his first pots with his grandfather. He’d described the bliss of days pounding papyrus into flour with his mother and collecting the bounty from date palms. Dates also grew in the garden they tended. I hadn’t considered the garden was an actual place where plants would grow. Vegetables and fruits ofevery kind I could dream of and some he could describe but we had no names for, perhaps lost to time.
I’d shared adventures foraging for porcini mushrooms, where I’d once slid into a ravine, broken my arm, and had to be hauled up with ropes. We’d talked about wildcrafting, and how Mom and I would spend part of the day wandering and gathering. My favorite things to find were horsetail and wood sorrel, for which I’d been given my name, as well as plants that had survived the ice age, like elderberry and blackberry and, in the spring, miner’s lettuce. It had felt good to share my life on the farm with someone who could understand simplicity and not judge our freedom to explore. Someone who understood the value of nature. Ranth had given me the gift of his past. The names of his two brothers and parents and their favorite things, but the memories for him were like turning leaves in autumn, quickly fading and brittle. He didn’t talk much about the people in the Temple. For him, the past was ages, for me only years. I couldn’t imagine that much time. I’d fallen asleep to his breathing.
I have no idea if Ranth had slept or not, but he’d been a perfect gentleman. Despite my promise to Ori to leave my phone on, I’d texted her that Ranth and I were setting the wards on the room which nulled all electronics. Since no portals had opened overnight, I was calling that a win.
Antimony hopped down as I got up to open the ward. I turned on my phone, and she curled around my ankles, then tore down the stairs. It was almost noon. There was one voicemail from Bud, and Ori had texted a half hour ago that she was worried about me and on her way with news. I texted Ori I was fine, and she replied with relief, which I breathed out. It would be good to see her.
Ranth’s eyes opened as I crossed the room.
“Good morning. Ori’s on her way. I get the bathroom first,” I said, fleeing past him to the bathroom. A shower was non-negotiable.
Fifteen minutes later, I emerged clean and wrapped in a towel. “Your turn,” I said, nodding at the bathroom.
He tilted his head, but he went in and closed the door. The water ran. With him secured in the bathroom, I got dressed, then dried my hair.
The water stopped.
My pulse tripped. I braided my hair to focus on anything but the bumps and creaks in the bathroom. In a few minutes, Ranth emerged wrapped sarong-style in one of my lavender-striped towels. His chest glistened with water drops. My fingers ached to touch him, as if he was made of a rare mineral that transferred energy.
I scrutinized his jaw. “Did you use my razor?”
His lips curved into a silent smug “yes” as the front door chimed.
“That’ll be Ori. I left you a new shirt,” I said, pointing to the shirt I’d left on the bed. Hopefully, my biggest purple sleep shirt would fit better than the kitty one. Fleeing the towel-drop, I dashed down the stairs.
When I pulled the front door ward, Freddie slipped in, reeking of incense and patchouli with a fair dose of the black leather that covered him from foot to neck. In my head, black leather smelled like the fake black licorice you get in ropes. In other words, the most disgusting thing on the planet.
“Hey, gorgeous,” Freddie said, playfully attempting to grab me, which he knew pissed me off.
I sidestepped him, close to using un-Sorrel-like swear words. “Wait here. I’ll get your goods.” I’d entirely forgotten Freddie was coming.
“Ori said we’re going to hang out a bit and discuss your problem.” He wrinkled his nose as if sniffing something questionable, and the embedded diamond twinkled at me. “My hot date isn’t till seven.” He brushed the long, fallen black bangs off his forehead. He’d gotten a haircut recently. One side of his head was shaved close to the scalp.
