I nod, and Luca squeezes my hand. Wards or not, we’ll be keeping watch. I don’t trust Riven. This place is drenched in witch magic, but that’s about as much of a barrier against celestial magic as a bargain bin shower curtain.
“Call for me if you need anything.” Riven leaves in a hurry, his cloak swishing around his ankles. My lips purse. He couldn’t get away from us any faster if he tried.
I glance at the dust on the floor again.
“No. Absolutely not,” Luca says.
“What?” I raise my eyebrows, pretending I don’t know exactly what he’s getting at.
“You’re not scrubbing the shuck’s safe house all night.”
“Shh.” I clap my hand over his mouth. “Don’t call him that. We’re in his home.”
“Yeah,” Ciprian closes the door behind he and Malach. “It’s bad manners to insult the people who house you.”
Luca taps his foot on the floor. “What if they abducted you, then forced you to fight in a fucking arena?”
Ciprian shrugs. “I’m not sure. That wasn’t one of the etiquette hypotheticals my mom quizzed me on. I’ll be sure to ask her when we get home.”
“Fuck fancy fork rules,” I snap. “We’re all going to be nice because we aren’t stupid.” I shoot Luca a serious look. “This isn’t survival through pride anymore; we have to be strategic.”
Luca narrows his eyes.
I roll mine. “I know I sound hypocritical. This speech is as much for me as it is for you.”
“We need a list of priorities,” Ali adds.
“Priority one: shower.” My skin is coated in battle gore, and it feels even worse than it looks. “And finding a toothbrush.”
“Priority two: a watch schedule,” Malach murmurs.
I nod, shooting him a grateful smile.
Ciprian yawns. “Priority three: sleep.”
“Once we’re rested, we need to develop a portal plan,” Alistair says. “How to get there unseen and trick it into letting Luca through.”
Luca groans at the ceiling. “Light work.”
“That’s why we’re taking it one step at a time.” I plant my hands on his shoulders and march him into the bathroom. There aren’t any switches or light fixtures, only moody flickering orbs that float around the room as if they have minds of their own.
“Creepy.” Ali reaches out and pokes one. His fingers go right through it.
“They’re kind of romantic.” Ciprian winks at me as he bends to dig around in the recessed stone cubby and comes out with several bottles of liquid. “Toothpaste adjacent?”
“Give it to me,” Luca says.
Ciprian tucks the bottles into his chest. “I said it might be toothpasteadjacent. I’m not a witch. It could be poison for all I know.”
I hold my hand out, and Ciprian hands one over. I unscrew the lid and take a sniff. It’s not spearmint, but it’s close. “Toothpaste adjacent,” I say.
Luca dips his finger into the white goop and pops it in his mouth. “Tastes better than vomit.”
“A ringing endorsement,” Alistair mutters.
It takes half an hour for everyone to shower and get into bed. It’s a tight squeeze, but I’ll sleep better knowing they’re all withinreach. Old me would be embarrassed by that. Was it only a few short months ago that I slept alone every night?
“I’ll take first watch,” I say, sitting in the middle with my back braced against the headboard. “I don’t have the energy to argue about it, but I’m too wired to sleep yet.”
