"What?" Alar looked genuinely confused as I settled into the chair he'd offered. "I said she looked terrific."
"After qualifying that by saying she looked good for someone who was almost killed." Codric shook his head in mock despair. "You never qualify a compliment. You have the romantic instincts of a rock. How did you ever convince Kailin to give you a chance?"
"By being genuine." Alar pressed a kiss to my cheek.
I nodded as I sat down. "I know what Alar meant by that. I feel oddly rested after the horrific night we had. It's truly puzzling."
After Alar had killed the man who had been choking the life out of me, the dead weight had dragged me down to the floor, and his blood had soaked my clothes.
I should be traumatized.
Instead, I was feeling better than I had in a long while and admiring our new accommodations.
How was Alar taking that?
He had never killed before, and last night he'd taken a life to save mine.
I glanced at him, searching his face, but he seemed calm, his blue eyes clear. Either he was hiding it well, or he'd made peace with what he had done.
Or maybe this place was magical, making all of us happier and more content than we should be under the circumstances.
Was it survivors' high?
If so, Shovia wasn't affected by either.
She was uncharacteristically quiet, her sarcastic humor absent, and her expression grim.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"I'm tired, Kailin."
"We're all tired."
She shook her head. "I'm tired of this. Of you being targeted. Of waking up, wondering if today's the day someone finally succeeds." Her jaw tightened. "I want it to stop."
The words hung in the air, heavy with everything she wasn't saying. Shovia wasn't the type to admit fear or vulnerability. For her to say even this much meant she was at the end of her rope.
"Don't we all," Morek said from the stove.
"We are safe here," I said without much conviction, my eyes drawn to the windows and balcony doors. "I think."
A long silence stretched across the table until Codric cleared his throat. "I can't believe they are letting us stay in this lavish apartment. I feel like royalty."
Alar cast him a glare but said nothing.
I was grateful for the change of subject. "We have a private bathroom and our own kitchen, but the best part is having an actual couple's bed that doesn't have a gap in the middle."
"Yeah." Codric grinned, leaned back, and wrapped his arm around Shovia's shoulders. "That's a big improvement."
"Good for you." Morek slid plates of scrambled eggs and toast in front of each of us. "Breakfast. You're welcome."
It must be difficult for him to be the only one without a partner. Perhaps the prophesied seventh member would be the one for him?
Codric poked at his eggs with a fork. "This is it? Just eggs and toast?"
"You're welcome to do better." Morek put a forkful of eggs in his mouth.
Codric flashed him one of his charming smiles. "This is perfect. I'm very happy to leave the cooking to you. I wouldn't know where to even begin."
