Echo huffed, but Lore saw the effort it took for her to smile. “I don’t think I need him. Maybe a little of Hedori’s strengthening juice would help.”
“Coming up.” Nia hurried into the kitchen.
“You should tell him,” he told Echo quietly, watching her pet curl around her ankles.
Sighing deeply, she stroked Bob’s furry back, then looked up, her bicolored eyes dark and troubled. “I know, but I don’t want to worry him. He already feels so much of whatever I go through, and it’s a dangerous distraction when he’s out on patrol. It’s hard to block it when you’re soul-joined, you know?”
He could understand that. “Is that why he isn’t here yet?”
Red streaked her cheeks. She inhaled a shaky breath and picked up her pet, hugging him. “I love that he wants me to be one hundred percent well at all times, but sometimes I just want to take a Tylenol for a headache without the attention. If this was really bad, I would call him in a heartbeat.”
Lore remained silent, absorbing what she said.
“Here.” Nia returned with a glass of the golden liquid.
As Echo drank some of it, he asked, “Is it truly the heavenly juice?”
She lowered the glass and huffed, more color returning to her wan features. Her pet leaped off her lap and went to investigate the potted plants. “No, I was teasing you earlier. It’s actually a revitalizing drink Hedori makes. It’s a great pick-me-up if one’s recovering from wounds, etc. I’m okay now.”
Glass in hand, she stood. “I’m gonna head indoors and find my man. Hopefully, we aren’t paupers now,” she said with a wry smile. “Oh, Lore, if you do decide to join the guys in their games, set the bet at a dollar from the get-go. It’s all about winning with them.”
He stared at Echo’s retreating back, frowning.
“Worried?” Nia teased.
He met her sparkling eyes. “No. I’d rather you teach me more of your bed games.”
Her golden skin turned a shade darker, but her quick mouth was on track. “Then get better fast, and I’ll show you. Do you feel up to a stroll?”
“I’m hardly an invalid if I’m standing here.”
She snorted and hooked her arm through his, and they ambled around the castle in the deepening twilight.
“I see you have an admirer.”
“What?” She glanced back, and finding Bob following along the snow-trodden path, she laughed, the sound light and infectious, making him smile. “He’s adorable.”
“Just as well he’s a cat, or I might have to vanquish him to another realm.”
“Don’t you dare,” she huffed, then asked, “Are you up for a visit to the boathouse?”
“I hadn’t planned on going so far.”
“Well, I could teleport us there. I want you to meet someone.”
“Who?”
“You’ll see.” She smiled, reveling in her surprise.
The happiness in her eyes reached out and wrapped around him. He couldn’t deny her. “All right.”
“I’ll see you later, Bob.” She knelt and caressed the purring cat. Then she leaped up and grasped his hand. The next moment, the pathway and castle vanished in a swirl of air, and they reappeared at the foot of the wooden steps leading to the boathouse. Dark clouds gathered over the beach.
She laughed, sweeping back loose strands of her hair. Her excitement overshadowed his discomfort at having his body dissolve and reform, causing agony to erupt in his wounds and a headache to start. He clenched his jaw, refraining from rubbing his sore temple.
“What is it?”
“You did really well,” he said, ignoring her question.
