I didn’t understand how Kleos had shared her power with her cousin, but the result was one smug-ass giant with far too much power.
Kleos hid hers, appearing as normal as she could make herself. Gideon wore it on his sleeve.
Splitting her energy in two should have weakened her, but if it did, I couldn’t sense it. If anything, she seemed stronger, particularly when Gideon was around. I smiled as I watch her cousin kiss her cheek before tapping Lucian’s back.
“Where’s your guest? I have a proposal for him.”
“Showering,” Kleos replied. “He shouldn’t be long.”
“Good, good.” He sat at his usual place around Lucian’s kitchen table, to my right. “I don’t know what I smell, but I know I want it.”
“Truffles,” Lucian replied. “As usual, you managed to arrive just for dinner.”
“Well, it’s not my fault if you keep a table worthy of kings. Speaking of.” My eyes widened as he vaguely waved over the empty table, materializing a bottle of red wine.
Gideon didn’t use to have much magic. His skin was naturally impervious to spells thanks to his dragon heritage, and though he couldn’t shift, I’d seen him growl, shimmer a little, and glow on occasion. Watching him use magic so easily now was strange. I couldn’t deny I felt a bit sorry for myself, too.
Kleos had always been the mage amongst us. Gideon and I were the muscles back in the day. I missed the days when we were both more or less useless.
“I picked it up in France earlier this week.”
“Good man. I suppose I can make another sheet of pasta.”
Lucian didn’t even need any word or movement, wielding magic with so much skill it was as easy as breathing to him. I watched, mesmerized. On the countertop, eggs, flour, salt, and olive oil mixed and shaped themselves into a ball, before sliding in and out of a pasta machine to be flattened, and cut into neat even noodles. Tagliatelle.
“You’ll have to teach me how to do that.”
Kleos huffed. “While Lucian makes it look easy, that takes a lot more finesse than you’re capable of. You have to focus so every step is done precisely. I tried, and mine came out all lumpy. You have no chance.”
“Hey,” Gideon protested. “I could totally do it.”
“Not even in your wildest dreams,” Lucian drawled. “Kleos is a baker; she understands how to actually make pasta, and shecan’t do it by magic.” He kissed his wife’s bare shoulder, right on a red rune. “Yet. It takes more practice and patience than you possess.”
I tried not to feel left out, and failed miserably. I never understood how much I used to rely on Gideon’s lack of power until Kleos divided hers with him. We used to look at each other and roll our eyes when our friends showed off. Now I was the only one who couldn’t levitate a teaspoon.
I straightened up, suddenly aware of a shift in the air.
The snake entered the kitchen first, followed byhim.
“Cas,” Kleos greeted with a smile as she turned to the door. “Were the shirts too small for you?”
I turned to find the hulking man bare chested, his ridiculous musculature on full display. He wore low pants, showing off a distinct V under his navel. The lightning marks on his flanks, arms, and neck were currently black, like both of his eyes, but I watched electric blue currents ripple through them as he walked to a free chair, on the other side of the table.
“I can’t say I’m very fond of shirts. They limit movement.”
More like he wanted to display his chiseled perfection. “Show-off,” I grumbled.
His eyes found mine. “What was that?”
I lifted my chin, accepting the challenge. “You’re showing off, and you know it.”
The corner of his mouth hiked up. “So, you’re saying my appearance ought to give me cause for pride?”
It took a great deal of self-control, but I managed not to kick him. “I’m saying you clearly think so. Would you be bare chested if you had a pot belly?”
“Thankfully, we’ll never know.”
Chuckling, Kleos waved toward the cupboard. Six sets of plates and cutlery hovered to their respective places around the table.
