We wander into the kitchen, with Reverie angling herself on my shoulder so she can keep an eye on Asher, and I find Zuri prepping a charcuterie board.
“Hey,” I walk over and give her a hug, which Zuri returns a little more stiffly than normal.
“Hey,” Zuri says, then turns her attention to Asher.
“Zuri, Asher.” I gesture between them for a quick introduction, then cross my fingers and mutter under my breath, “please get along.”
Asher’s hand brushes across my back as he steps up to the counter and starts unpacking the bag of snacks we brought.
“We figured bribes might help,” he says, shooting Zuri a crooked smile, which she begrudgingly returns with narrowed eyes.
The last thing he pulls out is a glass bottle of blood that I don’t remember seeing him pack. He takes it out of an insulated bag and offers it to Zuri. She accepts it, again with narrowed eyes, but her eyebrows shoot up when she reads the label.
“This is the same place I go to,” she says, her voice laced with suspicion and surprise. “She told you, didn’t she?”
“Actually,” Asher draws the word out as he turns to face me, “she didn’t. I had no idea.”
They both look at me, but I shrug, causing Reverie toflutter her wings for a moment to maintain her balance. What do I care where they get their blood from, as long as it’s not some poor human or other unwilling victim?
“Hmm.” Zuri purses her lips and turns to pour two glasses before placing the bottle in the fridge.
We all head to the living room, and I set up the snack station before grabbing a deck of cards.
“Alright, what does everyone know how to play?” I ask.
“Poker?” Zuri suggests, but I shake my head.
“You know I hate poker. What about Rummy?”
“Eh,” Zuri says.
“Asher? Any preferences?” I turn to him in hopes he’ll have something good.
“How about a classic game of Go Fish?”
“Oooooh,” the squeal of excitement comes from my hair, and Zuri cracks a genuine smile for the first time since we arrived.
“Go Fish it is,” I say.
We settle around the coffee table, with Asher and me on floor pillows, Zuri on the couch, and Reverie settled on the table with a custom-made wooden card holder in front of her. She practically disappears behind them once the cards are all slotted into place, but we’ve learned how to make it work over the years.
Zuri quickly builds up a pile of matches, and I turn accusing eyes on her as she claims another pair from me.
“You’re cheating,” I say.
Zuri gasps, “I would never!”
Asher looks between the two of us, his brows furrowed.
“How do you cheat at Go Fish?” he asks.
Surprisingly, Reverie is the one who answers him. I’m glad to see her starting to come out of her shell.
“She’s probably listening to our heartbeats. That’s howshe normally cheats, anyway," Reverie says with a giggle, then ducks down behind her cards.
“Huh,” Asher says, eyeing Zuri. “Clever.”
Zuri’s lips start to curve up on one side, but she quickly corrects it.
