“Come on, Theodora. Let me help you up.” Cosmo’s arm goes under my back and I allow to help me sit. “Can you tell me what just happened?” he asks in a surprisingly gentle voice.
What happen? I don’t know.
I pull myself off the floor. Cosmo stands close, his body almost touching mine. “Theo?”
I reach up and touch his face, then attempt to send a little Lumina towards him as an experiment. Wes didn’t siphon everything.
Phew.
Still the alien sensation of that cold, dark force still lingers.
“I nearly lost the Lumina,” I tell him.
He runs a hand through his hair, looking worried. “Nearly? It’s still there?”
“Yes, just. But, Cosmo. It was bad, I almost…couldn’t fight it. Shit, and Janine is going to be stronger.”
“And you’ll have all of us at your side, you won’t be alone.”
I won’t be alone. He’s right. The thought calms me.
“Are you going to class?” Cosmo asks after a beat.
I shrug. “Don’t really see the point.”
“Yeah, me neither.” He pauses, looking awkward, and Cosmo Drakeward doesn’t do awkward. “Do you want to come up to the penthouse? I’ve some breakfast foods.”
That makes me smile slightly. “Anyhing other than kale smoothies?”
His brow wrinkles. “Yogurt and granola?”
“I guess I can handle that.”
And so, I go to the penthouse.
With my new pal, Cosmo Drakeward.
46
The penthouse feels too large these days.
I used to enjoy space, peace, but now I’m…lonely.
Having Theodora here feels good.
She sits at the kitchen island, looking tiny and pale. Her hands tremble as she picks at a bowl of granola. Whatever happened in the infirmary has clearly left her shaken.
"Eat," I say, sliding a glass of freshly pressed orange juice toward her. "You looking so weak is annoying my dragon.”
Theodora gives a half smile. “Your dragon is always annoyed, Cosmo. He should try yoga.”
I lean against the counter. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”
She shrugs, a stray curl falling over her eye. I fight the urge to stroke it away. "I don’t know what to say,” she answers. “The Lumina reacted in a way I’ve never experienced.”
Hmm. “Is anything else different?”
Her brow creases. “Now you come to mention it, the air is heavy today. Can you feel it?”
