Page 70 of Resurgent

I watch her turn to continue up the stairs, then—

"ANNALISE!"

A familiar voice echoes up the staircase.

I turn and barely hide my annoyance when I see Matt.

The bastard jogs up the last few steps like he owns the entire building, and Annalise's face lights up immediately as he points directly at her.

"I'm coming for you."

She bursts out laughing. "You deserved it."

"Oh, I deserved it? You! You put me through hell today."

"You survived."

He stops in front of her, a cheesy grin plastered across his face. "I'm going to spend the rest of the evening explaining exactly how much I hate you."

"Over dinner?"

"Obviously…who knows what you were forced to eat while stuck in that watch wagon."

"I ate quite well, thank you very much! And don’t be an ass,” she scolds, as she throws her arms around him.

Matt catches her easily, laughing as he hugs her back, then lifting her to spin her in circles once his feet are fully on the landing.

I stare…There's something almost brotherly about it…but not quite.

Until Matt glances over Annalise's shoulder at me. The look lasts half a second, but it’s more than enough to say I see you.

I raise an eyebrow.

Matt raises his.

Fantastic.

Annalise pulls back and looks at me, completely unaware of the silent conversation she's just interrupted. "Oh! Theo, come with us."

I blink. "Me?"

"Yes."

Matt's expression says absolutely not, but Annalise ignores him. "You need dinner, too."

"I do…"

Matt sighs dramatically. “She’s not going to drop it until you agree, so let’s fast forward through the part where you pretend to object and then eventually give her what she wants. I need to get some real food in her stomach before she passes out and I get lectured or scorched.”

"You’re so dramatic," she laughs, just as her stomach growls loud enough to rival the dragons on the way in.

I smile, "He’s right. We should eat. We haven’t had anything since breakfast in bed this morning."

Matt’s eyes nearly bulge out of his head as he looks from Annalise to me, smoke practically billowing from his ears.

“Take it down a notch, Mattey. The hotel we were in provided it as a service, and since the couches were covered in maps and gear, we each ate in our rooms.”

The short walk to dinner is spent mostly with Annalise and Matt arguing about…I’m not really even sure what.