Chapter 22

Bastian heard his door open but continued to sit there and look at the phone. She had called him.

“This is new.”

He looked to see Tor standing on the other side of the room smirking at him.

“What?”

“Uh, sitting naked drinking coffee in the dark.” Tor smiled.

Bastian looked down and was surprised he was sitting on the sofa with his coffee mug in his hand. “She phoned me.” Putting the cup down, he tugged the throw blanket and pulled it across his lap. Chatting with a man while naked was awkward, even for him.

“She?”

“Nova.” Bastian looked at his phone like he was going to see the proof of it on the blacked-out screen.

“The distracted nakedness makes sense now.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “What did she say?”

“Ah, we have a breakfast date at eight.” Bastian frowned. “Is there a reason you were visiting in the middle of the night?”

“Yeah. The FaTerra Princess called me.”

“She called you?”

“I gave her my number and told her it didn’t matter the time to let me know if she figured it out.”

Bastian stood up and adjusted the blanket, wrapping it around his waist. “She’s figured it out?” Picking up his cup, he went out into the kitchen. There would be no sleeping now. Not while he was swamped by the anticipation of seeing Nova again.

“Yes and no.” Tor followed him.

Glancing at him for a second, he filled the cup back up.

“Yes, she’s figured it out, no it’s not a quick fix.”

Turning, he leaned against the counter. “But she can reverse it?”

“She believes so, over time. Something about if she does it too quickly, she could turn him into a vegetable.”

“Shit.” He barely contained the vegetable-chef quip on the tip of his tongue.

“She says she needs a week. At least.”

That sobered Bastian. He stared at the dark liquid in the cup. “Hiding him that long is going to get complicated by tomorrow when the banquet’s over—” He stopped and looked to see Tor grinning at him. “How am I getting out of the banquet? I’m meeting Nova and I’m not canceling that.”

“You could tell your folks about her.”

Bastian raised both brows, Tor was speaking more like a modern human than he ever had. How much time was he spending over there? “My folks, you mean the ones that are so steeped in the traditions of Solrelm, that they put themselves at risk to attend the banquets?”

“Yeah.” Tor smirked. “Those ones.”

Bastian set his cup down and rubbed his hands over his hair. “They did take last night’s information drop fairly well—”

“They might understand.”

Dropping his hands, he adjusted the blanket. “They’re going to ask a lot of questions I don’t have answers to.”

“You could tell them she’s being hunted by the lawless and you need to keep her safe and figure out why.”

“That sounds like the truth.” Bastian picked up the coffee and took a sip.

“Did you ever tell them about the soul you’ve been chasing?”

Bastian shook his head. “Not since the first time when they both laughed at me and told me it was just my inexperience.”

Tor shrugged. “Then leave that part out.”

Bastian nodded, then smirked. “Trendan and Liri are going to be pissed.”

“I don’t even have to speak to people and it’s still a long day being there.”

Bastian toasted him with his cup. “You’re coming with me.”

Tor raised an eyebrow, “I get to see you try your smooth moves and fail again?”

Bastian scowled at him. “We’re not out for a hookup, idiot, and no—you get to watch every soul that comes anywhere near her.”

“You’re meeting off the grid, right?”

Bastian shook his head. “No, that cute little café with the amazing coffee.”

Tor pulled out his phone and looked at it. “What time?”

“Eight.”

Putting his phone back in his pocket, he nodded, “I’ll go get our wands charged.” He turned and started for the door. “And some knives, maybe a gun.”

“You never carry a gun.”

Tor paused at the door. “That’s to shoot myself when you try to charm this woman.” He grinned. “It’s painful to watch.”

Bastian smirked. “I could have you detailed in the outlands.”

Tor shrugged. “Could, but then who would help you break all the rules?”

“True. Go away. I need to pace and style my hair for the next four hours.”

Tor’s laugh quickly ended as he left and closed the door.

“I’m very charming.” Bastian took a sip and then looked down at the blanket. “Right. Shower, and figure out what I’m telling the fam to get out of today’s doldrums.”

He couldn’t believe he was having breakfast with her. It was a date that was hundreds of years in the making and he actually felt nervous. He hadn’t felt that since, when? It was a war of some sort in the human realm. Shrugging, he turned toward the bathroom, there was always a war going on there, so he couldn’t be sure which one it had been.