Chapter Sixteen
“Have you really never had a Thanksgiving?”
It was a shame he’d never invited anyone to taste his food. While we’d been waiting for everything to cook, we’d had bread. He’d mixed some fancy olive oil with miso to dip the bread in, and while I’d never had that, it was absolutely delicious.
Now, I was inhaling Soyer’s eggplant and noodle dish, which was no less delicious.
“You’re making too big a deal of this, my heart. I’ve never wanted to celebrate false colonizer history with seasonal food.”
I made a face at him. “Well, yeah, that sucks. But it’s really about spending time with friends and family, maybe arguing, maybe watching the football game if that’s your thing.”
“It’s not my thing.”
I shrugged. “Just speaking generally.”
“Uh-huh.”
He was eyeing me with what was probably an enormous dose of skepticism, and not just about sports.
“It’ll be fun.” Reluctantly, I let go of my fork to take his hand and squeeze it. “I promise it’ll be fun. You know, I can help you cook if it’s too much work.”
He raised his left eyebrow. “No.”
I smiled at him. “You’ll cook, then?”
He sighed and braided his fingers through mine. “Of course. Do not rely on me for pleasant conversation or the like though. I’ll leave you in charge of that.”
“It’ll be so much fun! I hope Dwayne and Laura can make it. You don’t mind Laura, do you?”
“I will not be serving fries and ketchup.”
“That’s not the only thing kids eat. As far as I’m aware.”
“You take care of that, too. Hmm. I’m not sure I have enough plates and things. You know what? We’ll go shopping together.”
“Okay.”
He unwound his fingers from mine. “That’s settled, then. Now eat your food. You’re hungry.”
I picked my fork back up and ate another mouthful of the pasta. “This is really delicious. You’re a great cook. And a great baker. I don’t know that I say it enough, but it’s true.”
Soyer huffed, but his eyes were bright, as if the compliment had pleased him. “You’re buttering me up, Amory. Don’t think I don’t see right through you. You’re only getting away with this because you’re very cute and I like you.”
“Me too. I like you too.”
Soyer and I spent the evening talking about this and that, about desserts and ice cream flavors, and then we went to bed and watched a horror movie. I fell asleep partway through, but it didn’t matter. Soyer was there, that was all that mattered.
I dreamed of the phoenix, the one that lived on Soyer’s skin, the one whose shape it was near impossible to see and understand as a whole, given how the feathers wound around Soyer’s limbs, how the bird stretched powerful wings in airless flight.
I dreamed the phoenix bird was calling for me.
How I knew that it was calling for me, I wasn’t sure, but it was a certainty in my heart.
I woke with Soyer’s arm around me, his leg slung over mine. The day felt younger than it normally did, probably because my sleep schedule had shifted the previous day, and I decided to enjoy that, enjoy this lazy morning with Soyer right there next to me.
“Hmm,” he said. “Someone’s up early.”
I stretched, then hugged him. “Were you awake? Did I wake you?”
“Worrier. I like watching you sleep. I’m a creep like that.”
I tightened my hold on him. “There you go again, trying to make yourself sound scary.”
“And here you go again, defending my honor. Amory, you are chivalrous. All you need is a pretty white horse, maybe some clunky armor, and you’ll be an actual knight.”
“Can’t ride.”
“Pick a smart horse who doesn’t mind an incompetent rider.”
“Would you be my… What’s the word, knave?”
“Knave? You’re thinking of a card game. Page is the glorified human shoehorn for a knight. And no, that sounds like too much ceremony and no fun at all.”
“Have to trust your word on that.”
I snuggled close to him, nuzzled his chest, and reveled in the simple comfort of this, just Soyer and me, nothing we had to do, no place we had to be.
Secretly, I felt happiness spark from maybe having another day like yesterday; one I could mostly spend with him.
It was a half-awake dream ghost of a thought, but still.
“You look very comfortable and relaxed right now.”
“I am. You’re soft and warm.”
“Says my soft and warm fiancé. Can you listen, or does the sound of my voice make you fall asleep?”
I wiggled my legs to express my displeasure at the accusation. “I listen. You know that.”
“Okay then. I should’ve told you last night, but you were so excited for Food-giving.”
“’S not what the holiday’s called.”
“Don’t care. You were excited. But, my heart, I’ll be out of town for a few days after that.”
That was disproportionately sobering, and I let out a heavy breath. “Okay. You said that.”
“Yes. I wouldn’t have told you last night, but I reconsidered. I think maybe you should know. I’m oversimplifying the situation, but it’s about the vampires who tried to abduct you from the fortune teller’s train car. When you burned again. Right before the witch.”
That was like a bucket full of ice water dumped over my head, and if the way Soyer started to rub my back was any indication, he noticed my reaction.
“Are you…going after them?”
There was a pause. “They can’t hurt you anymore. I’m going after who sent them. And just so you know, I’m not doing it alone. Valentin and Simeon are coming along. Or I’m coming along with them. The details aren’t too important.”
“Is Elias going too?”
He snorted. “Fuck no. How would we keep him from getting himself into trouble? No, you and he are staying here where it’s safe. Amory?”
“Yeah?”
“I need to know that you’re ready to be bored while I’m away. Stay in. Order takeout. Watch a few movies. And if you leave the house, please take Ben with you. Can you do that for me?”
He sounded pleading, and that stirred something deep in my heart. I craned my neck so I could look into his eyes.
“I can. But you have to be careful, okay? You can’t get hurt.” I thought about what he’d said, then tacked on “And watch Simeon’s and Valentin’s backs, okay? I’m sure Elias worries too.”
He sighed. “You two. Always worrying when you shouldn’t be. Yeah, obviously I’ll look out for them. Not that they need it.”
“They wear suits all the time. Simeon’s just a lawyer. You’re a badass. Right?”
“Uh-huh. I am a badass. And I’ll make sure Simeon and his legal expertise will continue to be at your service.”
“That’s not what I mean! You know that. I don’t want Elias to hurt.”
He rubbed my back again. “Yeah, I know. Still don’t know why you two had to end up friends, but the cards are on the table there.”
I didn’t want him to go, I truly didn’t. But I had no right to demand that he stay here with me. He wouldn’t do that to me, not if there was a place I wanted to go or had to go. The phoenix of my dreams loved his freedom, though perhaps not his loneliness.
“Will you text, too?”
“Of course. Of course I’ll text, Amory.”
“Okay. I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you more, my heart.” He kissed my forehead. “Do you want to go shopping for kitchen stuff with me today? For your party?”
“It’s our party. I haven’t invited anyone yet. You don’t have to buy anything if people are already busy.”
Soyer moved, looking around. “I have a fix for that. May I use your phone?”
I didn’t like all the movement, it was too close to getting up. I rubbed my forehead against his chest, hoping that would convince him to stay in bed.
“The fancy phone you gave me, you mean?”
“Yes, your phone. Can I use it?”
“You made me feed it my fingerprint, remember? You’ll have to get my finger first.”
He snorted. “Your hands are all over me, where they belong. I want to call Elias from your phone. May I?”
That made me look up. “Elias?”
“Yes. I think you need to see what he can do, finally.”
I stretched again, then rolled onto my side and pointed to my phone where it lay on the bedside table. “You can call him, sure. Phone’s over there.”
“Good. Don’t move. I like the look of you on your back.”
That had me both blushing and speechless while Soyer stretched over me, his body intimately close, his knee coming to rest between my legs so he could get to my phone.
He held the device out, then proceeded to unwind my arms from around him. I stuck out my finger, and before he pressed the screen to it, he kissed it, giving me a mischievous smile full of promise.
He was frowning as he went to my contacts, sighed, then hit the Call button next to Elias’s contact, all in such a way that I could see exactly what he was doing. Before Elias even picked up, Soyer hit the speaker button.
“Amoryyyy! Amory. You call me in my confinement.” Elias sniffled. “You are a delightful ray of moonshine in an otherwise bleak day. Are you coming to visit me today?”
Elias sounded hopeful. Soyer was rolling his eyes.
“It’s me, young Hawthorne.”
There was a pause on Elias’s end. “Mr. Bennet? Do I have your contact saved wrong? I do apologize, Mr. Bennet, but your voice is a balm as well.”
“I’m using Amory’s phone.”
I cleared my throat. “I’m here too.”
I heard an intake of breath. “Is there an announcement? There is, isn’t there? And you’re telling me first, before even Villainous Valentin and Sinister Simeon.”
Soyer was grinning as if he were enjoying this. “In a way. Amory has decided that he wants to have a stuff-’em-dead-giving party, and he was about to run all over town inviting people. I thought you’d be much more efficient and thorough.”
Another pause. “You are having a Thanksgiving party?” He sounded suspicious.
“You’re invited,” I said. “Simeon and Valentin too. We’re going to make juice.”
“I’m going to make juice, but yes, young Hawthorne. You and your keepers are of course welcome in our home to feast with us.”
“In your home. Mr. Bennet, you mean to tell me this shindig is going to be taking place in your house?”
“Where else?”
“Oh my.”
I lifted my head. “It’s not a shindig though, just some food and everyone being together. Rae and Ben if Ben doesn’t have plans with the writer. And Dwayne. Kasey… Soyer, should we invite Kasey?”