Chapter 16 #2
“Hey,” Lena called to Kenzo, handing him her phone. “You think you can keep up?”
“Please.” Kenzo studied the video playing, then passed the phone back. “Just try not to break anything.”
With that, the pair slipped out of the booth and joined the others for their silly little dance.
“Okay, okay, okay.” Hayden popped a hip and sent a trickle of telekinesis to start recording on his phone. “Let’s get this—”
And almost immediately, Kenzo and Lena broke out into the absurdly trending dance routine, but they seemed to add a few more elements to their movements.
Kenzo dropped to the floor, ducking below Lena’s leg as she swept it over his head and twirled into some type of pirouette.
While Lena continued fluttering back and forth with swanlike grace, Kenzo dragged himself on the floor in this rhythmic, choreographed motion, following Lena’s movements and imitating an advanced version of the dance trend.
Meanwhile, Hayden and Ellie stared with slack jaws while Caleb cheered and Tara rolled her eyes. Admittedly, it was quite the sight.
As the dance came to an end, Lena and Kenzo broke apart and joined the others in two separate groups.
“Eleven years of ballet, bitches,” Lena said, taking an elegant bow and twirling away. “Did you really think your silly dance was gonna best me?”
“Learn something new every day, love.” Hayden smiled, wowed by both his girlfriends.
Ellie might’ve lacked the coordination for the dance, but her free spirit didn’t stop her from having fun.
Lena, on the other hand, surprised everyone by revealing a new talent that Hayden hoped they could see more of in the future.
Ellie and Hayden joined Lena back at the booth to finish their lunch while Hayden edited the video.
“I have to know how you did that,” Caleb said as Kenzo used his friend as a prop to steady himself.
Kenzo held Caleb’s shoulder with one arm and grabbed his foot, tucked behind him with his other hand. It helped him stretch his leg muscles.
“Haven’t you realized by now that I’m amazing at everything I do?” Kenzo said with the smallest of smiles and a cutting gaze at Tara. “Unlike some people.”
“You even turn joy into a competition,” Tara said with a hint of sour pity.
“No, I take joy in competition,” Kenzo corrected. “There’s a difference.”
“Okay.” Tara’s sarcasm was lost on no one.
What Kenzo neglected to mention was that he spent most days in Gael’s room studying for hours at a time, and his goofy boyfriend loved all the silly dances.
While Kenzo never appeared on any of Gael’s socials aside from the occasional photo or brief video cameo, he did participate in almost all of Gael’s dance routines.
Apparently, it was Gael’s study reward that he requested the most.
While this was not the best use of their internship hours, I was glad they were unwinding and learning to have fun with each other. Especially since Kenzo and Caleb had lost so much time over the years.
I worked from Cerberus, handling some of Milo’s paperwork.
How he convinced me to take on the menial task of filling out an endless stack of forms, I’d never understand.
Okay, well, not true. Milo had pulled every string to get me back into enchanter work, vouched for my telepathy with the Global Guild, and kept Guild Master Campbell off my back when it came to taking on actual casework to “earn” my exorbitant salary.
Seriously, even as a lowly paid enchanter at Cerberus, I made nearly three times what I pulled working in education.
Alas, my vision started to blur after reading over so many contracts, and my hand was killing me from signing and dating as the proxy for Enchanter Evergreen’s signature.
By the time lunch rolled around, I was too exhausted to go out, so I went down to the Cerberus café, which had a pretty top-notch spread. I could see why so many enchanters and acolytes ate here.
As I stuffed my face with a burger and scarfed down the crinkle fries, my telepathy wandered the café. A lot of third-year students took their lunches here, chatting with their friends about their internships.
Nearby, both Gaels dined together, and I let my telepathy linger around them a bit longer than the others.
It was nice seeing some of my former homeroom coven students, and it was even better to glean a bit more insight into how they were progressing in their internships.
They both had interesting choices for their mentors, so I wanted to ensure Milo and Diaz weren’t dropping the ball.
“And they just let you bring that anywhere you go?” Gael asked, scooting his chair back as Gael and King Clucks took turns passing the metallic ball of their meteor hammer weapon back and forth.
“Yep,” Gael said, taking a bite of his salad. “I got a permit and everything. It’s part of my internship, and I’m legally allowed to use it in any way I see fit.”
“Ba-ba-bawk.”
Gael’s thoughts flitted to the actual clauses of his permit that King Clucks must’ve referenced, and then he spaced out, ignoring them altogether while twirling his weapon around their table.
“I don’t see why your mentor needs y’all to carry an enchanted weapon.”
“Because they’re badass,” Gael insisted, slowing the pace of his meteor hammer and putting it down for a moment. “Diaz ain’t so bad. I mean, he’s no Enchanter Evergreen, but he’s still cooler than most of the duds around this place.”
“I don’t know.” Gael shrugged. “I think everyone’s got pretty awesome mentors.”
Gael scoffed. “Please, most of them are doing kiddie cases with wisps and fiends. Might as well have stuck around the academy. Last week, we took down a warlock.”
By we, his thoughts revealed Diaz and Priscilla engaged in the actual combat while Gael and his fellow interns secured civilians and cleared the area. Admittedly, that was a good call on Diaz’s part.
“What about you and Evergreen?”
“Mostly just training stuff,” Gael said. “He’s been busy coordinating with the Global Guild.”
Of course, still trying to convince them to send their best and most capable enchanters for the Celestial Coven’s impending attack.
“Oh, but we have been working on a cool new technique.”
“Really?” Gael quirked a brow. “Like what?”
“Well, you know how Mr. Frost, er, I guess Enchanter Frost now…”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, Mr. Frosty, go on.”
“Okay, so you know how he helped me learn how to move my spikes.”
Gael nodded, noting how Gael would make a few larger spikes around his shoulders or calves to limit their placement.
It’d even helped improve the damage to his wardrobe, keeping him from constantly having to replace or repair ripped clothes.
But, of course, Gael’s mind didn’t fixate on the practical day-to-day uses this new skill had in Gael’s life.
Nope. Gael’s one-track mind flitted with inappropriate perks.
“Bet that helps with all the make-out seshes.”
Gael blushed, making the spikes around his pale cheeks all the whiter by comparison.
Then, Gael—being the most obnoxious person in the world had to go on.
“And the ass slamming too. Although I bet Kenzo would like a little spiky ass slapping. OhMyGod, does he ever slap your spiky butt? Or do you slap his with a full-blown spiky palm? Oh, don’t make a spiky palm, I just realized that could go terribly under solo circumstances, and… ”
“Please stop talking,” Gael muttered, ignoring the rambles of his annoying friend.
“I’m just being supportive.” Gael grinned, batting his lashes playfully. “All kinks deserve appreciation.”
“You realize this is why Kenzo doesn’t like you.”
“Nice way to phrase hates,” Gael said, continuing his lewd gestures. “And like he needs a reason to hate anyone. If someone so much as breathes around him, they end up on his shitlist.”
“Aaaaaanywaaaaay, back to my new technique.” Gael covered his forearms in spikes and the top half of his face, bending them in such a way that it looked like a mask. The spikes were so thick in their coverage, they completely hid Gael’s pale skin.
“Whoa. The masked porcupine!”
Gael’s smile dropped away, and he blinked with a moody, flat expression.
“The spiky likey,” Gael continued as King Clucks bawked. “Yeah, yeah. The bone blender. The landshark. The giant—”
“Cierra la puta boca.”
Gael laughed. “We’re just teasing. It’s super cool, dude.”
Despite the giggles and the rooster’s weird wheezy laugh, Gael let it go and continued.
“Yeah, and Evergreen said if I keep working at it, eventually I’ll be able to make a full suit of armor just from my spikes.”
“Coooool.” Gael grabbed his meteor hammer. “Wanna test how durable your armor is?”
The spikes lining Gael’s face shrank a bit sheepishly. “Um, I’m gonna pass.”
“I promise to aim right for your face.” Gael started twirling his meteor hammer over his head. “I swear, I’ve gotten so good with this. I’m practically a pro.”
“Yeah, not gonna happen.”
“Come on, dude. My aim is perfect.” And just like that, Gael swung a little too low and clipped a few trays at a nearby table, throwing food everywhere. “Sorry!”
“Cl-cl-cluck.”
Yaritza, Jamius, and Melanie continued working under Enchanter Ortiz with a newfound respect for the man after he nearly died trying to face off against the Celestial Coven witch. However, they hadn’t seen any action even half as exciting—or terrifying—since then.
While they might not have been thrilled by the prospect, I was grateful. They’d faced a threatening foe, shone brilliantly, and lived to learn from the experience. I’d be happy if the rest of their internship focused on banishing fiends and handling paperwork.
Today was particularly boring for the group as they’d been dragged to some stuffy Kraken Guild ceremony. Lots of posturing and speeches meant to convince patrons to dig deep for their donations.
It took place on the rooftop of the guild, basking in the starlight above with a beautiful view of the city.