30. Leah
Leah
Bright, Stratan sunlight pours in through the small attic window, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air.
The old mattress is a little lumpy beneath me, the blankets perhaps a touch too thin.
But I couldn’t possibly be cold or uncomfortable when I have Syrus’s large, warm body wrapped around me, his jaw resting against my shoulder as his chest rises and falls in steady breaths.
I slowly tilt my head, drinking in the softness of his expression when he’s asleep.
I’d forgotten how much I love seeing him like this—gentle and unguarded.
I feel special, knowing I’m the only one who gets to witness it.
But as much as I’d love to lie here and watch Syrus sleep for a while longer, I can hear movement downstairs.
I know Syrus checked on Viz late last night, but I don’t want to leave my sister to play nursemaid to our friend.
Syrus wakes briefly as I extricate myself from our bed, eyes sharpening with a growing alertness. But I run a hand through his hair and press my lips against his temple.
“Sleep some more. I’m just going to check on Viz. I’ll be back soon.”
He makes a noise of halfhearted protest, but he actually obeys my order, succumbing to sleep again.
I pull on my clothes from yesterday with a grimace, trying to shake off some of the clinging dust from the Seraph Seat attack.
At least they’re durable. And aside from the two gaps at the shoulders for my wings, fledgling training gear isn’t obviously ephilium.
I vanish my wings for now, if just for the convenience of navigating the small house without risking knocking stuff off the walls.
When I get downstairs, Viz is still asleep on the couch. He’s messy when he’s awake, but he sleeps with an odd neatness, flat on his back, with his hands precisely folded on his chest. I gently rouse him.
“Sorry, Viz, I just wanted to make sure you’re still with us,” I joke lightly as his brow furrows.
“Just about,” he grumbles. “Although I might die of starvation if I don’t eat soon.”
I grin. “You keep dozing. I’ll find you something for breakfast.”
“Nothing too sunny,” he mutters, whatever that means. I make a mental note to ask Syrus if he thinks it’s a sign he’s still concussed.
I have loose plans to rifle through Evie’s kitchen, then I spot her out of the open back door, sprinkling some stale breadcrumbs for the birds.
“That marrow’s really coming along,” I comment, studying the vegetable patch as I come to stand beside her.
She looks at me with knowing eyes, and I’m struck by how much my sister has changed in the last six months.
She’s still only nineteen, yet she carries herself with a maturity, a certainty so different from the girl who lived in our father’s house.
“Sorry we didn’t see you when we got in last night,” she says. “I assumed you’d already gone to bed, and we didn’t want to disturb you.”
I shrug. “Yeah, it was a pretty intense day. We all needed some rest after that, I think.”
“Hmm…well personally, I dream of a good night’s sleep. It’s impossible to get comfortable with this,” she pats her belly, then slides her gaze over to me again. “I noticed no one used the nursery,” she says, her voice carefully even.
“No,” I say, refusing to be embarrassed. “Syrus and I shared the attic.”
“Right,” she replies. “And would that be the first time?”
“No.” I’m staring very hard at the marrow. “We were involved. And then we weren’t for a long time. And now…I don’t know. Maybe we are again? Except it’s different now.”
“Different how?” she asks, tilting her head.
I turn to stare at her. “You’re really not going to say anything about the fact he’s a demon?”
She shakes out the last of the breadcrumbs from the bowl. “I think I’d be more worried about it if you weren’t nephilim. I mean, you have magic now, Leah, so you’re not so vulnerable.”
“You’re taking this a lot better than I did finding out about you and Jeremy,” I say, bashful. “I’m sorry if I was hard on you, Eves. It wasn’t fair.”
“You were worried about me,” she says. “I know you were just trying to protect me. And you saved me from Hathwell so I could marry Jer. I’ll never be angry with you about that.”
I wrap an arm around her shoulders to pull her into a side hug.
“So do I want to know how you got…involved, with a demon?” she murmurs.
I laugh, the absurdity of the question puncturing my guilt.
“He saved me from Hathwell,” I say. “It turns out Mr. Reed was involved in some dodgy black magic stuff, and when he tried to involve Syrus, Syrus saved my life. After that, we started working together.”
“Wow,” she says, blinking.
I squeeze her arm lightly. “Don’t you dare feel bad about Hathwell turning out to be such an ass, either. That’s all in the past.”
She nibbles her lip. “If you say so.”
“He’s…er…very pretty for a demon,” she comments after a beat. “Although I guess maybe he doesn’t look like that all the time?”
“Close enough,” I say smugly.
“Right. And you’re definitely, like, completely yourself, yes? I mean, you seem the same. But he’s not cast a spell on you or something, has he?”
“No,” I say. “I promise. He’d tell you I’m far too rude to him for me to be under any kind of mind control.”
She smiles. “That sounds about right. So when you say it’s different now…?”
I shift, not really wanting to get into the whole possession thing right after reassuring Evie that Syrus isn’t my puppet master. Any way I phrase it will sound very fucked up. On the other hand, I don’t want to outright lie to her.
“We had a special connection,” I say, trying to keep things vague. “And then things happened, and we had to put distance between us. I guess now I’m a little worried about how that distance might change us. I wonder if we still have enough to anchor us together.”
“Well, do you love him?” Evie asks quietly.
“I think so,” I admit, exhaling around that huge truth.
“Have you told him that?”
I shake my head. “I’m not ready to yet.” The truth is I haven’t even had time to think about whether I’m ready between escaping Aradis and the revelations of last night.
Telling him the extent of how I truly feel—hoping he feels the same way too—are things reserved for people who know they can build a future together.
Right now, I don’t even know what tomorrow’s going to bring.
Evie nods, understanding my hesitation. “A demon and a nephilim. I can see how that would be complicated. But then, you’ve never been afraid of a challenge.”
Jeremy comes through the back door, a bemused expression on his face.
“Um…there’s a small woman here asking for you,” he says.
“Nicely dressed, calls you darling, maybe seems a little drunk?” I ask.
“It’s eight in the morning,” Jeremy points out. “But now you mention it…”
Asterim in a human disguise is a strange sight. She still looks elegant in a jade-colored tunic and loose pants, but the lack of purple skin, pointed ears, and wings makes her seem even smaller, somehow.
“Aster,” I say, pulling her into a relieved hug. “How did you find us? Did you hear about Luminis? Shit, you didn’t try to go back there, did you?”
“One question at a time, darling,” she says, squinting at me. “This is very early to be up.” She eyes Jeremy and Evie curiously, and I realize we’ve not made proper introductions.
“Asterim, this is my sister, Evie, and her husband, Jeremy,” I say, both of whom offer Aster polite nods.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, my dears,” Asterim says, “even if it is at such an unreasonable hour.”
“Oh!” Evie says. “I’m sorry, I’m being a terrible host. Shall I make everyone some tea? Coffee?”
“Toast,” Viz groans from the couch, where we appear to have woken him. He blinks up at Aster.
“Good to see you,” he says.
“You too, dear,” she replies. “Although I have to say those bandages aren’t doing anything for you.”
“You used the pin for our location?” he asks.
She nods, holding up a lapel pin I recognize as one Syrus wore back in Infernum—the one that could summon Viz by touching it.
Evie is already in the kitchen, clattering coffee pots and teacups. Jeremy drifts over to help, all while keeping a firm eye on the three of us—soon to be four, as Syrus descends the stairs, looking mostly human once again.
“I see we’re not done imposing on Leah’s family with visitors,” he comments as he strides over to clasp Aster on the shoulder affectionately. “I was worried about you,” he admits. “How did you know not to return to Aradis?”
I swallow down my guilt. It hadn’t even occurred to me that Aster had been due back at the Seraph Seat, potentially walking right into a building full of vengeful ephilium.
“I didn’t, as it so happens,” Aster says wryly.
Viz pulls himself up so he’s sitting with his back against the couch arm while Syrus releases Aster’s shoulder in surprise. She perches lightly on the end of the couch, arranging the fabric of her pants daintily. “It was an unsettling visit, I can tell you,” she states nonchalantly.
“But you escaped?” I prompt. “You weren’t seen?”
“No. Someone warned me as soon as I came through the rift. They told me what happened, and I turned around and went right back to Infernum.”
“Someone?” Viz asks, skeptical.
“Yes,” she smooths a hand over her hair. “It turns out those nights I spent winning over the seraphim’s security had its benefits.” She gives Viz a pointed look. “Not every ephilium believes we were involved in the coup.”
Syrus folds his arms. “And you’re not going to tell us who helped you?” he asks.
She shakes her head. “They stuck their neck out for me, darling, and if it got back to the seraphim…Well, let’s just agree it’s not my secret to tell.”
I watch Syrus, wondering if he’ll press her, but he gives Aster a swift nod.
Evie and Jeremy arrive then with a tray of hot drinks, fruit, and toast. Viz gratefully snatches up a bread slice and starts to nibble on it.
Aster takes a minute to drain a cup of black coffee, then places it down with purpose.