I threw a dish towel at him. He caught it with pure human reflexes, slower than before, but still quick.
He grinned.
I grinned back.
We ate together in comfortable silence. Or tried to. Every few minutes, I found my gaze drifting back to him, still cataloging the changes. The way his skin held more color now. The slight flush in his cheeks from the warm food. The very human way he had to chew and swallow instead of just drinking.
"Stop staring," he said without looking up from his eggs.
"I can't help it. You're different."
"So are you."
That made me pause. Me? "I'm not the one who just became human."
"No, but you're the one who just pulled off impossible magic and saved your cousin." His dark eyes found mine. "You walked into a djinn's pocket dimension, broke ancient binding circles, and came back. Most threadwalkers die attempting half of what you did."
I hadn't really processed that yet.
"I had help," I said. "And you?—"
"Take the credit, Talin." His voice was firm. "You're a stunningly beautiful, powerful witch. Stop diminishing yourself."
The words, coming from him, hit me hard. He was absolutely right. I'd spent my whole life feeling like a disappointment. The witch whose magic couldn't save her. The girl with the missing piece who would never be whole.
But I'd just walked between dimensions and lived. I'd stared down a djinn and won.
Maybe I was more than I thought.
"Eat your breakfast," I said, deflecting. "You need to keep your strength up."
"Bossy."
"Someone has to be, now that you're mortal."
His smile was slow and devastating. "Not quite mortal. And I like you bossy."
Heat crept up my neck. Even transformed, even exhausted, Elias could still reduce me to a blushing mess with just a look.
We finished eating and he helped me wash the dishes, but I could feel his feel his eyes on me. And when I turned around, he was standing right behind me.
"Come back to bed with me," he said quietly. "I don't want to leave you."
"Then don't." I took his hand and led him back to my bedroom. The sun had fully risen now, and I pulled the curtains halfway closed to block the direct rays while still leaving enough light to see. Elias kicked off his shoes and collapsed onto my bed with a very human groan of exhaustion.
"This is embarrassing," he muttered into my pillow. "I used to be able to go weeks without rest. Now my stomach's full and I'm ready for a nap."
"You also used to be undead. Things change."
I crawled into bed beside him, and immediately his arms wrapped around me, pulling me against his chest. He threw one heavy leg over mine, and I snuggled up against him with a sigh.
His hand stroked my hair. "Did you mean it? What you said in that dimension?"
I'd said a lot of things. Screamed some of them, actually. But I knew right away which words he meant.
"That I love you?" I tilted my head back to meet his eyes. "Yes. I meant it."
His breath caught, his dark eyes burning into mine. "Say it again."
