I blinked at him. “You’re surprisingly informative today.”
Thorne glanced at me, frowning. “You act like I don’t speak.”
“You don’t. Not unless you’re annoyed, angry, or issuing death threats.” I smirked, taking a bite of my eggs.
He rolled his eyes. “You barely know me at all.”
“True,” I said. “So, tell me something.”
“Ijusttold you something.”
“Aboutyou.”
His scowl deepened. “Like what?”
I grinned, poking at my plate. “I don’t know. Your favourite colour? Food? Pet?”
He stared at me like I’d grown a second head. “You want to know my favouritecolour?”
“Or food,” I added sweetly. “Or pet.”
His glare didn’t quite land — not with the corners of his mouth twitching like that.
He muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously likethis is ridiculous, but I leaned forward, chin in my hand, waiting expectantly.
After a pause, he exhaled slowly, resigned. “Green.”
“Green?” I echoed, grinning. “Like… moss? Forest? Poison?”
Thorne gave me a flat look. “Like the sea, before a storm.”
That caught me off guard. My smile faltered — just for a second. That… was unexpectedly poetic.
“Huh.” I blinked. “Alright, I’ll give you that one. Food?”
He hesitated longer this time, jaw tightening. “Roasted duck. And honeyed carrots.”
“Okay, now I’m suspicious. That’s oddly specific.”
“I don’t eat for fun,” he replied. “When something works, I stick to it.”
“Stars,” I muttered. “You reallyarea machine.”
“If you are done psychoanalysing me, we have work to do today.”
I groaned. “Right. The mind raping. I almost forgot.”
Thorne spun and glared at me. “Don’t call it that.” He growled.
I threw my hands up in mock surrender. “Sorry, sorry. The consensual mind invasion. Is that better?”
He rubbed his brow like I pained him. “Elle – “
I shoved the last remaining food off my plate into my mouth. Then I stood and roughly patted him on the back.
Thorne grunted as my hand smacked his back, and I didn’t miss the way his jaw clenched.
“Comeon, then,” I repeated, already brushing past him.
