I ran a hand over the clothes. The fabric was smooth against my skin, like silk, but unlike silk, it didn’t feel cool to the touch. I wanted to snuggle up in those clothes and ask my mate to wrap me in his arms. Then I’d ask if we could go back to Aër already.
“Charles is Vergis’s other dad? The human one?” I asked.
Inkiri nodded. “Yes. Why? You know him?”
“What have I been explaining about humans not all knowing one another, Inkiri?” Donna said, and I smiled. I liked Donna.
I still shook my head, not wanting to embarrass Inkiri. “I don’t know him, but I just… I thought his father would be a Rambo. Or a Rocky, you know?”
Donna cackled. “I’d like to think you’re talking about Rocky Horror. Golly, I could use something campy right about now, and imagining Vergis in drag just about does it.”
My eyes widened, and I grinned at Donna. Musical theater wasn’t my thing on the stage, but I loved watching it as much as any gay theater major would. “Glitter and a wig.” I raised my other hand and wiggled my fingers. “And nails.”
Donna’s eyes sparkled. The chicken clucked.
Inkiri cocked his head. “I am not sure what you’re talking about. Rory, didn’t you say camping was bad?”
Donna and I stared at each other in silence for about three seconds, then we couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.
Inkiri looked back and forth between us a little helplessly, and the chicken saw her opening, so she jump-fluttered off the table and took a step toward him. My bird-loving mate reached down to pick her up and started stroking her tiny chicken head even as Donna and I gave in to the belly-aching laughter.
“Can you explain camp to him while I take a shower?” I asked after I finally stopped laughing and headed to the creaky wooden staircase that separated the large kitchen from the living room and conservatory beyond. Well, Ireland clearly made farming fancy.
Donna huffed. “Oh, honey, I’m good, but I don’t know that I’m that good. I’ll try though.”
As I reached the top of the stairs, I heard my mate’s confused huff. “What does he want, Donna? Tell me.”
“Inkiri, dear, come here. Like every good story, the tale of camp starts with ‘Once upon a time…’”
I smiled to myself, almost sad I was about to miss Donna telling the tale of camp. But this was good. We’d gone from a city that was being overrun by white-clad magical a-holes to explaining the intricacies and aesthetics of camp to the bagua. To laughing, too. When the cola ash people had been about to take Vergis, laughter had been about the furthest thing from my mind.
Life was good. Now it just had to stay that way. Or, ideally, maybe I could get things back on track by becoming Inkiri’s trophy mate. It was a more realistic life goal than the acting had been, that was for sure.
Chapter 2
Donna’s towels had roses embroidered on them, and her bathroom smelled of lemon peel. It was a small room with a low ceiling, and although the sink, tub, and showerhead looked a few decades out of fashion, the room was cozy, not least because Donna seemed to favor pretty towels and cute cartoon drawings of chickens that had been framed and hung up next to the window.
A glance in the mirror made me wince. I really, really looked like a corpse who should’ve kept that final makeup appointment. No wonder Inkiri had been worried for me.
I undressed quickly, noting that someone—presumably Inkiri—had changed me into different bagu clothes at some point while I was unconscious. That wasn’t surprising, especially if I’d been out of it for days after the cola a-holes had come to Esaka to wreak havoc.
When I drew the shower curtain closed and stepped under the warm spray, cold crept into my limbs, and even turning the water so hot it fogged up the whole room couldn’t keep me from shivering. I hurried to get clean then toweled myself dry fast.
At least the steam meant I wouldn’t have to look at my reflection again. I was a pale mess with dry lips and drier skin, and that seriously hampered my confidence.
The change of clothes felt as good on my skin as I’d imagined, and being clean made everything better still. I found a pair of what looked like a cross between slippers and socks in the bundle Inkiri had given me as well, so I reluctantly rolled up my cat socks and old clothes for laundry and put the slipper thingies on. With the rain still not showing any signs of letting up, I wasn’t dressed at all for going outside. Then again, maybe Inkiri didn’t want me to go outside. Was that romantic? Him wanting to keep me safe and warm inside felt romantic.
Come to think of it, the way he’d been holding on to me, reluctant to let me walk by myself, that wasn’t such a bad thing either. After all, I really, really preferred him coddling me over all the fighting and magic and whatnot. I preferred it over trying to figure out where my magic had come from, over camping outdoors because Vergis’s dad had a theory—a ridiculous theory—and over any kind of dangerous situations or activities altogether.
With a pang, I remembered that I’d been the cause of most of those dangerous situations. It made my fingers tremble as I tied my bagu shirt at the side. The Koa Esher had wanted me. The realization hit home, strengthened with the force of that foreign knowing that had all but haunted me every time I’d needed to use my magic. Or, no, every time I’d ended up accidentally doing magic while I was talking to a disembodied voice in my head.
That kind of thing needed to stop. I had to focus on being a trophy mate, not some magician.
Still feeling cold but also bolstered by my conviction to go without magic for the rest of my life, I made my way downstairs. The bagu shoe-slippers were odd to walk in since they were pretty padded on the soles, but that was something I could get used to. I could imagine Inkiri telling some shoe vendor that the shoes had to be very, very soft because I was so very, very soft. Honestly, the image made me swoon a little bit.
When I got back into the kitchen, Inkiri’s eyes locked on me. He’d taken a chair opposite Donna and was attentively listening to her explain that “camp is an aesthetic, but not just an aesthetic.” The damn chicken had totally stolen my spot and was now sitting all primly in my mate’s lap. Her beady eyes locked on mine. Could chickens be aloof? This one was trying.
Donna’s voice ended the staring contest with the chicken before it could really begin. “There he is. Inkiri said you wanted waffles. You should’ve brought Nokim for anything fancy, but I’ve got frozen ones in the toaster oven for you.”
