“I’m Celeste. Er, but… yeah, he already said that.”
“I know you’re nervous,” Andromeda says, still beckoning me over. “I have wine.Earthwine.”
My eyes widen. “Wait—really?!”
“It’s the least we could offer, given that you’ve come all the way out here with no guarantees.”
“Well… thank you.” I stride over, careful of the springiness of the silk underfoot, and plop down next to Andromeda, accepting the glass she offers me.
Sure enough, the crimson liquid inside looks and smells exactly the same as what I used to go out and get with my friends after our university classes were done for the day.
It could be poisoned. It could be a honey-sweet trap designed to drug me so I can be trafficked.
I don’t really care. It’s worth it. You watch your home shatter into space dust and see no sign of it for twenty years, then tell me you wouldn’t do the same for a sip of wine.
It tastesexactlythe same. I think I’m going to cry. I need a distraction.
I look up at Sylvus. “Oh, um—the Arachnoid woman at the entrance to the private lounge says hi.”
He grins smoothly. “I’m sure she does.”
Andromeda raises a brow at him. “I told you she was flirting with you.”
“She’s not. She’s my cousin’s cousin.”
“She isabsolutelytrying to get in your pants. Figuratively speaking.”
He leans a little closer. “I don’t see why you care so much, Andromeda. Unless that makes you jealous?”
She blushes, but doesn’t miss a beat. “You and I both know how tight I have you wrapped around my little finger. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to put on a territorial display of my own, once in a while.”
“Better learn how to spin silk, then.”
She stares daggers at him. “I will.”
His rich, deep laugh fills the cozy room. “I know. I’m looking forward to it.”
Andromeda’s blush deepens as her lips soften into a smile.
I’m mesmerized by their rapport.
Sylvus brushes a hand across her cheek, then steps toward the hallway. “I’ve got some work to do. I’ll leave you two ladies to it.”
Andromeda makes a face. “Don’t do that. Don’tladiesus. Ew.”
“I love you, too.” Mischief glints in Sylvus’s eyes, and he disappears without another word.
Andromeda clears her throat and toys with one of her curls, taking another sip of wine. “So… first off, sorry if I’m weird. This is my first time doing something like this.”
“Me too.” I shrug and offer a nervous giggle. It quickly becomes a shared laugh.
“Oh, fuck it. Let’s get wine-drunk and chat. That’s basically the point, anyway.”
I raise a brow. “This is the evaluation process? Not that I’m complaining…”
“Well… the evaluation process is whatever I decide it is. So if I decide it’s drinking wine and chatting…”
Something clicks in my brain. “Oh, soyou’rea hucow?” Then I slap my hand over my mouth and say, muffled, “Oh my god that was rude I’m so sorry.”
