Page 40 of The Human’s Heart

Ward shook his head and murmured to Zay, “They’re always up to something, aren’t they?”

That made Jett and me laugh, and Zay shook his head, pulled me in close, and kissed my hair as I leaned on him.

He said to everyone else, “We’re just waiting on one more—oh wait. There she is.” He gestured toward the parking lot, so I searched for this mysterious new friend of his.

My eyes landed on a tiny woman who was probably not much taller than five feet. Her hair was long, down to her butt, and flowing, so blonde it was nearly white. I swore it almost looked like her skin was glowing or something… like glittering. Oh my god, did she put glitter on? Just for dinner?

As she approached, she looked up from the bag she’d been rifling through, and I got a glimpse of her silvery blue eyes. Wow. They were startling against her pale skin. She was seriously beautiful.

Honestly, if she sprouted fairy wings right there in the middle of the parking lot, I wouldn’t have been surprised. She legitimately looked exactly how I’d picture a human-sized fairy would look.

To Zay through our bond, I asked, “Is she a fairy?”

I could hear his amusement. “Nope. She’s a nymph.”

“Wow. Just… wow.”

He chuckled and gave me a squeeze before saying loudly, “I’m glad you made it, Beatrix.” Then he introduced all of us.

When he got to me, her expression was intense. Like fully, one hundred percent focused on me. It was odd, but when I smiled, she returned it and even gave me a cute wave.

Jett herded us all inside and walked up to the hostess to see if our table was ready yet since he’d called ahead. Luckily, we only had to wait a few minutes before the hostess walked us to one large, long table that we could all fit at.

I ended up with Jett beside me, Ward on his other side but at the head of the table, Zay on my other side, with Beatrix beside him at the other end of the table. Arzu was at the end beside her with Quinn in the middle right across from me. Quinn shot me a wink, and Zay growled at him.

Of course, instead of being offended, Quinn simply lifted a brow at me in a see? I told you he’d kick my ass kind of way. I rolled my eyes at him and nudged Zay with my body.

“Cut it out. He’s just my friend.”

“He winked at you.”

“So? Haven’t you seen Jett wink at me before?”

“Yeah, but I know him, and he has his own viramore.”

“Well, so do I, so what the hell are you worried about?”

Zay grumbled under his breath. It was more of a rumble than actual sounds, and since he was pressed up against me, I could feel it.

“Quinn is my friend. He’s a good guy who’s always had my back and has protected me from numerous drunk patrons over the years. Please be nice to him. If you get to know him, you’ll see that he’s no threat either.”

There was more grumbling, but I got a reluctant, “Fine,” so I’d take it.

After I decided what I wanted and saw that Beatrix had closed her menu too, I asked her, “How are you liking Clairiston City? Zay told me you moved here for the college this year?”

She nodded. “Since the day I decided to become a nurse, I wanted to go to CU, so I couldn’t wait when I finally got the scholarship and everything. So far, I really like the school and the city. And the people. Everyone’s been really nice, although I’m still hoping to make some, um, friends.” She sort of cringed a little as she finished her sentence, as if realizing she was surrounded by potential friends and one person who was already her friend.

Quinn chimed in, saying, “Well, it looks like you’re off to a good start in the friend department.” He gestured around the table.

She smiled shyly at him. “I hope so.”

Since I didn’t want to make things more awkward, I asked Arzu, “What about you?”

“What about me, what?”

I chuckled. “How are you liking Clairiston City?”

“Oh!” They laughed. “I like it a lot.” They leaned in closer to Beatrix and mock-whispered, “I’m also looking in the friend department, so count me in on the search.”