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“I—It’s—”

“Elvis di lue Bluis Uai Dechus,” he read out slowly, trying to get the pronunciation right, then snorted. “That’s great. Is it junk mail?”

I licked my dry lips and tried to think of a response as he picked up the letter, then noticed the one beneath it.

“Wait, this one’s got the same…”

As he trailed off, I cringed and snatched the letter out of his hand, then hastily gathered all the others and shoved them back into the drawer.

Vince slowly looked over at me.

“Is your real name Elvis?”

I cringed again, my face hot and voice husky with embarrassment when I rasped, “It’s… it’s an old noble name in Otherworld. I didn’t realise until I moved here that it…”

His mouth twitched, and he pursed his lips together.

“And ‘di lue Bluis Uai Dechus’ is your surname? Your family name?”

“A complete coincidence,” I said stiffly.

Vince just about managed to suppress a snort, sidling closer to slip his hand under my shirt and nuzzle my hot cheek.

“I like it. Elvis.” He pulled back and grinned at me. “It weirdly suits you. Do you want me to keep calling you Crossbody?”

I wet my lips. “Well, I… If you promise not to laugh at me, you can call me… that.”

“Okay. I will.” His grin widened. “When we’re alone.”

I sagged in relief, trusting that he wouldn’t go and inform all our colleagues. “Thank you.”

“I was trying to make coffee for when you woke up.” He stepped back and gestured at the espresso machine. “But I couldn’t figure out your fancy machine.”

I smiled, finally locating the antiseptic ointment and handing it to him. “I’ll do it. Are you hungry? I can make you something.”

“Not right now, but maybe we can order some dinner later.”

A flush of pleasure heated my cheeks. Did that mean he was staying?

The night?

“Yes, let’s do that.”

“I’ll have to go meet Freddie tomorrow to start talking… logistics, but I could, uh, come back here after.” He shrugged a touch awkwardly. “If you want.”

“Yes,” I said immediately. “If you don’t mind.”

“Okay.” He smiled at me, shifting closer to drop a kiss on the bend of my neck. “And hopefully by Friday, all this will have been dealt with, and we can relax.”

I squirmed, staring at the bag of coffee beans in my hands. “Vince…”

“It’ll work,” he murmured, nuzzling my shoulder.

“I believe you, but… what if they’re delayed for some reason? If I don’t show up at the palace by Friday, she’ll start carrying out her threats. She’ll be ready to do it immediately, to punish me for disobeying her.”

“They know how time-sensitive it is.”

“But still…” I gnawed on my lower lip, abandoning the coffee to face him. “I think… I think I should go back. Just to keep her from doing anything—”