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To my shock, he’s nodding enthusiastically. “That would be awesome. But not until I’ve had some time to play with the puzzle. I’m not ready to leave it yet.”
“Of course.” I try not to sound awkward, but I’m busy trying to work out if this means he likes me, or he likes cheese. Could it be both?
“Do your cousins live far from here?” he asks next. “I know you demons like to teleport everywhere, but is it walkable? It looks like the snow might be easing up.”
I glance out the window. It’s hard to tell with the lights on inside, but it does seem as though it’s barely snowing right now. If the snowplow went through earlier and Zoe, our snow management sorcerer, has done her rounds this afternoon, it should be clear enough to walk. The snow’s not slushy right now anyway.
“We can walk,” I agree. “It’s only a few houses down this street. But you’ll need to bundle up.” The cave was cold, but still sheltered. I don’t think he realizes how cold it’s going to be outside. The wind isn’t that strong down here in the village, but there’s still a definite wind chill factor in play.
“I can bundle up,” he promises. “What a coincidence that your cousins are so close!”
Not much is really all that far in a town of a thousand people, but yeah, it is a coincidence that this house was empty right when we needed somewhere to put Cam. “I live there too,” I tell him, trying not to think about how convenient the location is. Not that I couldn’t just teleport here if I wanted to, but being so close means that he can come over easily as well. Especially now that we’re making an effort to keep the streets clear for our non-demon residents, of which, including Cam, we have five. It might not seem like a lot, but six months ago we had zero, so we’re definitely making progress.
“You live with your cousins?” He frowns. “Didn’t you say one of them is married?” I open my mouth to explain, and his eyes go wide. “Ohhhhhh. Don’t worry, I don’t judge. As long as everyone’s happy and everyone consented, I’m good with anything.”
It takes me a second to process that and realize what conclusion he’s come to, and then I laugh so hard, I think one of my organs might have ruptured. My knees give way, and I sink down onto the two-seater sofa and clutch my sides in an attempt to stop the ache.
When I can finally breathe again, I swipe the tears from my eyes and sigh. He’s watching me with a grin. “You have a nice laugh. You should use it more often.”
“Thank you. Uh, about my cousins—”
He holds up a hand. “Nope. I got it. Not a poly and minorly incestuous relationship.” He pauses. “Is it incest when you’re cousins?”
Shrugging, I say, “I’ve never needed to know. But cousins can legally marry in most countries, so maybe not? Or it’s not legal incest, even if it is… something.” I can’t imagine wanting to hook up with one of my cousins. They’re like brothers to me.
Although I hear some people are into that too.
“When the town was being built, we decided to share a house so families could get their own houses faster,” I explain. “And then that was working for us, so we just never bothered to change. But now that Asher’s married, he and Garrett will move out—they’re waiting for the thaw to build their house. Asher’s had the plans for about forty years, and Garrett only wanted minor changes made.” That’s probably more information than he needs, but the architect in me finds it essential.
“And then it will just be you and your other cousin? What was his name again?”
“Zac. Yeah, it’ll be just us. Zac’s easy to live with, especially in summer, when he’s out camping half the time. He’s the unofficial ranger for the town.”
Cam comes to sit beside me, his eyes bright. “Why unofficial?”
Huh. “I don’t know,” I admit. “Probably because the village council never got around to creating the job. Zac just kind of stepped into the role, and he’s been doing it ever since.” I should talk to him about that. The least the village could do is pay him a stipend—not that he needs it, with Asher looking after his money, but fair is fair.
“What do you do, when you’re not babysitting me? No, actually,whydid you get stuck with me?” He folds his arms across his chest and frowns. “Not that I’m not grateful for your help, but sitting in a gloomy, cold cave all day isn’t going to be fun for you. I hope they’re paying you well.”
I make a mental note to talk to the village council about their habit of co-opting me and my cousins for jobs and then not paying us. Because I’m pretty sure nobody considered giving me money when Grandmother volunteered me for this role. They definitely didn’t pay me for designing the village, all those years ago. “Your questions are connected,” I tell him. “I’m an architect, and I used to be an engineer… still am, technically, since I keep up my accreditations, but I don’t practice anymore. That incredible feat of engineering in the cave is right up my alley, so to speak, and the council”—my grandmother—“thought I might be able to help you, since I have some understanding of the engineering of it. Plus, this way I get to watch you solve it.”
He’s smiling widely. “Watch me? Nah, you can help! Do you like mechanical puzzles?”
“I haven’t had a lot of experience with them. The good ones are hard to get hold of, especially out here, and I’m too much of a workaholic to go in search of them.” I try not to wince as I basically tell him the thing he spends his life creating isn’t important enough for me to spend time on.
He either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care. “This will be a real treat for you, then. You’re starting with the emperor of puzzles!” Even if I wasn’t already excited for this, I would be now. His enthusiasm is contagious.
My phone beeps, and I glance at it. “Dinner’s going to be ready in a few minutes,” I warn. “Go grab your gear if you want to walk.” I don’t have mine with me, since I’d planned to teleport from warm room to warm room, but demons have higher muscle mass than other species, and I’ll be fine for the less-than-five minutes we’ll be outside.
Cam scrambles to his feet and beelines for the doorway. His shoulder bumps it on the way through, and I wince. That will probably leave a bruise.
He’s back a minute later, pulling on a wool peacoat, and I make a mental note to get him some proper gear. That’s not going to keep him warm. I glance down at his running shoes, which are definitely not going to hold up to the snow. “Do you have boots?”
He blinks at me. “Not the kind I’d wear in the snow. And I didn’t bring them with me anyway.”
I don’t bother to remind him that I can go pick them up. If they’re not appropriate for the sn— What kind of boots does he mean?
Pushing aside the image of something thigh-high in shiny leather and maybe with a heel that would make his legs look a million miles long, I stand. “Okay. We’ll get you something tomorrow. We’re not going far tonight anyway.” I gesture to the door. “Dinner awaits.”
