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“Very well. We’ll sit down and eat,” I say.
At least chewing will keep me awake.
I find a seat on one of the hard chairs in front of the goddess heart bags, before opening one of them and taking a whiff.
They smell even better than I remember, and immediately, my senses are brought to full attention.
“Why did you buy so many? There’s no way we’re going to eat all of these.”
He sits in reverse on the chair across from me, observing me as I prepare to bite into the pastry. The nimond smell overtakes me, and I tear into a piece, enjoying the crispy flakiness and overwhelmingly sweet flavor.
“Every time I bring goddess hearts, you always eat them before I get the chance to have any,” Vylco says, twirling his hand thoughtfully. “I figured if I bought way too many, maybe this time I’d actually get to eat, too.”
“So you’re periodically testing my appetite?”
“That’s not what I said at all!”
“It’s not my fault you wait till I’m done eating to have any. You buy them, so eat them.”
I take a large bite between my teeth, snapping the bread off cleanly and swallowing a large piece.
“But I’m not hungry right now.”
I shake my head. “That’s a lie. You were hungry two minutes ago when you brought me up here. You were hungry when you bought like thirty goddess hearts. Why are you not hungry now?”
I size him up as he avoids my gaze. “Are you nervous about something?”
The mood shifts, as he’s brought to a rapid, patronizing spike in energy. “We’re going out later, you and me.”
I nearly choke on my pastry. “Like fuck we are!”
He sighs. “See? I knew this would be your reaction. You never want to have fun.”
“Because you keep volunteering me for everything!”
He thinks, taking his hand up to his chin. The snake on his right temple does seem to budge slightly with exacerbated thought, and I wonder how they all connect to his brain. He’s never explained gorgon anatomy to me.
“If I let you sleep for a bit after this,” Vylco proposes. “Then will you go out with me later?”
“What is this sudden fascination with going out? There’s nothing out there that we can’t just find here.”
I gesture toward the spacious, empty room, and realize that I’m contradicting my own point.
“Suppose I told you that I have a bit of a surprise for you, should you come along with me,” Vylco asks.
“It isn’t just more goddess hearts, is it?” I gesture toward the multiple bags sitting on the table. “I feel like at this rate, I could open a competing bakery.”
He chuckles slightly at that. “No,” Vylco says. “There’s somebody I’d like you to meet. And I have a feeling you’ll get along famously.”
My curiosity peaked, I set down my pastry, and study his expression.
“Fine,” I say. “But if I don’t sleep well, I’m not going. You’ll just have to apologize to this ‘guest’ on my behalf.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
7
ELIA
