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The word unfurled from my heart, in a voice that I didn’t recognize, and was strangely hard to pin down and describe. It was low pitched, I think, but it was almost more like I felt the word than I heard it.
“I take it back, I’m hearing ‘Truck’ again,” I said.
Charon narrowed his eyes. “Truck?”
“Yeah, I know,” I agreed with his unspoken judgment. “I heard it the first time Noctus had me try this, too. He told me then there wasn’t a weapon with that name—which makes sense since motor vehicles weren’t invented until after the elven war. I’m probably mishearing it. Maybe they’re cursing at me in elvish and I just can’t hear it well enough?” I tried wriggling my fingers, but I didn’t feel anything solidify within my grasp.
Hello?I tried to think it with all my mind, but I wasn’t entirely sure how heirlooms chose to communicate with their chosen wielders.Are you there?
Nothing.
I didn’t even hear the name again.
“The heirlooms are not cursing at you,” Noctus said. “That’s not how their limited sentience works.”
“Well, whatever weapon it is, it isn’t coming closer. It’s probably a hallucination,” I said as I finally pulled my hand free.
“You are too sane to hallucinate,” Noctus said.
Charon neither agreed nor disagreed with him. “Since it seems using an heirloom is not possible at this stage, we shall continue with a review of your strategy in the fight against Noctus.” He turned a page in his journal, reviewing some of his previous notes. “Let us begin with your attempt to jump on top of Noctus from the rocks. A smart move to use the terrain to your advantage, but it would have worked better if you had thrown a distraction, andthenjumped. Let’s practice. Use the rock formation over there…”
* * *
Since Patand Joy had both taken the day off after the fight with the tracker, when dinner was held in the early evening (early, because I had a shift at Book Nookery I needed to get to) they both were still hanging out at the mansion.
I didn’t know if it was because Noctus was trying to put his best foot forward, or Charon was chuffed to finally have guests, but we ate in a room I had never seen before.
A cross between a dining room and a conservatory, the ceiling and one wall were glass held in place by metal welded to look like vines, while the solid wall was covered by darkly paneled wood and torches that flickered with Noctus’s white and blue flames.
The windows showed a view of the mountains, city, and lake—all cast in orange and pink from the setting sun—and were lined by greenery: wild roses, hydrangeas, and bushes I didn’t recognize with delicate pink, white, and purple buds.
“Thank you for inviting us to dinner, Noctus.” Joy selected another piece of fresh focaccia bread and added it to her plate—patterned light blue and gray with golden fleurs. “The food is phenomenal.”
“Yeah,” Pat agreed. “Everything is amazing. But I still want to know, Chloe, are you moving back here?”
“Yes,” I said without thinking as I selected a Romanian cabbage roll. (The mysterious chefs I never saw but seemed omnipresent had thoughtfully labeled everything.)
“If either of you, Joy and Pat, should wish to move into the mansion as well, we have plenty of room,” Noctus said. “Regardless, we will keep your rooms open for you in case of any visit.”
“Huh,” Pat said. “Interesting. Ker, could you pass the baked salmon?”
Charon, who had been talked into sitting by Joy and was seemingly shell shocked she’d accomplished it—I couldn’t remember if I’d ever seen Charonsitbefore—bolted to his feet. “I can fetch them—”
“Sit down, Charon, I’ve got it.” Ker handed the plate off to Pat before Charon could move.
“That is a very kind offer, Noctus, but I believe we need to talk with Chloe before taking you up on it,” Joy said.
I peered at my sister—who I sat next to—in surprise and with some suspicion. “Why?”
Joy leaned in and whispered. “I don’t want to make you feel pressured, or like you think we don’t trust you.”
Oh…she’s giving me the space to be…like I asked them to.
They were trying—it had only been a day, and they were already trying.
I really do have the best family.
I cleared my throat. “The villa is gorgeous, there’s an entire city outside the window, the food is the best I’ve ever had, and it’s free. I’d think you moved because you’d be crazy not to. But I appreciate what you’re trying to do.”
