Page 36 of Crucible
Thorin says nothing as he grabs his bowl and starts eating while leaning against the counter. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was secretly on board with the idea. His face is carefully blank, which means he’s more affected by Aurelia’s presence than I thought.
We don’t hide from one another, so if he’s keeping his thoughts to himself, it must be bad.
“How much longer do you think she has out there?” I can’t stand the silence.
It takes me a moment more to realize it’s a littletooquiet.
I don’t hear Aurelia banging on the deck door anymore. And then I remember Seth’s last words before he stormed out. My gaze flies to where his bowl of stew should be, but the counter is empty.
Fucking Seth.
I put down my dinner and leave the kitchen.
Unsurprisingly, Thorin follows, still slurping his rabbit stew like he doesn’t have a care in the world. He never seems to mind how awful my cooking is, but I’m sure it has to do with him suffering worse when he was a Marine.
Together, we quietly descend the winding stairs into the basement, and soon after, I hear voices speaking low.
Thorin and I pause at the bottom of the stairs.
From here, we can see Aurelia dusted with snowflakes and shivering violently on the sofa where she and Seth are sitting closely. There’s a heavy blanket around her shoulders, and Sethhas a fire in the wood stove burning already while Aurelia clutches his bowl of rabbit stew. She’s pretending she doesn’t feel him playing with her hair and staring at her like an obsessed maniac, but every so often, she shifts a little further away, and he follows.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay?” Seth asks as he leisurely twirls a curl around his finger. “We could have fun together.”
“Thanks, but I’d rather be two ships passing in the night.”
“What about a train wreck?” Seth’s dumb ass retorts. “I hear those are fun.”
“Where did you hear that?”
“On second thought, that might have been a roller coaster.”
Feeling Aurelia’s astonishment, I curse under my breath. I have a feeling explaining the horde living inside Zeke’s head with our already terrified guest was coming sooner rather than later. “You’ve never ridden a roller coaster?”
Seth shakes his head with a melancholy look in his eyes, and I can’t tell if it’s real or an act. Either way, it’s so convincing that I almost feel sorry for him until I remember that time he tried to set me on fire. The only reason he hasn’t forced us to tie him up again is because ofher.
Seth’s too distracted by the novelty that is Aurelia to bother with trying to kill us. We still don’t know why he doesn’t like us. He just doesn’t and refuses to explain.
“You should,” Aurelia suggests almost affably. “I haven’t been on one since I was twelve, but I remember liking it. The best part is stuffing yourself with enough junk food in between rides that you want to puke while you’re on one.”
“Really?”
“Mhmm.” Aurelia lifts the bowl and slurps some of the stew. I don’t think she notices the taste. The warmth it provides isenough to satisfy her after being stuck on the deck for over an hour.
“I think I’d like that,” Seth says slowly. “But I don’t think I’ll need a full stomach to puke.”
Aurelia makes a face. “Really? Why?”
“I’m afraid of heights.”
But Zeke isn’t. In fact, Zeke’s a bit of an adrenaline junkie, something Seth didn’t inherit. It’s the strangest thing how they occupy the same body and possess the same mind but are wildly different.
Seth hates height, while Zeke would backflip off a bridge if you bet him five bucks.
Zeke is horrible at math, while Seth is damn near gifted.
Seth is convinced he wants to be a fucking rapper, while Zeke prefers alternative metal and indie rock.
Zeke loves broccoli, while Seth will gut you for even suggesting he eats it.
