Page 30 of Sanctuary and Spices
The touch sent fire through my veins. My fingers tangled in her hair, trailed down her neck. She made a soft sound against my mouth that nearly undid me.
The plants around us grew brighter, crystal resonance increasing with our emotions. My markings blazed, painting patterns across her skin as I...
A crash from the next room shattered the moment. We jumped apart, breathing hard.
“Everything okay in there?” Pix called.
“Fine!” Jani’s voice came out breathless. She wouldn’t quite meet my eyes as she straightened her clothes.
I tried to dim my markings, but they refused to cooperate. Every accidental brush of hands as we attempted to return to work sent fresh pulses of light across my skin.
Professional distance was definitely beyond recovery. But watching Jani bite her lip as she studiously avoided looking at me, I couldn’t bring myself to regret it.
JANI
I’d barely sat up in bed when I heard the crash from downstairs, followed by a string of muffled curses.
“Just a small adjustment!” Pix’s voice floated up through the floorboards. More banging. “Nobody panic!”
Another crash made me jump.
“That sounded expensive,” Jun called from somewhere below.
“It’s fixable!” Pix insisted.
I threw on clothes and hurried down the stairs, the scent of burning metal hitting my nose before I reached the bottom. Smoke curled from the communal kitchen doorway. Inside, residents clustered around the stove, which now tilted at an improbable angle. Blue sparks shot from exposed wiring.
“Morning Jani!” Pix waved cheerfully from behind a tangle of cables. “Don’t worry, I’ve almost got it!”
“What exactly are you trying to get?” I asked, picking my way across the cluttered floor.
“A next-gen cooking system! Auto-temperature regulation, built-in recipe database, crystal-enhanced flavor optimization...” They yanked on a wire. The stove shuddered ominously.
Ven’ra sat in the corner armchair, sipping tea with remarkable serenity given the chaos. “The dance between order and disorder shapes all things,” she mused to no one in particular.
“There won’t be any dancing if this explodes,” Mai muttered, while Jun bounced excitedly beside her.
“But think of the possibilities! Crystal-enhanced cooking could revolutionize—” Jun’s words cut off as another shower of sparks erupted.
“I’ve got it!” Dex lunged forward to help, knocking over a rack of spice jars in the process. The crash made everyone jump.
“Careful!” Mai and Jun said in unison.
I pressed my fingers to my temples, fighting back a laugh. The whole scene was ridiculous - and somehow exactly what I needed this morning.
“Alright everyone, step back,” I said, letting my old kitchen voice take over. “Pix, talk me through what you’ve done so we can stabilize it.”
“Well, I rerouted the primary power coupling through a crystal matrix to enhance the energy flow, but then the secondary systems started overloading so I tried to compensate by...”
I nodded along, translating Pix-speak into practical solutions. “Hand me that wrench. Now disconnect the blue wire - no, the other blue wire.”
Working together, we managed to get the stove mostly level again. The sparks died down to occasional flickers.
“There.” I wiped my hands on my pants. “It won’t explode now, but let’s hold off on any more upgrades until after breakfast?”
The gathered residents broke into applause. I felt my face heat.
“Masterfully handled,” Ven’ra approved from her corner. “Creation and destruction, always seeking balance.”
