Page 68 of The Divine Lies We Weave

“Oh, I remember.”

Leela frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I remember. Did you want me to say it in old Nihikian?”

Leela ground her teeth. Rajesh had finally come out of the angry swell he’d put himself in from the past few days and was back to his normal, arrogant, and opinionated self. Lucky, Leela remembered how to deal with the endless sarcasm.

She crossed her arms and leaned against the railing. “Why not. Might help you brush up your skills.”

“I remember Nihikian perfectly fine, little damiji.”

Leela raised her brow. “Little damiji?”

“You do have a Viperess inside of you. Figured a new nickname was warranted.”

“Huh. Fine, little picku.”

“I think you’d find it’s not that small,” Rajesh said, standing tall and shoving his hands into his pockets.

“We are still talking about the Scorpion, right?”

Rajesh’s lip twitched. “Right.”

Leela turned to the dunes, trying to hide the blush creeping over her cheeks at the thought of him in that way. “What’s the plan, now?”

“Haven’t we discussed it enough?”

“I need to hear it again,” Leela said. Or get off this uncomfortable topic.

Rajesh ran a hand through his curls. “We try to find the artifacts. We can pick up the search from where I left off. I feel like I was close to finding the wish-fulfilling tree. Iravan told me before we left that it could be between the mountain peaks in Kithium, but I will confirm that with the Scorpion.”

“And why the wish-fulfilling tree and not any of the other items?”

“Because the tree grants your deepest desires, damiji.”

Leela gave him a look. “Are we seriously going with that nickname?”

He shrugged. “Got something better to call you?”

“I think I’d rather like bitch face, like that year you continued to call me that.”

“Not asshat?” he said. “Or have you moved on from that phrase?”

“No.” Leela stuck her chin up. “I still use that phrase to call people who are actually asshats, asshats.”

“You know you never explained that term to me.”

“And I never needed to, asshat.”

Rajesh chuckled, soft and hearty. “Just like old times.”

Leela’s gut rolled. “I don’t want it like old times.”

She hated that it was, indeed, like old times. They were slipping back into their usual gripes and ease of conversation, and she wasn’t sure she was ready to move on. It almost felt like she was forgetting it all. Forgetting about the Viperess wanting to kill him. Forgetting their qualms.

Patience, she warned. Viperesses strike at the precise moment.

“Is it better to hate you?”