Page 35 of Family Found

I repeated my al-lesh, and we headed out.

“Uh, can you hold my basket for a sec?”

Vergis groaned. “Sure. Put it on this one.”

I piled my stuff on top of Inkiri’s things and pulled my scarf free to wind it around my neck. Yes, I felt a lot better with it back in place. Was I dramatic for that? Maybe. But I was also a newlywed, and even if my feelings about scarves were going to change at some point in the future, I’d enjoy wearing them now.

“Seriously?”

I shrugged. “It feels nice, you know?”

Vergis shook his head in exasperation. “You’re worse than Charles and Kinnek, and they’ve been at it for years. They’ve been in love for forever.”

As soon as the words were out, his lips pressed together in a thin line, and he frowned, his gaze going into the middle distance.

I put a hand on his forearm. I wasn’t good at reassuring people in situations like this, but I could try. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

He snorted. “Don’t try acting like a crystal ball. Stick to being a dispenser.”

“I told you I don’t like it when you call me that. Maybe…dispensomancy? Dispensomancer?”

I was treated to a good dose of Vergis’s side-eye. “No.”

“But—”

“No.”

I sighed. “Hand me that basket back. You didn’t happen to bring coffee with you so I can pour it down your throat, did you?”

“No. I was busy preparing for the attack we’re planning.”

He started walking without giving me my basket.

“Hey, I can carry one of them.”

“But you’re a frail human who can barely walk without a protector there to carry him places, Princess. What if you fall and break something?”

I opened my mouth to tell him there was no way I was going to trip, but I stopped. There were a lot of ways. I was simply not the most graceful person in the world, and he’d seen me after we got back from our involuntary excursion to the monster world.

“Accidents happen, okay?”

“Mm-hmm. To you. All the damn time.”

“I’m sorry.” I decided to give my eyelash batting another try. I was hoping it would soothe Vergis, maybe help take his mind off the Aragis situation.

A group of five older students walked by, and I felt vindicated when I heard some of them click and slow down as if they were ready to jump in if I needed anything.

Apocalypse survival eyelash batting for the win!

But it didn’t work on Vergis. He just snorted and rolled his eyes. “I’m not some protector who’s ever going to fall for that shit, Princess.” He walked on down the hallway, so I followed.

A flash of dark blue barreled toward us before Vergis could say anything else.

“Rory!” Sonyo said, then went right into another bit of rapid Lugarra and looked up at Vergis expectantly.

Vergis frowned. “Wait, you agreed to let the kid foster with you?”

I shrugged. “Ink kind of did, I guess?”