Page 61 of Twist of Fate

Luke glanced back immediately. “Where are you going?”

“To ensure Gomez is settled.”

“You’re supposed to be resting.”

“I have rested.”

“You sat in a chair for twenty minutes.”

“I found it restorative.”

Luke’s gaze dropped pointedly to the hand Connal had braced against the chair.

Connal straightened and released it.

Cosmo covered a smile with his hand. “Perhaps Luke can inspect the chamber on behalf of both of you. I promise to return him once he is satisfied that Gomez has not been buried beneath decorative cushions.”

“There are only seventeen,” a pixie protested.

“Eighteen,” another corrected.

Gomez stared up at Zer. “Move faster.”

The procession swept into the corridor, Cosmo following behind as the pixies argued over the precise number of cushions. Luke paused at the threshold and looked back at Connal.

“I’ll be right next door.”

Connal inclined his head. “I know.”

Luke studied him as if confirming that Connal truly intended to remain where he was. “Try sitting down before you fall down.”

“I will not fall.”

“That wasn’t the important part of the sentence.”

Luke disappeared into the neighboring chamber before Connal could respond. A moment later, Gomez’s delighted shout carried through the wall.

“There’s a tree in here!”

Cosmo’s voice followed, considerably calmer. “Technically, it grew through the floor.”

Connal lowered himself into the chair.

The chamber felt strangely empty without them.

Luke returned several minutes later, closing the chamber door behind him.

“Well?” Connal asked.

“He has a tree.”

“I heard.”

“It grows through the floor and curves over the bed. The branches are full of glowing flowers, and the pixies made him a nest out of approximately four hundred pillows.”

“Eighteen.”

“That was before they found another cupboard.” Luke crossed the room and stopped in front of him. “He’s happy. Overwhelmed, exhausted, and probably going to interrogate Cosmo until one of them passes out, but happy.”