Page 24 of Starlight

“You can’t thank me for not killing you. That seems wrong.” Especially when Akai could’ve left him on the road to bleed out.

“Would you consider it payment for allowing me to stay in your cabin while I cannot fly?”

“That seems more reasonable.” He looked at the pendants and then at Akai. “Are you sure they aren’t cursed?”

“They are not cursed or charmed. If you would like that, I will need to speak to someone. It is not often we give humans items imbued with magic.”

“Oh, so now monsters and magic are real?”

Akai smiled, revealing his pointy teeth. “Is that hard to believe?”

If he could believe in monsters, believing in magic should be easy. “It’s probably best that I don’t have anything magical. That seems like it might lead to complications.” At this point in time, the last thing he needed was more complications. “Since you made these and are the expert, do you have a recommendation or a favorite?” He didn’t wear jewelry. But looking at these pieces, maybe he should start.

“Blue tourmaline to match your eyes. I also particularly like the way the gold wraps around the stone. It kind of looks like claws.” He tilted the offering, letting it catch in the light.

The stone did look like it was being held by two claws. “You didn’t plan that?”

“No, I don’t plan any of them. I start working and see where the metal and stone take me.”

“So you work on vibes?”

“I prefer to think of it as the metal and stone talking to me. Why would I force them to be something they don’t want to be?”

“So when you pick up a stone, you know if you’re going to turn it into a pendant or a bracelet or something?”

“I knew when I placed that shiny rock on top of the pile that you would return and pick it up.”

“What makes you think it was me who picked it up?”

“I was up before you this morning, and I saw it on the bedsheets, which means you were holding it at some point last night.” His lips curved. “The stone wanted to be found.”

And now it lived in his pocket. Did he also want to be found? Was that what had drawn him to this piece of land?

CHAPTER TWELVE

Akai tried not to think about how strange the situation was, or the way he didn’t want Cole to leave, even though he had to, as they sat on the edge of the deck, feet swinging above the shrubs. Cole never stayed for more than three or four days. Most of the time, he arrived on Friday and left on a Sunday, and Akai knew enough about humans to know that it was work-related. This time, there was an additional problem: the lack of food.

Cole had not accounted for feeding a harpy. And while Akai wouldn’t have said he ate a lot, he ate more than a human. He doubted Cole wanted a meal made of wild mushrooms, insects, and foraged greens. Mostly because humans didn’t appreciate eating insects despite the fact that they were incredibly nutritious and easily stored both alive and dead if dried.

Between them were some colored pebbles and a circle made of braided grass as they played a game Akai had learned as a child. The idea was to get your opponent’s pebbles out of the ring, but it was harder than it first appeared.

Cole had picked up the rules easily, but the strategy was much harder.

Cole took a sip of beer, his gaze on the valley and the distant lights gleaming in the dusk. “I need to head back tomorrow.”

“I figured.” But it sounded like Cole didn’t want to leave.

“Are you going to be okay up here on your own?”

“Are you letting me stay in the cabin while you’re not here?”

“I assume you’re not going to have a wild party and destroy the place,” he said with a grin.

He put his hand over his heart and gasped as though wounded at the suggestion. “I’m not feeling like partying, and I would never trash someone else’s place.”

“And food?” Cole seemed genuinely concerned that he’d die of starvation, as if he hadn’t been fending for himself for years. It was cute.

“As long as you leave me the oats and honey so I can make more of the porridge, I will be fine.”