Page 59 of Search for the Lost

“Does it have an en suite?”

“With a soaking tub.”

Aspin nodded with satisfaction and marched to the door. “I’ll return in a few hours and you can share your news about Mother.” He paused to let Minkis scamper through the open door before shutting it firmly behind them.

“We also have a soaking tub,” said Crispin with a grin. “Big enough for two. But I think we should eat first.”

Although Leo’s stomach growled, he shook his head. “Look. About the way I acted in front of Dietrich….”

“It was perfect! A jealous partner was exactly what I needed to convince Dietrich that I was throwing myself at him. He would have divulged any secret to me by the time we were done.” Aspin looked smug.

Oh. “Oh.” Leo trudged to the nearest squishy chair and collapsed into it. He found it annoyingly comfortable. “That… that was an act. You weren’t really flirting with him.”

Eyes wide, Crispin put a hand to his chest. “Of course not!”

Leo wanted to hide under the bed. He couldn’t even meet Crispin’s eyes. “The thing is, me being jealous? That wasn’t an act. I honestly thought….”

Instead of acting angry, Crispin stared at him for a moment and then threw himself into Leo’s lap. He captured Leo’s face between his palms. “I thought we were past the self-deprecation bit. I love you, Leopold Lane. You are my Chaos, my heart. We may have some bumps to smooth over once the current adventure is done, but we belong together, and I don’t want any partner but you.” He concluded this with a noisy kiss on Leo’s lips.

Leo had never been a romantic type, but maybe that was because he’d never had the chance. Now he felt as if his insides had melted like a bahn-bahn car left in the sun. “You love me. And my parents, they loved me too. Even Aspin is kinda warming up to me.”

“And Mother as well, I think. That’s no easy thing, impressing her.”

Things might have progressed straight to the bed, but Leo’s stomach growled like an angry ogre just as someone knocked on the door. Crispin clapped his hands happily—“Dinner! I’m famished.”—and he ran over to answer.

If Leo had given it any thought, he would have expected schnitzel or bratwurst or something along those lines. Instead he and Crispin were given a huge tray containing fish tacos, pad thai, and pizza with unidentifiable purple things sprinkled on top. It was all delicious. He and Crispin followed up with a long and diverting soak in a tub roughly the size of a fishing boat.

They were sated, wrapped in fluffy white robes and slumped together on one of the couches when Aspin and Minkis returned. Aspin wore a royal-blue robe and carried an enormous wine glass full of red liquid. Looking every inch a prince, he sat in an oversize chair across from them and took a sip of his drink. “I see why Mother liked this place.”

Crispin shrugged. “She never stayed more than a couple of days. Her real destination was always the Black Forest.”

“Why? What in all twelve hells does she want there?”

Leo sighed with happiness as he watched his beautiful lover straighten the hem of his robe, plump a pillow, and inspect his fingernails. “Well,” said Crispin, with a perfect sense of dramatic timing, “here’s what Dietrich had to say….”

21

Crispin

Crispin was privately pleased at Leo’s flash of jealousy on hearing Dietrich’s name. Leo’s jealousy was actually kind of adorable; it was the only word Crispin could find for it. Like Leo had finally found the one thing in life he wanted, the most precious thing—love—and wanted to protect it and hold it tightly to his heart.

“Well?” Leo’s eyes were wide, and that single word showed his impatience.

Minkis stood on his hind legs on the arm of the couch, chittering in apparent exasperation. “Well, Acorn Man?”

Thea buzzed in his pocket, and even Aspin leaned forward, eager to hear what Crispin had learned.

“There are two ways through the Black Forest. The first is in the stomach of a WOE⁠—”

“WOLF.” Leo seemed annoyingly attached to his acronym-not-acronym.

Crispin decided he owed his poor partner that much, after an hour of worry. “Right, yes, in the stomach of a WOLF.”

“Not ideal.” Aspin shook his head. “Unless there’s another way into one?”

“Nope. Just the standard way. Sharp teeth, lots of chewing—and screaming.” Crispin had discarded that option right away.

“What’s the other way, boss? I can’t penetrate it, even with a mirror.” Thea’s not-helpful voice emanated from his pocket.