5
DIN
Din pushed the remnants of scrambled eggs around his plate, watching Fenella demolish her third piece of toast with an enthusiasm that made him smile. She ate like someone who'd learned never to take food for granted, or maybe she just had a ravenous appetite.
"I want to go help Kyra and her sisters today," she said between bites, gesturing with a piece of bacon. "They're getting the refrigerators and shelving units delivered, and they could use some immortal muscle."
Din set down his coffee cup. "Today?"
She nodded. "They probably started hours ago." Fenella pulled out her phone and checked the time. "Fates, it's after ten already. You should have woken me up earlier."
It hadn't escaped his notice that she'd started invoking the Fates. It was a small thing, but to him it was another brick in the foundation of the life Fenella was building in the village. She was accepting the clan's beliefs and customs.
"You needed the rest." Usually, she was too exhausted after her nightly performances at the Hobbit to do anything other than shower and fall asleep, but last night she'd summoned energy for some fun times in bed.
She grinned. "Whose fault was that, Professor? You're the one who carried me in your arms all the way to my room with plans to ravish me."
He leaned forward. "But then you decided to first practice your psychometric abilities on various items of my clothing."
"I was trying to see if I could read the history of your shirts," she managed to say without laughing. "I thought it would be an academic exercise. How was I supposed to know that they were all imbued with lustful thoughts about me?"
He chuckled. "It should have been obvious. Do you have any idea how sexy you are when you do your readings? Every night, I sit in that corner and watch you perform, dreaming of the moment I can snatch you away and hoard you all for myself."
"Oh, shucks." Shira waved a hand. "Aren't the two of you cute?"
He'd forgotten she was even there. "Aren't you late for your shift?"
"I am." She shuffled the rest of her eggs into her mouth and pushed to her feet. "I'm out of here. Be good, children. If the cat in the hat comes knocking, don't let him in."
Fenella laughed. "Echoes of story-time corner at the library?"
Shira nodded. "I love that book." She bent to kiss Fenella's cheek and waved at Din. A moment later, the front door closed with a bang, and they were alone.
Fenella pushed back from the table, her expression growing serious. "They need help. Max is on duty, stuck in the dungeon and dealing with Doomers and ugly humans, so that leaves only Ell-rom to help the sisters move heavy equipment. He's strong, but he could use some help."
Din thought of the finals waiting on his laptop, each one a hundred pages of undergraduate attempts at archaeological analysis. He'd promised himself he'd finish grading them before they left for Egypt, which was only three days away, but this was important to Fenella, and he could finish the grading on the plane or in the hotel.
"The delivery probably hasn't arrived yet," he said.
"Maybe not, but we should go. They might need help with other things."
Din stood and started gathering the breakfast dishes.
"Leave those," Fenella said. "I'll deal with them later."
"Or we could take two minutes and do them now."
She rolled her eyes. "You're such a professor. Everything has to be in its proper order."
"And you're such a bartender. Everything can wait until later."
"Exactly."
They compromised by quickly rinsing the dishes and leaving them in the sink, then headed out into the bright morning sun.
"It's strange," Fenella said as they passed an immortal jogging along the path. "Everyone is going about their day like the world didn't almost end."
"Maybe that's the point," Din suggested. "We keep living because that's what defeats evil. Every normal day is a victory."
