Trix watched me with anxious eyes from her spot near my pillow.
Mari waved a square-fingered hand at me. “If you don’t stop pacing, you will wear a trench in the floor.”
I looked down at the interlocked hardwood planks. “I think that’s more a Dorinthian concern than a human one.”
“You’re not human.”
She had a point.
Another knock. “Angel, let me in.”
“I’m not decent,” I lied.
Mari’s orange eyes popped open, and a wrinkle formed in her brow. “I think you are one of the most decent people I know.”
The door opened. I shot Mari an accusatory look. She shrugged. “Forgot to lock it. Sorry.”
She didn’t sound sorry. In fact, considering the ogress plied me with food at every opportunity, I was pretty sure I’d been set up. To Mari, all disagreements could likely be alleviated with a culinary offering.
Matt stood in the doorway with a heaped tray of food. His ordinary, human hazel eyes stared out from dark circles, and even his cheeks appeared hollow.
He looked like death warmed over. And it was my fault.
Painfully aware of Mari in the mix, I took the tray from him. “Thank you,” I said. “You didn’t need to bother.”
“I did,” he countered.
He captured my gaze with his own, and I blurted, “Are you okay, Matt?”
“Yeah, no worries. I’m good.”
I didn’t believe him, and he must have read it in my face. “We’ll work through this, Angel.”
“I don’t see how.”
“We all have talents that require trial and error in order to learn control. Yours is no different.”
I swallowed, and my eyes pricked with tears. “You are remarkable. Has anyone ever told you that?”
He grinned. “Every day. When I look in the mirror.”
“Do you mind if I take this?” Mari had risen and was perusing the tray, with one thick finger pointing to a dumpling. “I think I need more reserves for tonight.”
My lips twitched. “Go for it.”
As she snagged the dumpling, Matt reached out to push one of my errant curly bits off my face.
“See you tonight, Angel,” he said, and retreated, closing the door behind him.
I plunked down on my bed and tangled my hands in Trix’s disreputable fur.
Mari chewed contentedly. “See? Talking helps.”
No amount of talking was going to resolve my issue, but all I said was, “Yeah.”
“You worried about Night Games? It’s our first one. I’m sure they won’t expect much.”
“Our team is not exactly a team.”
