“You? Really?” She set a bag of groceries on the coffee table. “Don’t worry, there’s nothing perishable. I know how you are, so I brought instant noodles and the like.”
“Hey, I can cook.”
“But you generally don’t bother for yourself.”
That…was true enough. When had she gotten to know him so well? They’d been working together for years, and Liz was observant. Maybe that was the answer.
“How can you afford to just pick up and come check on me?”
“Most of my work is done remotely, and I can check contracts anywhere. Plus, I was worried about you. I know you’re surprised to see me, but would it kill you say, ‘Thanks, Liz. I appreciate you caring enough to stop me from vanishing into the night sky’？”
“Oh. Is that what this is about?” He had a fleeting memory of telling her that he couldn’t see the point of it all. Modern life seemed sort of futile, so maybe he’d just vanish into the horizon and live out the remainder of his days as a hawk.
“Yes, you jerk! It’s cool that you can fly and all, but I’d miss you if you just…disappeared. We’re friends, even if you’re too dense to realize it.”
“Thanks, Liz.”
“For what?” she asked in a grouchy tone.
“Caring enough to check on me. For that, you get a home-cooked meal, courtesy of me. But I do have groceries, you know. And some of them are even fresh fruit and vegetables.”
He made her a nice meal of steamed broccoli and rice with mushroom chicken, and then he filled her in on how everything had gone terribly wrong. Once he finished the saga, she sighed at him. “That’s pitiful. I don’t blame Iris for being mad at you. But it’s so cute that Henry Dale and Rowan were trying to help you patch things up. Sidenote—I’m totally reading their web comic. You mentioned it last time you texted me, and it’s awesome. They’re so talented. But…have you seen today’s episode?”
“What about it?” Eli read Rowan’s web comic about Violet Gables now and then, but he hadn’t looked at the most recent update.
“Apparently…” In a burst of excitement, Liz pulled up the site on her tablet and passed it over.
He skimmed with dawning disbelief. Iris’s fae parents showed up and established Violet Gables as inviolable territory since Iris was their scion and ambassador. That meant normal city regulations didn’t apply, and Iris could do as she damn well pleased with her property. Eli stared at Liz, who was bouncing a little in excitement.
“Is that, like, really real? Are you actually in love with a fairy princess?”
Yeah…that would take some getting used to.
“Rowan doesn’t make stuff up,” he finally said. “So if it’s in the comic, then I guess it happened. She definitely didn’t need me to buy her way out of trouble. Things got resolved for her…because she’s Iris.”
“Not trying to be extra, but I need to meet these people. After reading the web comic, they seem like celebrities to me. But don’t worry, I won’t be weird. I can be chill, I promise. Also, unrelated, is Mira as hot in real life as she is in—？”
“Are you sure you’re a licensed attorney?” Eli demanded. “Because you sound like a fangirl at her favorite concert.”
Liz waved that away. “You’ve seen my diploma. Never mind, you don’t have to answer about Mira.”
“Good, that would be awkward. She’s like a sister to me.”
“Then I’ll scout that myself when you introduce me.”
“You seem so sure that will happen.”
“It has to. I have my hopes up and everything. Which means we need to start thinking about how to get you back together with Iris.”
“Now we get to the truth. You weren’t worried about me. You just want to meet Mira and Rowan and meddle in my love life.”
Liz picked up the tiny container of ice cream she’d found in his freezer. He’d planned to eat that alone, but sharing was okay too.
“And Iris and Sally and Henry Dale. Oops, already met him. But the others, yeah. I need their energy in my life. Maybe I’ll move to St. Claire too!”
Eli sighed. “Why are you like this?”
She dug in, waving the spoon to punctuate her monologue. “Because you need someone to counter the level of morose energy you discharge into the world. We’re like magnets with an opposite charge. It shouldn’t work, yet we stick together and wow the world with our friendship.”
“Let’s say I agree with you. I do want Iris back, but I won’t pressure her.”
“Yeah, that’s the issue. But you can’t leave these things too long either, or she might think you were just playing with her, you know? Since that’s not the case, you can’t leave any doubts about your intentions.”
“Please say you’re not thinking of a grand gesture,” he begged.
Liz narrowed her eyes. “None of that quitter talk. We give her two weeks, which is up when?”
He counted the days and told her. Funny, it seems much longer.
“Great. Past that point, we pull out all the stops. Operation ‘get the girl’ is a go!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Rain and fen stayed for a week, marveling over the way the “mortal realm” had changed.
They used the main bedroom, which had been Eli’s up until recently, so that was a bit weird for Iris, but it was good getting to know her parents. They didn’t eat food, and they drank beverages only to be polite, so that was interesting as well. She still didn’t understand how her own body worked, though come to think of it, she’d never been sick in her life, never had a normal childhood illness or been rushed to the hospital. Even her cuts healed cleanly and quickly.
But that made her wonder. “Uh. I used to donate plasma quite a bit. Do you think the patients who received my fluids are okay?” she asked Rain.
“The binding made you essentially human, dear one. I’m not sure what would happen if you tried to donate now, however. But if you need funds, we can—”
“I’m fine,” she cut in quickly.
She didn’t want them dumping heaps of jewels through the portal, as would doubtless happen if she said a word. The tax laws probably couldn’t even handle sudden largesse from the Otherworld, though maybe they’d just class them as a bequest. But she hadn’t wanted a handout from Eli, and she didn’t mean to mooch from Rain and Fen either.
Her housemates were all fascinated by the impossible door in the basement, and Fen kept offering to take Rowan to the “land under the hill.”
“We’ve always been welcoming to artists,” Rain added with a radiant smile.
Rowan looked a little dazed and more than a bit dazzled. “That would be—”
“When I decide to go, Rowan can come with me. They’re not going off with you all of a sudden,” Iris said for what felt like the hundredth time.
“I’m sure it would be okay,” Rowan said with an enraptured smile.
Well, crap. I think Rowan might want to start a poly relationship with my immortal parents, so that’s cool. Totally fine.