Grove looked up at me. “You’re not worried she’ll pick a fight?”
I’d turned away from the shrinking fire—I’d intended to lead Grove behind the library to begin our search back there—but I paused and looked back at the blaze.
The House Tellier wizards were still laughing cheesily as they pumped water onto the fire.
“No, I don’t think there will be any problems,” I said. “House Tellier is too occupied with their own bravery.”
“Accurate.” Grove said. “So, are you gonna try and sense magic, too?”
“Yes.” We made it around the edge of the building, which took us out of reach of the heat from the fire and left me so cold my teeth almost chattered. “After I radio Sarge.”
“Understood, Ma’am!”
I stared at Connor’s door, and debated whether I should try texting him instead of knocking.
It’s good practice for approaching the neighbors. Here I go!
I gave a business-like rap on the door, which made my knuckles smart, then took a step back and waited.
I couldn’t hear anything from within the apartment and enough time passed that I wondered if it was possible to knock in a friendly manner, and if that was a skill I should pursue in my spare time.
The door opened, and I stood straighter locking my arms behind my back. “Connor, Hi. You’re here.”
Connor ran a hand through his dark hair and raised an eyebrow. “Why would you knock at a door and not expect an answer?”
“I kind of assumed you’d be gone,” I said. “But on the chance you were here, I was hoping to invite you over for coffee or tea.”
Connor braced his forearm against the door frame and looked back. “Unfortunately, I have a few things I need to take care of…” He trailed off, and his face was expressionless for a moment, until a decadent smile twitched on his lips. “How about you bring your coffee or what have you over to my apartment?”
Why did he use such weird inflection?
I stared at him while trying to sort through possible social patterns and explanations, but I was coming up with nothing.
Must be something I don’t get.
“Okay,” I agreed. “Let me go grab my mug. I’ll be right back.”
I shuffled down the hallway to my apartment and darted in, leaving the door open behind me.
“The door will be unlocked,” Connor called after me.
“Got it,” I called as I picked up my steaming mug of coffee. The mug was a gift from my older brother, Alex, and had a cartoon tabby cat with fur the same red color as my hair and a little cartoon bat—who had x’s for eyes—hanging from her mouth painted on the side. （Slayer humor is weird.）
I started for the door, paused, then backtracked and grabbed the communication book I’d purchased from Book Nookery when Connor and I visited the bookstore in October.
If Connor’s busy, I’ll need something to do or it could feel awkward.
I tucked the book under my arm, grabbed my keys—my phone was already in my jeans pocket—and locked my door before heading over to Connor’s apartment and hesitantly nudging the door open.
“I’m back,” I called, pausing in the doorway. An awkward feeling that I hadn’t ever felt before with Connor sat on my chest, and I was pretty sure a blush was heating up my pale complexion.
Connor hadn’t invited me over to his place before. In fact, Sunshine was my only Magiford friend whose house I’d seen. Since the invitation was so rare, it felt extra personal.
“Welcome.” Connor stood by a fancy, wooden table, smirking into a wineglass of red liquid, which the prickling feeling in my teeth told me was blood.
His smirk returned my sense of normalcy, so while I bumped his apartment door shut with my hip and looked around, the awkwardness started to fade.
Since he had a corner apartment, his windows were bigger and lined not only the back of the apartment, but the entire outer wall as well. I could see that his patio was also bigger and wrapped around both sides of the building, and he had a bistro set that was currently wet from some rain we’d had earlier in the day.
His kitchen was larger and had nicer cupboards and appliances, and there was a large dedicated dining area—not to mention, unlike my cramped entertainment space that barely had room for my TV and couch, his living room area was light and airy with lots of room since his apartment was much wider.
There was a darkened, full-sized bathroom right by the doorway where I stood, and three wooden doors—all of them closed—lined the other wall.