Eban by Allison Merritt Page B

come tomorrow and find out. She’ll be disappointed if you leave early. Like it or not, she thinks of you as family.”
    â€œShe is family.” He sighed. “I’ll go, but only for you and Sylvie.”
    She beamed. “Good!”
    Good for everyone else, maybe. He shoved his discomfort aside. “You’re feeling better, then?”
    â€œPhysically, yes, but my head hurts when I try to imagine how I wound up in that shape.” Her slender eyebrows drew together. “You were going to tell me.”
    His mind went blank. She watched him with a mixture of anxiety and curiosity.
    â€œIt’s complicated.”
    Her brows arched. “How?”
    â€œWe argued.” He dug his fingernails into his hips. It was a poor lie, as far as they went, but he’d never been good at it. “You stormed away and I was busy with Eliakim.”
    â€œYou let me walk out of the clinic?” She crossed her arms. “It’s still dangerous around here at night.”
    â€œI had to talk to the angel. I’m sorry.” He stared past her out the window so he could still see her, but didn’t have to look at her directly.
    Her eyes narrowed, letting only the slightest hint of green show through her lashes. “Why?”
    â€œThere’s trouble with the Pit and I thought he could help. Wystan ordered Tell to call the three demon lords whose seals are broken. We’re going to try and fix it once and for all. Nothing will be able to get through.”
    â€œOh.” She tilted her head. “That’s a good thing. Berner would really be a safe haven then.”
    â€œThat’s the idea.” He withdrew his hands from his pockets. “Keep yourself hydrated. It’s bad enough with the heat around here, but the liquor will dry you out worse than one of those hot winds.”
    â€œI will.” Her keen green eyes never left his face. “What did we fight about?”
    â€œAh, about… Leaving. You don’t want me to go, remember?” He dabbed his sleeve against his forehead. “It’s hot in here. Maybe we should go for a ride, see if we can’t stir up a breeze.”
    â€œI don’t want you to go, but I can’t recall fighting about it. It’s your choice, of course.” She fiddled with a button at her collar.
    â€œYou haven’t been here long enough to understand what it’s really like.” New frustration overtook his nervousness.
    â€œI like it here.”
    â€œBecause you don’t know any better. If you’d grown up here, you’d see what a mess this place is.”
    â€œIt’s not without its charms.” She moved toward him, then rested her hands on his shoulders. A glimmer of mischief colored her smile. “If that’s what we really argued about, I don’t want to do it again. Let’s have a picnic. Just the two of us. We’ll talk about things more pleasant than living and dying in Berner.”
    Relieved she was giving up the conversation, a half smile tugged at his lips. “I like that idea.”
    Beryl lay on her back, soaking in the warmth of the ground in Berner’s park. The oak tree overhead moved in the breeze, making the sunlight sparkle through wide leaves. Eban had his back against the trunk, staring out at the grassy lawn in front of them. He looked lost in thought.
    Over the crumbling adobe wall surrounding the park, she heard people talking and the jingle of harnesses. Business was better in town and the citizens seemed less afraid to move around on the streets than they had been before the Heckmasters banished Noem. Almost like a real town.
    She put her hand over Eban’s. He smiled, the same smile she’d fallen in love with when she saw it the first time. She wanted to crawl into his lap, curl against him and let the rest of the world fade away. Perfect, kissable lips begged her to cover them with her mouth, even if the rest of him feigned