“That was a lot of work for pretty much nothing,” I say, glancing at all the opened boxes and the dozens of weapons littering the attic floor. Nath stands with his hands on his hips, looking around all of the different things on the other side of the room. We only found two books in all the boxes, and a lot of it was just bubble wrap. I don't know what my mum expected me to do with all these weapons, but this clearly isn’t giving me any answers.
“If anyone attacks you, you have a massive choice of weapons to use. Maybe your parents thought you might be in danger and they thought you’d need all this?” Nath asks, rubbing the back of his neck, and I swiftly look away from him before he sees the worry on my face. He could be onto something. Mum did say Frayan held death for me, that people died for me to be here and that some “she” would find me if I went back. Yet, it makes no sense. If mum wanted me to use these weapons, wouldn’t she have trained me on how to use them at some point?
“I don’t know how to use any of these things, so it is pointless. They are all made of crystals, and none of them look sharp enough to hurt anyone,” I say, pointing at a bunch of them.
“It will take me a while to work out where these crystals come from and what we should do with them,” Nath says, picking up a purple sword off the floor. The sword is made of what looks like amethyst, and it is very heavy, by the looks of it. I glance back at the dozens of daggers, arrows, knives, swords and there is even a whip, before picking the two books up off the ground and grabbing the one off the desk.
“I'm going to read all these and see if I can find anything useful in them,” I tell Nath. “Thank you for helping me unpack all of this. Even if it was pointless.”
“It's no problem. I am very interested in everything,” he says, keeping his eyes on mine, and some part of me thinks he means me instead of the things in the room. I clear my throat and go to the ladder, knowing that falling for any of these guys would be dangerous. They are on a mission and pretending to be hunters. I am not in the right place to be thinking clearly about anything. I carefully climb down, balancing the books on each step above me before getting to the bottom and picking them off. I quickly run to my room and put them on the side, before going back into the corridor and watching as Nath pushes the ladder steps back and shuts the attic door.
“Are you going to be okay sleeping on the sofa? I have spare blankets and a pillow but no spare bed,” I say. I would offer him my bed, but I’m a little selfish, and I just want to collapse into it tonight rather than the sofa.
“The sofa is perfect for me. I used to sleep in a sleeping bag in a tent for most my childhood, a sofa is a step up,” he says, chuckling at my slightly shocked face, and he nods his head towards the stairs.
“Why did you sleep in a tent?”
“I’m a half breed, and until the war, we had to hide from not just humans but supernaturals. Mum did the best she could, but we moved a lot. Stayed in camping villages a lot,” he says, and I step closer, placing my hand on his arm as I feel the urge to comfort him.
“I am sorry that was your upbringing. I mean, if you don’t mind there being pillows between us, you can sleep in my bed?” I suggest.
“Are you suggesting we sleep together, Adie? I didn’t know how much of a bad girl you are,” Nath says, reaching closer and tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear as I try not to blush. “As much as sleeping next to you is appealing, I think a date first is a good idea. So, for now, it’s the sofa.”
“Okay,” I say, squashing how disappointed I feel as I lower my hand away. Why the hell am I disappointed?
“Is that a yes then?”
“Yes, to what?” I ask, confused.
“A date of course,” Nath asks. “I’m thinking I know the perfect place to take you.”
“Okay,” I reply, trying not to stumble on my words as he smiles, looking pleased.
“Good, I look forward to it,” he winks. “As for tonight, I’m going to cook us all dinner. Are paprika burgers okay? I love them and bought you all the stuff to make them at the shops,” he asks, changing the subject, but I just about hear what he says as I’m still focused on the fact one of the hottest guys I’ve ever met just asked me out on a date.
“You made lunch, I should make dinner,” I reply.
“Let me. I love to cook. We didn’t have much food growing up, and now I can have any food I like. I love to cook different things,” he tells me.
“Then sure,” I say, smiling and biting down on my bottom lip. Nath follows the movement, his eyes locked on my lip until I let it go, and he clears his throat.
“Before I start dinner, I want you and Sophie to put the bracelets on. I think they should be done now,” he says, seeming a little dazed by something.
“Alright, where are they?” I ask.
“In the lounge,” he tells me and nods his head towards the stairs. I follow him downstairs and into the lounge where there are two boxes on the coffee table, next to the bag Nath brought with him to the house. Nath sits on the sofa, right on the edge and opens the first box. A bright red light shines out of the box, making me look away until it dies down, and when I look back, Nath is floating a red gemstone bracelet in the air above his hand. There are six red stones, encased in a thin gold bracelet, and it looks like a normal piece of jewelry, a very stunning and expensive one.
“Come here, beautiful,” Nath says, and I walk over, sitting on the sofa next to him. I hold my hands out, and he floats the bracelet into my open hands.
“I chose right picking rubies yesterday when I made this. It will match your other bracelet.”
“You made this?”
“Yeah…it will go well with your ruby red hair,” he says, picking the bracelet up out of my hand, and I hold my wrist out for him to clip it on next to my other one. They almost complement each other.
“Thank you doesn’t seem enough for such a lovely gift,” I tell him.
“It’s nothing,” he says, picking the other box up off the table before getting up. “I made a yellow topaz one for Sophie. Yellow is a happy colour, and it might cheer her up.” Nath winks at me as I laugh, before walking out the room with the box in search for my sister. I rub my fingers over the new bracelet and smile to myself. I have a date with Nath the hottie.