How the Mighty Fall

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The morning sun blasted his face. "Wake up, sunshine," Astraea spoke up to the room once the curtains were split to the sides of the window. "There is a full day ahead."

Phrixus groaned. He rolled over to cover his face, until one of his pillows was yanked out from under him. But he didn't open his eyes. "Ash, don't mess with me."

The venomous tone sent a chill through her. She almost closed his curtains again and turned to run out of his room. It took a second for her to stand her ground and breathe deeply. "Your bet granted me this. Now," she leaned toward his ear, "if you get up, I'll make it worth your while." Being that close for the first time, she got distracted by his marred skin. The scars on his back weren't as clear in the natural bright light, but she had no problem calling on their image from memory. She was mentally mapping the thoughtless claw swipes to match the marks.

In a fluid motion she couldn't think fast enough to remove herself from, he reached out and pulled her down by an arm. She lost her balance and pitched forward onto the bed next to him. Among her hair strewn around them, his lips brushed her ear. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

She ignored the blush that erupted on her cheeks. Standing from his bed no longer composed, the next words in her script blanked. Straying from plan, she grabbed his ankles and tugged as far from his bed as she could. The consequences were chaotic.

First, Astraea didn't have good awareness when it came to her physical strength. Second, a fact she would remain smug about for a long time, she hadn't anticipated that Phrixus would have restrained himself when he went to sleep. Third, the combined strength and wear resulted in little damage to his wrists before the cuffs broke. And fourth, that Phrixus recovered in no time and lunged for her.

Pinned by Phrixus on his own bedroom floor, Astraea blinked up at his usual unreadable gaze. He didn't move or loosen his grip.

She stared back. There were few things she could say that would persuade him to release her. "I started packing stuff up to move." That did it. As soon as he stepped back, she sprawled out on the ground. With her eyes closed, she exhaled as relief filled her.

He coughed to get her attention, which she rejected by not moving. "Ash, you have work soon." His footsteps became fainter.

"Not if I quit," she muttered. "Maybe I could try to freelance, or remote. Or," she opened her eyes and sat up to his empty room and open doorway. "You could get me a job where you work! I feel like you'd tell me it's not possible, but I don't think that's true."

"You may be in charge, but not about this," he replied from the kitchen as he poured a cup of coffee. "I'm leaving in 10 minutes. If you don't get your ass up and ready by then, I'll find a place for myself and you can fend off the hunters alone."

She was tempted to call his bluff. It had to be, unless he changed his mind about how useful she could be against the hunters. "I shouldn't have to stay at this job forever."

"It's been like two weeks," Phrixus retorted with more confusion than hostility. "Get through this shift, and when I pick you up later I'll have apartment listings you can look through until we decide on one together. And you know," their eyes met, "I remember last night. You need to tell me if you plan on leaving or giving up." He stopped talking then, but they both knew there was one more point behind those words. He wasn't going to let her drag him down.

She stepped up onto the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. It looked more lifeless, but she couldn't pinpoint in what way.

"Ash!" Lily bounded up to her. The stale taste of hearing her pseudonym lingered in her throat. "There was a party last night with nearly half of the staff there. Did you not get my messages? It totally would have built you up to everyone."