“Em.”
The fae looked at Cheyenne with wide eyes, then burst out laughing. “I’m kidding. Are you serious?”
With a snort, the halfling shook her head and unwrapped a plastic fork before crossing her legs beneath her in the armchair. “After everything I’ve seen and heard in the last couple days, it honestly wouldn’t surprise me if even you stopped acting like yourself.”
“Wait a minute!” Ember laughed around a forkful of her breakfast.
“No, I know I can trust you.” Cheyenne jammed a bite of greasy, cheesy potatoes into her mouth and talked around it. “It’s everyone else I’m worried about. The people who seem like they know what they’re doing are turning out to be just another huge part of the problem. And all the good people with better intentions and no secrets have no idea what they’re doing.”
“Huh. And you started talking in riddles all of a sudden.”
Cheyenne rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know. It’s ridiculous.”
“Is that orange juice?”
“Yep.”
“With pulp?”
“Just for you.”
Grinning, Ember stuck a straw into the jumbo-sized to-go cup and gulped for at least ten seconds. “Oh, man. That’s so much better than the watered-down crap they bring up here in those stupid plastic cups.”
“Yeah, I knew you’d like that.”
“So.” Ember took another bite, closed her eyes to enjoy it, and swallowed. “Who are these good people with no secrets? I didn’t even know that was a thing.”
Cheyenne had to chew and swallow her giant mouthful of bacon and potatoes with extra hot sauce before she could answer. “I just found out yesterday that there’s a family of trolls living three doors down from me.”
“Woah, what?”
“Yeah. A couple and their daughter. I guess they’ve been over here for about a year or something. It’s not really, uh, I don’t know. Maybe a year just isn’t long enough to figure out human things?”
Ember smirked around her food. “Did they just move in or something?”
“Nope. Been there the whole time. And I had absolutely no idea.”
“So, what? You just bumped into them in the hall?”
The halfling buried her smirk in the to-go cup of coffee, then shook her head. “More like I barged in on an orc trying to shake them down for…hell, I don’t know what. Only took me a minute to get the guy off their hands, and now they’re pretty much tripping over themselves to thank me more than it’s worth.”
“You got the guy off their hands.”
“Yeah, more like off their living room floor.” Cheyenne shrugged. “After I put him there.”
“Holy crap.” Ember dropped her plastic fork into the to-go box and stared at her friend. “You met the neighbors by beating up a bad guy in their living room.”
“Pretty much.”
“So why aren’t you as amused by this as I thought you’d be?”
The halfling took another bite, chewed, and waited until Ember’s mouth was full too. “They made me like a hundred pairs of underwear as a thank-you gift.”
Ember choked and sprayed bits of her breakfast into the to-go box. “What?”
Cheyenne just let out another quiet laugh and drank more coffee.
“What the— Hand me one of those napkins, huh?” Ember snatched them from her friend’s outstretched hand and wiped the mess she’d made of her breakfast off her mouth and the front of her sweater. “Are you serious?”
“They were too.”
“Underwear.”
“Bright colors and shiny dangly parts and everything. I could open a belly-dancing costume shop with how much they put in that basket.”
Ember barked another laugh. “That’s…so cute.”
“They were really embarrassed. Now they wanna make it up to me by inviting me over for dinner so they can make me something I’ll actually appreciate, I guess.”
“Well, that’s nice.”
Shoveling another forkful into her mouth, Cheyenne just shrugged. “I mean, I’ve seen magicals eat before. Not a big deal. But if they think making me a bunch of fancy underwear is a grand gesture, I’m a little worried about their idea of sharing a meal.”
“Oh, come on. It’ll be fine. You’re making friends.” Ember grinned.
“I wasn’t trying to.”
“You’re making magical friends. With your neighbors.”
Cheyenne shot the fae a deadpan glare. “Keep saying it like that, and I’m gonna have to find a new apartment complex. I really like this one.”
Shaking her head, Ember took another bite, then set her half-eaten breakfast back on the bedside table. “I’m so full. That’s the weird part. I used to put one of these things away in five minutes, and then I sleep for too many days and wake up to sit around on my ass all day, and now I can’t keep up with you.”
Slurping the last bit of breakfast into her mouth, Cheyenne paused over the to-go box and flicked her gaze toward her friend.
Ember laughed. “See? I got a lotta work ahead of me before I get back up to full speed.”
The halfling stuck her empty box back into the takeout bag and licked her lips. “You look like you’re doing really well, though. All things considered.”
“Yeah. All things.” With a little sigh, Ember settled her hands in her lap again and nodded slowly. “And now I get to focus on just how much rehab I can handle. Just outta the blue, you know? Everything’s all taken care of, paid for up front for like two months out. I mean, I’ve always been lucky, but this feels excessive.”
Cheyenne pressed her lips together and didn’t quite manage to look into Ember’s blue eyes. “Then just don’t push your luck, huh?”
“Right.”
“If a good thing comes your way, take it and run.” The halfling stopped short and looked at her friend. “I mean, figuratively.”
“Shut up.” Ember chucked her wadded-up napkin at the half-drow and laughed. “I might not be able to move my legs for a while, Cheyenne, but I’m not made of glass, either. Got it?”
Cheyenne gave her friend a little salute and glanced at the clock mounted on the wall beside the TV. “When does that doctor of yours usually show up?”
“Uh, right about now? I don’t know, though. Might be different on a Saturday.”
“Still, I
