After several minutes, Llewellyn opened his eyes.
"For the record," he said, looking more awake now and somewhat peeved, "when I said 'Don't think, just act' during our training that didn't include bleeding to death."
I snorted.
"I'm very much alive, as you can see. No death involved."
Llewellyn's eyes narrowed. "Not for lack of trying."
"That's the risk of combat. You weren't in an easier spot. I could do it, so I did it—and here we are, both alive. What's the big deal?"
Llewellyn looked like he was going through different stages of… something. His scowl deepened.
"I wouldn't have died if the shards hit me," he said. "That was reckless and unnecessary."
"Your skin would have literally been torn off! Are you insane?"
"It would have not. Give me some credit—I don't go down that easily."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "If you think I'm just going to stand there and risk it while I can do something about it, you must be very deluded about the nature of this partnership. Would you let me go through that?"
Llewellyn opened his mouth, ready to argue, but closed it immediately, looking displeased.
I just looked back at him, eyes narrowed.
Penguin's little head moved back and forth between us like he was watching a pinball game.
After a moment, Llewellyn sighed. "What kind of contract do you have? Does it have an end date?"
Hey, now. I'd just saved his life, and he was trying to get rid of me?!
For a moment, I felt incredibly hurt.
"Trying to get rid of me already?"
"What? No, that's not—" Llewellyn pinched the bridge of his nose, looking frustrated. "I'm just asking if it has an end date."
"It does not."
I'd checked that before, obviously. Though that still didn't mean that the System couldn't revoke it if I didn't measure up to whatever it had in mind.
Llewellyn nodded.
"Then," he said, "if you're really serious about this, you should ask the System what it runs on."
Wait—
What?
Was it in his contract that he had to be so cryptic?!
"What do you mean?"
"That's all I can say about it," Llewellyn said.
I opened the System window.
Llewellyn's hand shot out to catch my wrist. "Not now," he said.
Huh?
"It—" He frowned. "Mm. Just make sure you have at least an hour of free time when you do that." He let my wrist go. "And that you've recovered properly."
That sounded ominous. Was this going to activate some kind of test? Life or death fight?
But he'd just thrown a tantrum because I'd lost a bit of blood. That didn't sound right.
While I was considering this, Llewellyn's dog, who'd been trying to get our attention for a while, got fed up and jumped on the sofa, snuggling closer until he could rest his head on Penguin, who chirped happily and booped his nose again.
Llewellyn snorted and closed his eyes.
However, the new addition had created some space between us, and I missed the body contact immediately.
***
When Llewellyn finally managed to get up from the sofa, it was midnight. He moved toward the kitchen, yawning, apparently deciding I needed food whether I agreed or not.
He suddenly changed course, however, before coming back with a big towel and some clean clothes.
"The bathroom's there if you want to shower," he said, as I was playing with Lumos. "Get all that blood off. I'll make something to eat."
Penguin hopped down from the sofa and followed him into the kitchen, looking ready to help.
I scratched my head.
Well. I was self-conscious about showering here, but I did need a shower.
***
"…"
Llewellyn's bathroom was ridiculous.
The shower alone was four times mine, with multiple shower heads, and a rainfall setting that felt like standing under a warm waterfall. I didn't even know these things existed.
I scrubbed the grime and blood off my skin, letting the shower run for longer than I should have and already regretting that I couldn't relive the experience soon.
When I finally dragged myself out, I discovered that the floor was heated. Even the towel was absurdly fluffy.
Damn it. I was going to upgrade my living situation as soon as I had the time to sit down and talk to the System. I'd been missing out on so many conveniences.
I dried off quickly, pulling on the clothes Llewellyn had given me. They were soft and comfortable, and the sweater was—of course—cashmere. I couldn't help but wonder if he just had a closet full of the stuff.
I glanced at the mirror. My hair was still damp, falling over my eyes, but my skin was clean and flushed, and the dark circles under my eyes seemed a little less pronounced. Considering that four hours ago I'd almost bled to death, I looked almost presentable.
In the kitchen Llewellyn gave me a distracted look, then did a double take and looked away.
I frowned. Why were the tips of his ears red?
Anyway.
I reached out for my phone and— What?
I had thirty-six missed calls and eighteen messages. More than two dozen calls were from Gran.
Fuck. That didn't bode well.
I scrolled through the messages, trying to assess the situation. Niamh had sent three with video attachments.
The first showed me slumped against Llewellyn, blood streaking down my side. The concealment artifacts had blurred our features but anyone would recognize us immediately. I suppose these kinds of concealment artifacts were meant for casual encounters, not high-profile battles in the open. The video was grainy and a bit blurry, making it look dated, but apart from that not much else had been hidden.
The second clip was shot from a window and captured a section of the fight: the giant metal cat, me bleeding onto that cursed keyring. It was bad.
The third was just a random moment of us ducking as the keys were flung around.
At least, the concealment seemed to have worked properly on Penguin, considering that he wasn't in any of the videos. Maybe his powers had augmented the effect.
Niamh's final text just said: "They're everywhere. Hope you're ok. Emma let us know, so Altan took over your shift. No need to worry. Call me when you can."
I sighed. I was really starting to owe them too much.
Well, I couldn't do anything about it now.
I wandered into the kitchen, following the smell of food, then looked up from my phone and blinked.
"…"
The kitchen was huge. The stove had more burners than I'd ever seen, and—was that an actual wood-fired pizza oven built into the wall?! Who needed a pizza oven in their flat?
A big island with a massive slab of white marble stood in the middle, but the kitchen was so big that there was extra space for a dining table without even beginning to look remotely cramped.
Did Llewellyn really need all this?
I shook myself. We had more pressing matters to discuss.
"We're on the news," I said, "Someone filmed us."
From the stove, Llewellyn's expression didn't change, but I saw his jaw tighten slightly.
I really had to call Gran. Her last call was only ten minutes ago, so she was still awake—and unlikely to fall asleep until I called back.
I tapped on her number and waited.
"Gran?"
"Oh, my heart." Her voice sounded relieved. "You're alive. I've been watching you get thrown around by a metal cat on the news for the past two hours!"
Damn it.
"I'm fine. I fell asleep so I missed your calls, I'm sorry. I got potions and proper healing, it looked worse than—"
"Not your boy, my ass!" Gran said. "When were you going to tell me you were involved in this? Didn't I tell you not to get hurt? You couldn't even walk!"
Llewellyn set a plate of sandwiches down, raising an eyebrow at me.
I hope he hadn't overheard that.
He was still in his blue pajamas as he bustled around the kitchen, and I was pretty sure I wasn't supposed to feel things about it. I dragged my gaze away.
"I can walk," I said. "It's fine. It was a Destabilized Artifact situation, we just found ourselves in the area."
"I know, they had experts on to explain it," she said. "Three different experts. One of them called you 'astoundingly reckless' and said you have a death wish."
No, what?
"I don't!" I closed my eyes. "Which channel?"
"All of them. You're trending on social media too, according to the nice nurse who showed me her phone."
Kill me now. Hopefully they hadn't found out who I was?
Gran's voice softened slightly. "You are safe now?"
"I am," I said. "I'm not injured anymore. I'll come visit you soon so you can see for yourself."
"Good," Gran sighed. "And no more bleeding on television."
I grinned. "I'll do my best."
She huffed. "Be careful, love. Say hi to your boy for me."
…Huh. I hoped Llewellyn was far enough in his massive kitchen not to have overheard that.
After she hung up, I stared at my phone, dreading the thought of opening the other texts.
I thought it over and just put my phone away and ignored them.
"That sounded fun," Llewellyn said, gesturing at me to sit down and eat.
At some point while I was in the shower, he'd made steak, potato fritters, scorched rice, salad, and a variety of sandwiches. There was also kimchi, pickled carrots, hummus, and something fried I didn't recognise that looked delicious. Maybe some kind of battered vegetables?
I stared. That was excessive.
It was midnight! True, that was basically the equivalent of late morning for me—likely not for him though. Besides—
"How did you even manage all this? I wasn't in the shower that long."
"Penguin helped," Llewellyn said.
Penguin chirped from the counter, looking like head of kitchen operations.
Lumos was padding slow circles around Llewellyn's legs, tail swaying, casting him hopeful looks with each pass.
"I just fed you," Llewellyn said. "You're not getting more."
Lumos paused, sat, and fixed him with a deeply betrayed stare.
"Don't give him anything," Llewellyn added toward me. "He just had a full steak."
I made no promises.