Gods & Thieves

8. Carrot and Stick (2)

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I can almost feel the time ticking away, clammy and sluggish, as Loretto and I stare at each other, alone and in silence, just as we were in the vestibule the first time we met. And that first meeting didn't end well.

Worry swirls in my chest as I wait for Loretto to start scolding me, but fae only slowly flexes faer ringed fingers, waiting.

"Well, I..." I see no knives in faer hands, sense no crazed wind that can hit my back against the wall again. That must mean my mentor is in quite a good mood, despite the councilor's offensive request to help me. "I'll mop the floor, and you can gather the pots," I suggest cautiously.

Loretto harrumphs. I watch my mentor walk over, push the tools aside, clearing the corner of one of the tables, and then hop to sit on the tabletop, faer legs dangling. "You can mop the floor, and you'll also gather the pots," Loretto says, giving me an insipid smile.

Rationally, I should like to punch that cocky grace of a teacher for this answer too, but it seems I've spent all my today's temper on Valto. Besides, what did I expect from a shaman who threatened me the last time we spoke? Not sympathy, definitely.

I spend a whole hour, if not more, walking in circles and gathering all the jars and pots and bottles from the floor and putting them where they were. Thankfully, nothing is broken, otherwise I'd probably have to puzzle the pieces together. Loretto watches me intently and ceaselessly, but says nothing, nor do I hear any mockery--that's something, right?

"I started that fight partly because of you, you know," I finally say, hating being silently spied on. "Valto said-- He said some nasty things, which included you, too."

Faer legs swinging, Loretto raises a brow at me. "Is it so? And you thought I was a damsel in distress who needed a defender of her honor? Adorable." Fae doesn't look tired today--worse, fae looks cheerful and content, pulling a small paper box out of the pocket hidden in the fold of faer robe as fae speaks. Opening the lid of the box, Loretto takes a cookie out. "Next time, fancy thinking twice?"

Carrying the last jar to the table beside my mentor, I stop in my tracks. The cookies. The ones my family sent me and, as Gen said, Loretto confiscated, I'll recognize Cale's cookies anywhere. Has fae been carrying my cookies with faer the entire week just to chew them in front of me? Bitch. "Those are mine."

"I know." Finishing the first one, Loretto bites another. Still unfazed. "Never thought carrot cookies could be this delicious. Want some?"

"Are you doing this on purpose?"

"Provoking you? Maybe. Gonna punch me as well?"

And get my ass kicked with your invisible power like the last time? What kind of lesson is this? "I'll pass. Have it. I'll get more once I'm back home, and this might your only chance to taste something homemade, not served in the cafeteria."

The cookie stops halfway to Loretto's lips, and fae stares at me for a brief moment, strangely, as if my words actually hit a nerve. I doubt my success, though. "Well, don't say I didn't offer." Loretto shrugs, and then puts the cookie into faer mouth, crumbs powdering faer robe.

It's barely lunchtime, but I feel exhausted of this day already as I drag my feet to fill a bucket with water from the sink. Loretto keeps watching me as I start scrubbing the spilled dyes off the stones, colors streaking my pants as I crouch. Watching, watching...It's frustrating, but now I bite back my tongue.

"So what did Valto say exactly?" Loretto suddenly asks when all the cookies are gone. "To find a nemesis in you?" I look up, but Loretto's expression is unreadable. Is fae really interested in what hurt my feelings? Or is it just a wish to hear something to gossip about?