Appointed Read Free Page A

herself to Lucien, agreed to be his bride, which was a huge sacrifice on her part. How could Zes not mean something to her?
    The scar where the demons had branded him burned on his arm, the only remaining physical reminder he had from the whole experience. If it didn’t throb dully with pain practically all the time, he’d probably have blacked the whole thing out of his mind and called it nothing more than a bad dream. That’s what Cheyenne pretended to do, and he envied her for it. The trauma was an unspoken bond between the two of them, but always present. He didn’t mind not talking about it, though. He preferred it that way. Even Anj had given up on the idea of trying to get Zes to share his feelings. Only one more person still tried, and that was the school counselor. Zes was pretty sure she was close to giving up. Their appointments were being spaced further apart, and they spent more time talking about classes than anything important.
    Footsteps sounded overhead. Zes slowly sat up in bed as he tried to figure out who they belonged to, then relaxed when he realized it was only Anj. Paranoid was the last thing Zes wanted to be, but the boys’ mother was unpredictable. She may have said she’d be out of town for the next four days, but that didn’t mean she’d actually stay away the entire time. More often than not, her trips were cut short because she worried about her poor, blind Anj.
    For a moment, he listened to his brother walk around in the kitchen, which was directly over Zes’s bedroom. Then he lay back down to snuggle next to his beautiful girlfriend. Considering how early Anj had retreated to his bedroom last night, Zes was surprised it had taken his brother so long to wake up and get moving. He was usually a morning person. Maybe he finally had a good night’s sleep. It wasn’t his business either way.
    Cheyenne stirred and rolled toward him, urging him to lie back down as she put light pressure on his chest with her hand. He gently stroked her cheek with a few fingers, and her blue eyes opened.
    â€œMorning,” she said with a small, adorable blush. She wrapped the bed sheets around her chest and sat up.
    He stared at her with a smile.
    â€œMorning!”
    She giggled and then stopped when Anj’s footsteps paused. The water also started to run in both the sink and the shower in the upstairs bathroom, which meant someone else was in the house too.
    â€œSomething wrong? You look a little spooked,” Zes asked, running a hand down her bare arms.
    â€œHe got quiet. I wasn’t sure if he heard something or—”
    â€œHe’s getting pots. Not even his hearing is so good he can hear us talking down here, babe.” He gave her a small, reassuring nod.
    â€œPots, right.”
    â€œRelax,” he said. He didn’t quite know how to tell her he doubted Anj would care.
    They trusted each other’s judgment, and now that Zes understood love a lot more, he understood the many risks Anj had taken with Jewl. Granted, Zes also didn’t know what his brother did in his dysfunctional relationship. It wasn’t polite of Zes to assume, but Anj and Jewl had been together for a long time. Something had to have happened between them, right? It was just another thing the brothers didn’t talk about, however. Kind of a shame, because this was one of those moments Zes wouldn’t have minded sharing. They were brothers, best friends; weren’t they supposed to tell each other important things like their firsts? He shrugged it off. It’s probably some kind of guy code thing.
    Cheyenne lay down again. “You’re right, I should. I just don’t want them to spoil the moment.”
    â€œThen don’t let them,” he said.
    â€œD-do you think your mom’s home?”
    Zes laughed. “No way. Not if he’s getting pots. Mom hates it when he tries to use the stove. When she’s around, he’s only