Page 50 of Toward Immortal Ruin

She sent him a withering look. “Breakfast doesn’t have boundaries, Nero, and Luna told me you’d need to eat something. Besides, it’s that or eggs in a nest.”

“What’s eggs in a nest?”

“My momma just turned over in her grave.” Eden grabbed a pan, then the bread from the counter. “I guess we’re doing eggs in a nest, then.”

When he went to grab the eggs, she snarled fiercely at him. It was so adorable he struggled against the need to get on one knee and propose to her right then and there.

“Sit! Just—just don’t move. I hate that you’re in pain.” Then, more quietly, “I know what pain is, Nero, and I’d never wish it on anyone.”

A sudden chill made him forget about everything. “What do you mean, Eden?”

“Everyone knows what pain is. It’s one of the single uniting factors of the human experience—well, human or immortal, I suppose. There isn’t a person alive who hasn’t been injured at some point in their lives. Varying degrees of pain, sure, but no one has ever gotten through life without being hurt.”

He nodded, but couldn’t help thinking the universal pain experience hadn’t been what she was referring to.

“Anyway, I’m just saying I’m glad you’re going to be alright. Why don’t you change out of those bloody clothes? I can barely concentrate with the reminder of how badly you were injured.”

Nero nodded a wordless reply, too perplexed by her actions to make sense of them. Seconds later, he teleported a new shirt and trousers on his body, but Eden didn’t notice.

“I’ve broken more bones than I can count,” he started, “had more flesh wounds and snapped tendons and bloodied noses than is worth remembering. When you’ve walked the planet as long as I have, pain stops being a surprise. The older I get, the easier I can deal with it. It doesn’t mean I like it, but I’ve found it’s easier to compartmentalize and move past it when it’s expected.”

As she cut a hole in the bread, loaded it with butter, and then broke an egg into the gap, she said, “I’m not sure that’s healthy, Nero.”

“Probably not,” he paused, “but going to bed and expecting two hours of sleep and getting five makes me outrageously happy.”

She studied him for a moment. “I can’t tell if that makes you a pessimist, an optimist, or a realist.”

“You should do a lecture on it!” He grinned. “Study the patterns of Fighters, Flighters, and Freezers, and see if there’s a correlation. I bet you most Fighters are optimists. They think they can win.”

“And the Flighters think they’ll lose.”

“I’m not sure what that says about the people who Freeze.”

“They know they’re probably dead either way,” Eden chuckled. “They’re realists.”

The sizzle of the stove was the only noise for the next few minutes. She’d directed her attention solely to the frying pan, avoiding him. He could feel her fear, how much she struggled to repress her emotions, and how incredibly conflicted they were.

Even if Nero had lacked the ability to read emotions, he would’ve known. He could read it all over her face.

A tight smile flitted over her lips as she expertly flipped the food. “These are a heart attack and a half, but they’re amazing.”

“Who taught you how to make them?”

“My grandpa.” Affection pulsed from Eden as she continued her work on the griddle. “Here, they’re ready.”

Flipping off the griddle, she plated both slices. Sunny side up eggs were nestled inside the wheat toast with a layer of butter.

Eager to sample the dish, Nero reached for the plate, grunting a bit when a searing pain burned along his shoulder. Though his fingers connected, they twitched perilously, and Eden immediately withdrew.

“Nero.”

“I’m fine, truly.”

Without looking, he knew he’d reopened one of the gashes, the familiar dampness of blood spreading over the cotton shirt. Eden’s attention flicked up to the top of his shoulder, and he caught the spreading red out of the corner of his eye. When he looked back at her, terror and anger dueled on her face. Sliding to his feet, he enveloped her in his arms.

“Do we need to get Luna? I won’t have you bleeding out on my watch.”

“Eden, I’m okay. I’m magical, remember? An all-powerful immortal, who’s super handsome, charming, and incredibly modest, too.” The way she clutched at told him she wasn’t readyto take the situation lightly. “There’s just a superficial wound left. My body is actively healing it. I’m right here, and I always will be, I swear.”

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