Page 36 of The Light Within

Fiona sighed. “I didn’t want to dampen the celebrations, but he keeled over again this mornin’.”

“Any luck bringing forward the final clinical trials?”

“I’m afraid not, my dear.”

Cinn shuffled slightly away from them to give them space, but Darcy turned to him.

“Do you remember that motetech pacemaker my parents are directing a medical trial of, Cinn?”

He hadn’t the foggiest what she was on about.

“We spoke a little about it at Lucien’s party?”

“Right.” Cinn nodded like he remembered.

“Well, my dad has ventricular fibrillation. The condition where the heart’s lower chambers don’t pump blood properly?” She inhaled one deep, shaky breath. “It’s life threatening.”

“Oh.” Cinn couldn’t help but look again at Alexander, who’d been so welcoming when he’d met him earlier that year. Though at first glance he hadn’tappearedill, now Cinn noticed subtle weariness in his eyes, a slight shortness of breath to his jolly laugh.

“My parents have been developing medical mote-powered devices for many years, anyway. But for the past two years, they’ve been exploring how to improve treatment of cardiac conditions like Dad’s. They’re almost at the finish line of this enhanced pacemaker. It’s equipped with specialised receptors that capture and convert ambient mote energy to regulate and stabilise the heart’s electrical impulses. As it uses a motecell as a power source, it’ll mean continuous operation without the need for frequent replacements.”

It was all gibberish to him, but Darcy’s voice buzzed with pride that made Cinn smile. He settled back into the sofa to sit back and listen. Just when he’d worked up the courage to announce he was going to bed, Mr. Beaumont pressed mugs of hot chocolate into everyone’s hands. Rich, creamy, brimming with marshmallows. Julien gobbled his own down before fishing out Cinn’s with his fingers until Cinn told him to fuck off.

The conversation quickly turned, as usual, to the earthquake and the Arcane Purifiers. Cinn’s eyelids grew even heavier, each blink lasting a fraction longer as exhaustion seeped through him. When Cinn eventually gave up and slumped against Julien, he found himself ushered into a dimly lit bedroom.

The second they were alone, Julien started sending Cinn odd glances, opening and twisting his mouth as he fiddled about, unpacking a few bits from his suitcase.

The weighted pressure of the silence became too much.

“What is it?” Cinn said with a bite, then yawned loudly. He had no energy left for any massive dramas, like Julien having forgotten the cucumber moisturising cream he applied religiously every night.

“Are you going to see Tyler while we’re here?”

“What?” said Cinn, as his brain processed the question. “Oh. Right. Yeah, I should really.”

Neither of them had mentioned Tyler in days, so it was jarring to suddenly hear his name on Julien’s lips. Cinn tensed as he awaited Julien’s delayed reaction. Well, if he got into a fuss about it, that was his issue. Cinn had made the situation crystal clear.

“Good,” said Julien, his voice just a touch too bright. He suddenly became very interested in inspecting the bristles of his toothbrush. “Oui.That’s good.”

A bubble of laughter burst out of Cinn before he could contain it. Julien raised a confused eyebrow.

“Nice effort, there.”

If he did swing by to see Tyler, would he mention him and Julien? It felt dishonest to hide it, but he didn’t think Tyler needed to hear the words explicitly stated. Especially with the challenge of staying sober around Christmas. Especially while he was still recovering from his broken ribs.

A problem for tomorrow’s Cinn.

“Look,” Julien said brightly. He was pointing at some strangely coloured mistletoe balanced on the mantelpiece.

“Hmm?”

“I just put it there.” Julien was looking at him expectantly. “I brought it from Auri.”

“Oh.”

What did Julien want, a gold medal?

There was a stretched moment, then Julien slipped away into the en suite, just as Cinn was realising Julien might have wanted a kiss for his efforts.

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