Page 68 of Unseen Eye
“Cheers to that,” I say, feeling a warmth spread through me that has nothing to do with the alcohol.
The heat from the drinks quickly spreads through the group, loosening tongues and relaxing stiff shoulders. Theo kicks things off with a story about their last mission in the mountains, his animated gestures making Callon duck to avoid getting smacked by Theo’s wild arm movements.
“And there we were,” Theo exclaims, “standing face-to-face with the biggest troll I’ve ever seen. Cal had already taken out two of its buddies, but this one was different. It had a club the size of a tree and a face only a mother could love.”
Izzy bursts out laughing. “More like a face not even a mothercould love. That thing was hideous.”
“Trolls are real too?” I exclaim, feeling more than a slight buzz at this point.
“Honestly, Eva,” Izzy says, unable to stop her laughter, “are you going to react like that every time we mention anything?”
“Absolutely,” I reply, mimicking the gesture of my mind being blown, nearly tipping over, but something catches me at the last second.
Callon chuckles, taking another sip of his drink. “I remember that troll. Izzy, ever the diplomat, tried to negotiate with it first, thinking it might be smarter than the others.”
“Hey, you never know!” Izzy defends herself, grinning. “I thought maybe it had some common sense.”
“Right, because trolls are known for their diplomacy,” Theo teases.
Everyone laughs, and I lean back in my chair, letting the camaraderie wash over me. For the first time in a while, I feel a genuine sense of belonging.
“Your turn, Callon,” Theo says, nudging him with an elbow. “Tell us a story.”
Callon thinks for a moment, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. “All right, how about the time Izzy tried to infiltrate a bandit camp disguised as a fortune teller?”
Izzy groans, covering her face with her hands. “Oh no, not that one.”
“Yes, that one,” Callon insists. “So, we were tracking this group of bandits who had been raiding villages along the border. Izzy gets this brilliant idea to go undercover as a fortune teller to gather intel.”
Theo snickers. “A fortune teller? More like a fortune disaster.”
“I had it under control!” Izzy protests, though she’s clearly amused.
Callon continues, ignoring her. “Izzy puts on this ridiculousoutfit, complete with a scarf and fake jewelry, and marches right into the bandit camp. For a moment, we think she’s a genius.”
“And then?” I ask, leaning forward, completely engrossed.
“And then she starts making these wild predictions, like telling the bandit leader that he’s going to find true love with a griffin.”
Izzy chimes in, laughing. “I had to say something outrageous to keep their attention off you guys sneaking around the camp!”
Theo adds, “And it worked, until the bandit leader decided he wanted a demonstration of her ‘powers’ and demanded she read his fortune by the light of a bonfire.”
Callon chuckles. “So, there we were, trying to figure out how to get her out without blowing our cover, and Izzy is doing this elaborate fortune, stalling for time.”
Izzy grins. “And then you idiots lit a building on fire, and all hell broke loose. But we managed to take down the bandits and free the captives.”
We’re all laughing now, the tension of the day melting away with each story. I feel a deep sense of gratitude for this moment and these people who have quickly become so important to me.
As the night wears on, the stories grow more ridiculous, and the laughter louder. Theo leans back, grinning as he launches into a tale about the time he got lost in a forest and stumbled upon a group of pixies.
“They were relentless,” he says, shaking his head with mock despair. “One of them kept pulling on my hair, calling it ‘sunshine thread,’ while another tried to convince me to stay and become their ‘champion of love.’” He makes air quotes, rolling his eyes.
“They wanted you? They wanted YOU to be their ‘champion of love’?” Izzy interrupts, smirking.
Theo groans dramatically, throwing an arm over his face. “They kept ‘accidentally’ brushing up against me, giggling the wholetime. At one point, I’m pretty sure they were debating who got to keep me. Let’s just say the escape wasn’t graceful.”
Callon shares a story about a training exercise gone wrong, where he and Theo ended up in a swamp covered in mud and had to walk back to the barracks looking like swamp creatures.
