A Lot of Strategizing

Chapter Twenty-Two: A Desperate Plea | Part 2

When they entered Benn and Thirtyx’s room, Benn collapsed beside his bed, elbows on his mattress, head in his hands. His back heaved with trembling breaths. It took Thirtyx a moment to reconcile that reaction with the stoic strength with which Benn had explained the situation.

Sometimes, it was easy to forget that Rhea wasn’t the only one with a diplomatic facade.

Rhea steeped Benn a strong cup of tea, into which she added the maximum dose of three calming potions. It was enough to get Benn from the floor onto his bed, but he still didn’t feel like talking. For her part, Rhea didn’t seem like her usual talkative self either. This whole situation confirmed the fears Thirtyx suspected she’d had all along.

So they sat in silence. Rhea doodled, and Thirtyx read—or, more accurately, Thirtyx’s eyes skimmed the page without much understanding. While curfew was more flexible on the weekends, Rhea ignored the concept wholeheartedly and fell asleep on the floor.

Thirtyx awoke the next morning to a stolen blanket and a glowing roommate.

Benn sat on his bed in a relaxed pose, his entire body seeping golden light. He was projecting rather than meditating. While Thirtyx fought to suppress his reflexive shudder from the Pfah magic, Rhea stirred on the rug and readjusted her grip on Thirtyx’s blanket. Her eyes were closed, but she rubbed at them and let out a heavy sigh.

When Thirtyx sat up, she squinted at him.

“Is he talking to Grimmary?” Thirtyx asked.

“Can’t imagine where else he’d be.” Rhea pushed herself upright and stretched, rolling her neck with a wince. “I should probably join him. We’ll have a lot of strategizing to do after last night.”

Thirtyx frowned at his roommate. “You think he’s going to be okay?”

Rhea had fully stood and stretched again before she answered with a somber expression. “He… he always has before. But if he isn’t okay, I sure as hells don’t know where that leaves me.”

Thirtyx didn’t push her to elaborate. He merely watched as she drew a gold sigil on the door before settling beside her brother. “You’re the only one who can open the door. If anyone tries to come in, shake us.” She grimaced. “It won’t be a pleasant return, but it’ll get us back.”

Rhea used her right index finger to trace a sigil on her left hand and vice versa. Thirtyx tried to disguise his staring. While he was now no stranger to astral projection, he’d never seen either twin enter into the process. More shudders threatened to wrack his spine, but he persisted until Rhea drew a final sigil on her forehead and relaxed into a pose that matched Benn’s. After a few moments, she, too, began to glow.

Thirtyx distracted himself with the novel he’d been reading the night before. He’d gotten through around two and a half chapters when he heard Rhea gasp for air.

Her glow subsided. “Won’t solve anything,” she grumbled, her voice slurred. She pushed herself off the bed in an angry huff but immediately lost her balance and landed spread-eagle on the floor.

Benn opened his eyes calmly. “This is why you don’t start an argument while we’re returning to our bodies.”

“Potion,” Rhea moaned into the rug.

Benn uncrossed his legs. He planted his feet and gave his toes a slow, deliberate flex. “We don’t have a lot left. We’ve been talking to Grimm way more than expected, and I don’t know if he has more to spare.”

“But my head,” Rhea whined.

“You sure that’s from the projection and not from you smacking it on the floor?” Benn stood, and his hand immediately went to his stomach. “Alright, maybe we split one?”

“Deal,” Rhea mumbled.

As Benn crouched beside his nightstand to access his secret potion compartment, Thirtyx walked over to Rhea and extended a hand to help her up.

“I think I’ll acclimate from here, thanks.” Nevertheless, she grasped wildly toward him, and he moved his hand to meet hers. She pulled him downward until he gave in and sat beside her. “That’s better,” Rhea continued with a squeeze of his hand. “Makes me feel more grounded.”

“Just don’t tell Seerla,” Thirtyx teased. “Anything else I can do to help?”

“Yeah. You can find a way for me to rule Lamiakk incorporeally. Bodies are stupid.”

“I’ll get right on that, your eventual majesty.”