“See? There you go. You’re thinking of other possibilities already.”
“The greatest possibility is that I will be the death of you, Young Lily. It would have been better for you had we never met.”
“Hey.” I scooted my chair a little closer to his. “It’s hard to kill a scrappy New Yorker. Didn’t anyone ever tell you that? Besides, if I’d never met you, my life would have been incredibly boring.”
“Better boring than succumbing to everlasting sleep.”
“You sure have a way with words. Everlasting sleep actually sounds pretty good right now.”
“Yes. You should rest. Sleep, Lily. I will awaken you when Dr. Hassan returns.”
“I’ll make a deal with you. I will sleep as long as you feast. All this food and you haven’t touched it, have you?”
“When you are ailing I find I have no appetite.”
“Well, even demigods need sustenance, so eat up. I expect all this to be at least half gone when I return.”
“Very well, Lily. I agree to your terms. I will eat if you will rest.”
“Good. Unless, of course, there’s a chance you want to rest together?” Amon raised an eyebrow, indicating such an idea wasn’t even worth considering. “Ah, well, a girl can try.” I sighed.
“Sleep well, Nehabet.”
“And you eat well, Amon.”
I woke to the feel of his fingers brushing hair from my face.
“Amon?”
“I am here, Lily. Dr. Hassan has come home.”
The room was dark. “Did I really sleep that long?”
“Your body needed to rest.”
Sitting up, I caught a whiff of soap. Amon’s hair was wet and he wore new clothes. More than anything, I wanted to wrap my arms around him, press my lips against his neck, and let his wet hair tickle my cheek, but I knew he wanted to maintain his distance. And even though I fully understood his reasoning, I wasn’t happy about it. I whipped the covers back and took his hand. “Let’s go see him.”
Amon led me to the roof, where we found Dr. Hassan sipping an icy-cold beverage by lantern light. Upon seeing me, he immediately set down his drink.
“There you are, my dear.” Spreading his hands, he indicated the expansive rooftop. “What do you think? My own private temple.”
“You’re missing the pillars,” I answered drily.
“On the contrary. I am charged with the care of the celestial embodiments of the gods. What better way to worship than by creating an outdoor sanctum without a roof so that I might perform my observances directly beneath the sun, moon, and stars? It’s quite beautiful, is it not?”
I had to admit that the night sky was breathtaking. It was easy to see how ancient people could wish to find direction and inspiration from the constellations twinkling overhead.
Dr. Hassan interrupted my thoughts. “Are you quite recovered, young miss?”
“For the most part. But I hear that’s pretty much no thanks to you,” I added, still suspicious and wanting to put him in his place for allowing his zealousness to trump common sense.
Dr. Hassan had the decency to look chagrined. “Yes. Well. I was supremely confident.”
“You risked my life on a theory.”
“But my theory was correct.”
“I could have died.”
“You would have been dead already,” Dr. Hassan professed bluntly.
“What? What do you mean?” I asked, shocked.
Leaning forward, Dr. Hassan clasped his hands and indicated to a chair. “Please. Sit.”