Adalynn clenched her jaw, and her brows fell even lower. Her nostrils flared with a heavy inhalation. “Do you even know how to offer someone help without being a condescending prick about it?”
Merrick felt an echo of the headache that had developed after he’d fought back her sickness—a dull, distant pulsing between his temples and behind his eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut and caught his lower lip between his teeth to prevent himself from snarling.
“I am not what you would consider a…people person,” he said in as measured a voice as he could manage.
“Obviously,” Danny said.
“Danny!” Adalynn growled.
Danny threw his hands up. “Okay, okay! I’m not the bad guy here, remember?”
Keeping her eyes locked with Merrick’s, Adalynn crossed her arms over her chest. “Do you want us to stay or not?”
More than I would’ve thought possible mere minutes ago. More than I even realize.
“It would be my pleasure to have you,” he grated through his teeth.
The corners of her mouth twitched, and her lush lips slowly stretched into a grin. Mirth sparkled in her eyes. “You need to practice sounding sincere, but was that so hard? It would be an honor to accept your invitation.”
Part of him wanted to be annoyed at her, annoyed that she could so quickly shift her mood, annoyed because he should’ve viewed her change in attitude as smugness, as arrogance, as her exerting power over him she did not possess. But he wasn’t annoyed.
Maybe she did have some inexplicable power over him.
Seeing her grin like that was nothing short of arousing. That hint of mischief, of wickedness, on her otherwise innocent face urged his imagination toward something much more titillating; he knew he could not allow himself to dwell on such lustful thoughts.
He raised a hand and waved toward the hallway. “After you, then. I trust you remember the way.”
Adalynn and Danny preceded Merrick into the hallway, and he followed them toward the kitchen on the other side of the manor. Danny, who remained in the lead, turned and walked backward, his gaze flicking between Adalynn and Merrick. His attention finally settled on Merrick.
“So, uh…what’s your name?” Danny asked.
“Merrick.”
“Cool. Mine’s Daniel, but most people call me Danny.”
“I didn’t ask.”
Adalynn released a dismissive huff.
Merrick sighed and shook his head as they crossed the foyer and entered the north hallway. “Your whispers carried well down the hallway while you were sneaking around my home. I overheard your names several times.”
Danny grinned, but his expression swiftly turned into startlement when he tripped, stumbling back a few steps with his arms wheeling.
“Danny, watch where you’re going,” Adalynn said.
“It was the rug,” Danny said. “Jumped up out of nowhere.”
“If you think I’m unpleasant already, wait until you break something else,” Merrick grumbled.
“We haven’t broken anything!” Danny said.
“So the window broke itself mere moments before you came inside?”
“I didn’t break that. Your window’s on her.”
“Wow, thanks, Danny,” Adalynn said.
Merrick couldn’t stop the corner of his mouth from tilting up. “Quite the dashing young gentleman you are.”
“I know, right?” The boy managed to match Merrick’s sarcasm, if not his dryness.
Danny turned into the kitchen. Adalynn and Merrick followed close behind.
Merrick walked toward the pantry. “Go sit down.”
The humans moved to the table positioned near the back corner of the kitchen. Adalynn set the flashlight atop it, pointed upwards to create a wide circle of light on the ceiling. Slipping their packs off their shoulders, they dropped them onto the floor, pulled out their chairs, and sat next to one another.
“Do you always wander around this place in the dark, Merrick?” Danny asked, drumming his fingers on the table’s surface.
Merrick paused in front of the pantry door and glanced back to see Adalynn reach out and place her hand over Danny’s to still his fingers. However poorly Merrick thought of humans, they were perceptive, and it was in his best interest to mask his true nature from them—to hide, just as he’d done for so many centuries.
“There are candles in most rooms, but I’ve lived here for many years. I’m quite familiar with the layout of my home. I find it wasteful to use candles when I don’t require additional light for navigation.” Merrick opened the pantry door. “And I don’t often make a habit of wandering the halls in the dead of night, young Daniel. Circumstances tonight have dictated otherwise.”
“Does anyone else live here?” Adalynn asked.
“No.” Merrick entered the pantry; he assumed it would’ve been black as pitch to their human eyes, but he could see the stores he’d built up over the last several years quite clearly. Whatever his qualms about interacting with humans, he couldn’t deny the convenience of the food preservation methods they’d innovated over the last century or so.
“So, you’re alone here?”
“Yes.”
Just as he preferred.
Merrick selected a few tomatoes and cucumbers from the baskets on the shelves—he preferred to hold onto his jars of preserve and canned goods for when the fresh crops ran low during the long winter months—and a sleeve of buttery crackers.
He carried the food into the kitchen.
Danny stared at Merrick with huge, excited eyes. “I knew it! I told you there was food here, Addy.”
Adalynn’s eyes widened when they settled on the food in Merrick’s arms. “You have fresh produce?”
Merrick leaned forward to place the food atop the table, letting the produce roll gently from his arms. “Yes. And you, apparently, have an endless supply of questions.”
A flash of irritation crossed her face, and she pressed her lips together.
“A jest, Adalynn,” Merrick hurried to say; he wanted her to stay, so why was he pushing her away? “Forgive the dryness of my tone.”
I suppose the years have made me somewhat cantankerous, haven’t they?
Her expression softened, and she nodded.
He tore open the package of crackers and placed it on the table between the two humans. “I’ve always kept a bountiful garden, even before the world changed.”
Danny tore into the crackers the moment they touched the table, shoving two into his mouth and chewing noisily. He released a satisfied groan.
Adalynn looked at the vegetables. “It’s a good idea, but a lot of people, especially in the cities, didn’t have the space to grow anything. These days…it’s more a matter of not being able to stay in one place long enough.”
Merrick moved to the counter, taking two plates out of the cupboard and a knife from the block. “I imagine its more difficult now to maintain one than ever. Things are…bad out there?”
“Real bad,” Danny said before stuffing another cracker into his already full mouth.
When Merrick returned to the table, he frowned; it was already covered with crumbs around Danny. Merrick slid one of the plates directly in front of the boy, catching a few of the falling crumbs. This was going to be harder to tolerate than he’d thought.