VISION ✔️ || The Keepers of Astraela #1

14.1 || Of Horror and Bean-y Goodness

EVA

PACKING BOXES WAS NOT how Eva imagined she'd spend the rest of her afternoon. After all that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, the mundane task seemed unfitting. Tension strangled her body even as she boxed up non-perishable foods in the kitchen.

Bobbi's radio hummed softly from the adjoining living room, and Eva had hoped that losing herself in the country station would ease her restless mind. Still, she found herself scanning the windows periodically, half-expecting something with black pus and glowing eyes to stare back. All that appeared were drizzly raindrops snaking down the glass. She fumbled with the can of baked beans in her hand, subconsciously picking the label with her fingers.

Heavy scraping on the tile floor brought the hairs on the back of her neck to attention. She jumped, tearing a corner off her can's label that advertised thirty percent more "bean-y goodness."

Bobbi entered from the hall, using both arms to drag a cardboard box across the floor by one flap. The commotion was enough to make Emrys perk up from the couch, where he had been organizing his bottomless satchel for the past hour.

"What'd you pile in there?" asked Eva. "Bricks?"

Bobbi chuckled breathlessly. Sharp cracks popped along her spine as she stood straighter, rubbing a hand across her lower back. "Hardcovers."

When Eva rounded the kitchen island, her mouth fell open. The box had been filled to the brim with everything from thrillers to fantasy—and she even spotted toned abs gracing the cover of an erotic romance.

"You packed your entire bookshelf."

"Well, you'll need entertainment," said Bobbi, "and Emrys didn't exactly give me a time frame. I'm keeping you well supplied."

Eva's lips pressed together in a wobbly smile. With new threats lurking around every corner, the thought of being without her best friend had tightened her throat with emotion multiple times. Seeing the boxes lined up by the door to the stairs made the reality hit harder.

At least they wouldn't be far away.

Whatever—or whoever—was in the library had left Emrys on high alert the rest of the day, though he had yet to give specifics. Between that incident and the squirrels popping up everywhere they went, he had insisted on getting out of Havenwood as quickly as possible.

Bobbi's cabin seemed like the perfect hideaway. Resting at the campgrounds outside of town, the cozy retreat brought back years' worth of pleasant memories with her best friend. Weekend trips, summer getaways, atmospheric one-on-one D&D nights... just the two of them, tucked away from the world long enough to forget about their problems. Eva only hoped that now, under much different circumstances, it would grant her the same mind-clearing bliss.

When Eva's lips quivered, Bobbi wrapped her in a spine-crushing hug. They stayed there for a long moment until she had composed herself enough to pull away and meet her friend's sympathetic eyes.

Eva forced a teasing smile. "Don't break your back over that box."

Bobbi shoved her playfully and disengaged from their embrace. With a laugh, Eva stepped toward the living room, where Emrys lifted his head from the paper in his lap.

While he had remained the calmest of everyone, visible tension weighed down his shoulders. Even as he attempted to give Eva his attention, his eyes fluttered between her and the slew of magical items spread across the coffee table.

Eva jammed her thumb toward the box on the floor. "Can you load that library into her car?"

Emrys nodded and set his paper on the couch. He stood, stretching his back before meeting them in the kitchen. Though the box was as broad as his chest and deep enough to fit a small animal, he hefted it into his arms with ease and followed Bobbi down the stairs.