I’d already known he was muscular—his shirts, though baggy, barely concealed anything—but seeing it all on display, he was in a whole different league. Not that I was staring. Absolutely not. Okay, I was, but it was respectful, not leering in any way. I was just really fucking impressed. I’d also guessed from the scars on his face that he’d have more on his body, and it was completely involuntary how my eyes did a quick dart over them before I managed to look away. They were mostly small, scattered across his green skin in various locations—from farming, maybe?—but the most obvious was the slash from his hip to his belly button, and the two twin lines sitting horizontal under his pecs.

“You’re never in the way, beloved,” Zadok said, and the term of endearment had a smile tugging at my lips. It was nice to see them so in love.

“Regardless, I’ll let you two get on.” Flick sent a parting wink to my dad before walking away. Zadok stared after him, eyeing his partner’s backside appreciatively.

I snorted.

“Hey, if I don’t have the time for that, neither do you.”

The poor guy almost gave himself whiplash turning his face back to me. He spluttered, cheeks going red. “I wasn’t even—” He noticed my amused smirk and cut himself off with a huff, shaking his head. “Well played. Now…” He clasped my shoulder, squeezing gently in encouragement. “Let’s see how far you can take us, shall we?”

* * *

We sat in the shade of the towering cherry blossom, a blanket beneath us, taking a break from the blistering heat. Zadok had packed us a picnic in his satchel, and he’d assured me that Flick was responsible for the cooking this time when he’d clocked my wary look.

It was nice just being in each other’s company, eating our meat pies, and talking about nothing in particular. I’d managed to take us to all four corners of the Outerlands, the transition becoming smoother and smoother each time I tried. I probably could have gone farther, but Zadok was nervous about leaving the boundaries of the island, and casting magic was really taxing, so I needed to recuperate before trying again.

Or before moving on to more intricate spell casting.

“You look so much like your mother,” Zadok mused, and my eyes snapped to him from where I’d been taking in the scenery. He startled as if he hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “Sorry, if that made you uncomfortable. I didn’t⁠—”