THE GOD OF MISFORTUNE

DAY 6

Luis woke to sunlight warming his face and the sound of birds outside. He stretched—and for the first time in days, his body didn’t scream in protest.

"Morning, Sleeping Ugly," Zyx said, floating cross-legged at the foot of the bed. "Congrats on not dying in your sleep. I had it at 50-50."

Luis rubbed his face, groaning. "You’re a terrible alarm clock."

Zyx shrugged. "And yet, I’m still the best thing in your life."

Luis rolled his shoulders. "God... I actually feel good."

"Yeah, yeah, welcome back to the land of the semi-functional," Zyx muttered. "While you’ve been snoring, the outside world’s been busy burning."

A muffled voice echoed from the next room.

THE LIONS-BANE