Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 130317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 652(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
“Got it,” Sev nodded, but he was looking at Mia.
“Well…” She ducked her head and gave Sev a last glance. “I guess I’ll see you tonight.”
“See you tonight,” Sev echoed. He had the sudden urge to hug her and hold her close for a moment and for once, he gave into the impulse. Gathering Mia into his arms, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Be careful and don’t trust anyone in this fucked up place, okay?”
She looked up at him and for a moment he thought she was going to kiss him. Which wouldn’t have been out of character, since they were pretending to be husband and wife.
Mia seemed to think so too, because she lifted on her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to his mouth.
“All right,” she breathed against his lips. “You be safe too.”
Sev had another impulse—he wanted to crush her to him and kiss her much more deeply. He had a fierce desire to taste her sweet mouth—to take what he’d been wanting from the moment he first met Mia Deen.
Somehow, he managed to fight the urge and reluctantly let her go instead.
“Have a good time at work.” His words came out sounding hoarse and hollow in his own ears.
“You too.” Mia nodded at him, her gray eyes solemn, and then she turned and ran lightly over the short grass towards the large communal kitchen.
Sev watched his partner go with a heavy feeling in his chest. Gods, what were they going to do and how in the Seven Hells were they going to get out of here?
TWENTY-TWO
MIA
Mia made her way to the long wooden structure which was a pavilion—just a roof supported by thick poles. It had long rows of worktables along the front and ovens in the back and there were women in white dresses everywhere.
She wasn’t sure who to talk to, but there was an older woman who seemed to be in charge. At any rate, she was standing in front of one of the tables, up to her powerful elbows in bread dough, and shouting directions to everyone at once. Though she looked to be around late middle age, Mia noticed that her belly was swollen with an obvious pregnancy. Which wasn’t unusual, since at least half the women there were also pregnant.
“Excuse me…” Mia approached her doubtfully, not sure if she ought to interrupt.
“Yes? What do you want?” the woman demanded briskly.
“Oh…I’m new here,” Mia explained. “I was sent by Brother Jonash, who’s the, uh, Spiritual Advisor to me and my husband. He said this is my work detail?”
“Oh right—a new recruit. Well what’s your name, Sister?” the woman demanded. “I’m Sister Ersla.”
“I’m, uh, Sister Mia,” Mia said.
“Listen up, ladies!” Sister Ersla shouted, raising her voice so that everyone in the open-air kitchen could hear her. “We have a new recruit here at the PPP Dome! Her name is Sister Mia—let’s make her welcome!”
“Welcome, Mia!” all the women chorused at once. It felt rehearsed but friendly, Mia thought and she smiled and waved at as many of the women as she could.
“Good,” Sister Ersla said shortly as she continued kneading the enormous pile of dough in front of her. She looked at Mia sharply. “Are you any good at making bread?”
“Oh, um…” Mia didn’t like to lie and pretend she was an expert at something she wasn’t. “I’ve never really made it before,” she said at last.
“Never made it before?” Sister Ersla frowned. “Well, well—I guess there’s no time like the present to learn. Go over to that table and help Sister Teebra and Sister Kissie.” She jerked her head at a table two down from her own, where two women were also kneading dough. “Go on now—they don’t bite.”
“All right. Thank you.” Mia approached the table where she’d been sent, observing the women as she drew closer to them. One of them had the blue skin of a Chakioun but the other, Mia saw, had skin the color of seaweed—dark green, swirled with black and brown patches. They were both humanoid, though, and they seemed to be deep in the middle of a conversation.
“So I told him, I said look, if you’re not going to take care of me, I’m taking care of myself!” the one with seaweed colored skin said.
“Oh, Kissie—you didn’t!” The girl with blue skin put a floury hand to her mouth, her eyes wide with shock.
“Yes, I did! These damn devices drive you crazy! And I mean—”
“Um, excuse me?” Mia asked, interrupting because it didn’t seem like there was going to be a break in the conversation any time soon.
“Yes?” The seaweed woman frowned at her. She had strange eyes with purple irises that seemed to take up her entire eye socket with no white around them at all.
“Sorry to bother you, but Sister Ersla sent me to help. I’m new here,” Mia said.