Page 7

SERENAI

Serenai felt horribly awkward. Here she was, alone in the penthouse with her new bodyslave and she now had nothing to say. They’d been getting along so well too—before horrible old Aunt Nibblegrim started shouting and pointing and accusing Brax , when he hadn’t even done anything.

“I’m sorry,” she said, daring to look up into his eyes at last. “ That was…she’s so awful sometimes.”

“She’s just trying to keep you safe.” He seemed surprisingly unconcerned. “ It’s like I told you, you need to be careful around strange males.”

“But not you?” she asked, frowning.

He shrugged, his broad shoulders rolling under his ragged shirt.

“I’m half Kindred . You can always trust a Kindred not to harm you because we won’t hurt females. Other than that, though, you really do need to be careful. Especially here on Yonnie Six . The males here are angry because they’ve been ruled by women for so long.”

Serenai bit her lip.

“Are you angry because you’re now owned by a woman? By me?” she asked.

If he was angry, she could be in trouble, she thought. Her new bodyslave was so huge that the top of her head barely came up past his elbow and his shoulders were over twice as broad as her own.

But Brax shook his head.

“I’m just glad to be out of the Blood Circuit . And as I told you, I’ve been owned by a woman before. It doesn’t bother me, little Mistress .”

“Oh, good.” Serenai sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

“ It’s just… I haven’t been here very long—less than a week,” she told him.

“ I lived in the Convent all my life and I don’t know how to be a Yonnite Mistress like Aunt Nibblegrim .

I feel like I’m constantly messing up—breaking some unwritten rule I didn’t even know about before I broke it! ”

“You’ve been here less than a week?” Brax raised his eyebrows in apparent surprise. “ And you say you were raised in a Convent ?”

Serenai nodded.

“The Convent of Sacred Serenity on Peaceful Prime . Their motto was ‘ Modesty , Purity , and Integrity .’”

To her surprise, Brax started laughing. He had a rich, rumbling laugh that was somehow infectious. After a moment, Serenai started laughing too, though she wasn’t even sure what she was laughing at.

“I… I don’t understand what’s so funny!” she exclaimed at last.

Brax stopped laughing and wiped his eyes, which had teared up.

“It’s just— Modesty , Purity , and Integrity —those are pretty much the exact opposite qualities of a Yonnite Mistress ! At least every one I ever met,” he told her.

“Well… I guess you’re right. They certainly don’t embody the morals I was raised with.” Serenai sighed. “ I just… I feel like I don’t fit in here and I don’t know what I’m doing half the time!” She shook her head. “ How can I be a proper Yonnite Mistress when I was never trained to be one?”

“How did you become one, anyway?” Brax asked. He sounded genuinely curious. “ I mean, what happened that landed you here?”

Serenai bit her lip and looked down.

“My…my mother died suddenly. So I was brought here to take over her estate and take her place.”

“Oh, little one…” Brax took a step towards her with one hand held out. He looked like he wanted to comfort her, but he wasn’t sure if she would trust him near her after the outburst by Aunt Nibblegrim .

Serenai wished she could accept the comfort he so clearly wanted to give her. Hugging had been allowed at the Convent —as long as it was while you were fully dressed and no “improper touching” went on. She hadn’t had a hug in what felt like forever, and she wished she could have one now.

But her Aunt’s words were still ringing in her ears and she recognized how dangerous it would be to let this giant of a male wrap his arms around her.

I bet he gives good hugs, though, she thought longingly. He’s so big I bet I’d feel completely surrounded if he hugged me.

Still, though, she stood her ground, keeping distance between them.

Brax stayed where he was as well.

“I’m so sorry,” he said, his deep voice soft and gentle. “ It’s difficult to lose your mother—that’s a great loss.”

“I hardly knew her,” Serenai shook her head. “ She left me in the Convent as soon as I was born and never visited me once.”

“What? Why the fuck would she do that?” Brax demanded, his brows drawing low on his forehead. “ My own mother died when I was just sixteen cycles old, but up until then I saw her every day. How could your mother just abandon you like that, little one?”

“Oh, she still kept contact with me,” Serenai said quickly.

“ I mean, we had vid-chat conference calls twice a year. So it’s not like we were complete strangers.

” She sighed. “ I think she was planning to bring me here and train me to take her place, but she was always too busy to do it. And of course, she didn’t expect to die so young—or so suddenly. ”

“What did she die of—if you don’t mind me asking?” Brax asked.

Serenai shook her head.

“I don’t know—no one does. She was found dead in her office by my Aunt .

There were no wounds and no signs of poison—just her dead body.

And then Aunt Nibblegrim had her cremated right away, because she said it was disrespectful to wait.

So I never did get to see her in person… not even after she died.”

Grief overwhelmed her then and she felt salty tears stinging her eyes.

“I… I used to dream of the day when we’d finally meet in person,” she whispered. “ I wondered what it would be like to hug her, to hold her…” She shook her head. “ I never got that—never got to hold her. Not even once.”

“Oh, little one…” Brax came over to her, crossing the vast expanse of the living area in a few long strides. He looked down at her, his pale eyes filled with sympathy. “ I want to hold you,” he rumbled. “ I want to comfort you, little Mistress . But only if you want me to.”

Serenai looked up at him uncertainly and swiped tears from her eyes.

“I… I don’t know. I don’t think we should,” she said, though she wished more than ever for his arms around her. Why did she feel so drawn to the big Kindred half-breed? She couldn’t say.

“I understand.” He nodded and took a step back. “ Just know that the offer is there. If you ever want a hug, I’m more than willing to give you one.”

“Thank you.” Serenai sniffed and swiped at her eyes, which were still stinging. “ Sorry , I don’t normally cry like this.”

“You just lost your mother—you have every right to cry,” Brax said seriously.

“Oh…thank you.” Serenai couldn’t help thinking that his attitude was a big change from Aunt Nibblegrim’s . Whenever she got sad around her Aunt , she would make a sour face and snap at her to “stop sniveling!”

It was nice to be with someone who validated her grief.

Because even though she hadn’t known her mother very well, Serenai still felt the pain of loss.

She had assumed that one day she and her mother would be friends—that they would spend time together and laugh and talk and get to know each other.

That possibility was gone now and she couldn’t help feeling sad for what might have been.

Still, it was time to get hold of herself.

“Maybe…maybe we should get changed for dinner and eat,” she suggested to her new bodyslave. “ Are you hungry? I can get Robbi , the robo-butler to make us some food.”

“I would be pleased to eat anything you serve me, Mistress ,” Brax said formally and she felt bad again that she had rejected his hug.

But she couldn’t get her Aunt’s dire warnings out of her head.

She needed more time to get to know her new bodyslave before she could trust him so close, she told herself.

“All right.” Serenai raised her voice and called, “ Robbi ? Where are you?”

“Here, Mistress … Coming , I’m coming!” called a high, mechanical voice.

A moment later an ancient droid came waddling into the room.

Robbi was an old unit—one the droid factory hadn’t made for years, according to Aunt Nibblegrim .

He had a fat, round body and short little legs which gave him a comical appearance.

But though he was old, he was still functional and he seemed to know a lot about Yonnie Six , which made him a good resource for Serenai .

“Robbie, can you make dinner for two people?” she asked him. “ Or , er…” She looked up at Brax . “ Maybe make dinner for three people,” she corrected herself—she was certain the big half-breed warrior would eat at least twice as much as she did.

“Very good, Mistress ,” Robbi said in his high, mechanical voice. “ And what would you like to eat?”

Serenai raised her eyebrows at her new bodyslave.

“What sounds good to you? Robbi can make almost anything. Do you like meat or vegetables or…?”

Brax smiled at her, his pale eyes crinkling at the corners in a way that somehow made him even more attractive.

“You know it’s not usual for a Yonnite Mistress to let her bodyslave choose what they’re having for Last Meal , right?”

“Oh, I don’t care about that right now!” Serenai said impatiently. “ I’m not going to treat you like dirt just because I bought you. And I only bought you because I’m in fear for my life— not because I wanted a big, strong bodyslave for status, like the other Mistresses ,” she added.

Brax became immediately serious.

“In fear for your life? Who’s threatening you?”

His pale eyes were suddenly scary and his big hands curled into fists.

For a moment, he had that single-minded death-glare she’d seen on his face when he was fighting in the arena of the Blood Circuit !

Just seeing it made Serenai shiver, even though she recognized that it wasn’t directed against her.

“It’s this thing…this monster,” she began, hoping she wouldn’t sound crazy.

“ It has these red, glowing eyes. I’ve seen it in my bedroom three times in the past three nights.

The first two times I thought it was a nightmare but last night I was sure I was awake.

And it keeps getting closer and closer to me! ”

She could feel her panic rising as she spoke. After all, it was getting dark outside the curving windows of the living area and soon night would be on them. What if the thing came back to hurt her? What if?—

“Easy, little one,” Brax murmured. He put out a hand as though he wanted to soothe her but didn’t quite dare to touch her.

“I’m sorry. I’ve just been scared to death.” Serenai shook her head. “ At least it disappears when I turn on the lights. But I can’t sleep with the lights on forever, you know?”

“Of course not.” Brax nodded. He turned to the robo-butler, who had been standing quietly all this time, waiting to be addressed again. “ Robbi , make us a light supper,” he directed. “ We’ll want to be alert tonight.”

“As you wish.” Robbi made a bobbing little nod and then waddled off to the food prep area of the house.

It seemed they were going to be on alert tonight—which made Serenai feel a little bit better about the situation. She just hoped her new bodyguard could see the thing with the red eyes—otherwise she was going to have to worry that she might be going crazy.