Page 38 of Dark Rover’s Luck (The Children Of The Gods #95)

38

AREZOO

A fter countless attempts, Arezoo finally produced a cup of coffee that was not pretty but drinkable. It was recognizable as a cappuccino, but not at the level the café's patrons were accustomed to.

"It takes time." Wonder clapped Arezoo on her back. "Don't get discouraged."

Aliya glanced at the tables. "Looks like we have a few customers who might need refills. Want to try taking orders tableside?"

Arezoo didn't want to get so close to the customers. The register was one thing—the counter served as a barrier—but walking among the tables meant direct interaction with the village's intimidatingly beautiful immortals.

"They don't bite," Aliya said with a crooked smile. "Well, not unless they are invited to do so."

Arezoo swallowed. Aliya's words evoked images that were as terrifying as they were arousing. She'd overheard Aunt Kyra talking with her mother and the other aunts, giggling about how wonderful sex with immortal males was. They hadn't known she was in the living room while they'd acted like a bunch of teenage girls, and she'd pretended she hadn't heard anything, but that conversation was etched in her mind.

"That wasn't helpful," Wonder chided, then turned to Arezoo. "You'll be fine. Just be polite and ask if they need anything. If they have questions you can't answer, say you'll check with me."

Arezoo nodded, tucking a small notepad and pen in her apron pocket.

The first table she approached was safe, with two females who seemed nice. They smiled when they saw her, asking for refills of their teas and ordering two more croissants with a warmth that eased her nervousness.

Table by table, Arezoo made her way around the café. Most patrons were friendly, some merely polite, but none were rude, and she slowly relaxed, growing more confident with each interaction.

Until she reached the back, where a man sat alone at a small table in the shade of a large canopy. A laptop was open before him, but his attention wasn't on the screen. Instead, his gaze was fixed on her with an intensity that made her skin prickle.

He wasn't conventionally handsome like many of the immortal males she'd seen around the village and the café. He was slightly built, with narrow shoulders and a lean face.

Not ugly, but not striking either.

There was something about his stare, though, that made her uncomfortable.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked, steadying her voice.

He continued staring for a moment before answering. "Black coffee, please. No sugar."

His voice was softer than she'd expected, and a little hesitant, which somehow made the intensity of his gaze all the more unnerving.

"Right away, sir," she managed, jotting down the order even though it was simple enough to remember.

As she turned to leave, she felt his eyes follow her, a physical sensation like fingertips trailing down her spine. She quickened her pace, returning to the safety of the counter.

"Everything okay?" Aliya asked.

"Yes," Arezoo said automatically, then reconsidered. "Actually, could you handle table 13 in the corner? The guy sitting there is making me uncomfortable."

Aliya glanced over. "Ruvon? He's harmless. Just a bit socially awkward, especially around females."

"Do you know him?" Arezoo asked.

"Everyone knows everyone here," Aliya reminded her. "It's not a big village. Ruvon is Kalugal's tech security specialist. He's actually quite nice once you get to know him. Sometimes he just stares like that into the distance, probably thinking deeply about something. He doesn't mean anything by it—he just isn't good with social interactions."

Arezoo barely heard anything after Aliya had brought up Kalugal. The name had come up several times since her arrival in the village—the former Doomer commander who'd defected with his men. Men who'd once been part of the same Brotherhood as the evil people who had abducted her and her sisters and cousin and who had killed Uncle Javad.

"That makes him even creepier," she murmured. "I have a very good reason to fear Doomers."

"He's a former Doomer," Aliya said. "Like all of Kalugal's people. They've been part of this community for a while now, and they are sworn to defend it along with the immortals just like all the Kra-ell are sworn to do. Besides, Ruvon is completely harmless. He was probably abused when he was a Doomer, and I wouldn't be surprised if that was why Kalugal took him under his wing. A scrawny guy like him would have gotten beaten up mercilessly in their training camp."

Now, Arezoo felt sorry for the man and ashamed for feeling such resentment toward someone who had most likely been a victim of those monsters as well.

"Black coffee for table 13," Wonder said, sliding a mug across the counter.

"I'll take it to him," Aliya offered.

Arezoo shook her head. "No, I'll—" she began, then stopped as an involuntary shiver ran through her.

Aliya couldn't be sure of any of the things she'd said. She'd been making assumptions based on the guy's social awkwardness and slight build. That didn't mean that he was harmless. He could be just as much of a monster as the fake doctor who had done unspeakable things to her aunt and to Fenella, and to a lesser extent to her and her sisters and cousin.

Arezoo was trying hard not to think about the things that had been done to them, leaving them hazy in semi-lucid, drugged memories, but she knew she'd been hurt. If the clan hadn't rescued them, they would have been forced into becoming breeding stock for immortal warriors.

"Actually," she said, setting the mug back on the counter with trembling hands. "Would you mind? I need a moment."

Aliya took the coffee. "Sure. No problem."

As the Kra-ell female delivered the coffee to Ruvon, Arezoo stepped into the tiny employee bathroom in the back of the hut and locked the door behind her. She leaned against the sink, staring at her reflection in the mirror.

Her face looked the same as always—the same dark eyes, high cheekbones, and determined chin. But the world around her had changed irrevocably. She'd thought that she'd left the nightmare behind, but the ghosts had chased her even here, to the immortals' hidden paradise.

Logically, she knew that Aliya was right at least about the former Doomers being sworn to protect the village. They wouldn't be living here among the immortals if they were up to no good. But Arezoo had a hard time believing that the evil they'd been a part of could be washed away with time and good behavior.

Another shiver ran through her, this one harder to control. She gripped the edge of the sink, forcing herself to take deep, even breaths. She couldn't afford to fall apart, not here, not now. Her mother and sisters depended on her to be strong. She had to adapt, to show them that they could all thrive in this new place.

But how could she feel safe knowing that men who had been born to the Brotherhood, raised with hate, and brainwashed with evil, walked the same paths, breathed the same air, sat at tables that she was expected to serve with a smile?

The gentle tap at the door startled her. "Arezoo?" Wonder asked. "Is everything all right in there?"

"I'll be out in a minute," Arezoo called, splashing cold water on her face. She dried her hands and face with a paper towel and unlocked the door.

Wonder still stood outside, concern evident in her expression.

"I'm sorry," Arezoo said. "I just needed a moment."

"No need to apologize," Wonder said gently. "Aliya told me about your reaction to Ruvon."

"It's fine," Arezoo lied. "I just need to mentally adjust to them being here and posing no threat."

Wonder studied her face. "Your family suffered at the hands of the Brotherhood. It's natural to be wary of anyone associated with them, even if they've changed allegiances."

"Have they, though?" Arezoo asked before she could stop herself. "How do you know that they have really changed?"

"I'd bet my life on it." Wonder put a hand on her chest. "But your feelings are valid, and no one expects you to be comfortable around them right away." She squeezed Arezoo's shoulder. "If you'd prefer not to serve any of Kalugal's men, just say the word."

The understanding in Wonder's voice nearly undid Arezoo's composure. "Thank you," she whispered. "I'm sorry to be so difficult on my first day."

"You're not being difficult," Wonder assured her. "You're being human. Well, mostly human." She smiled. "Take a few more minutes if you need them, then come back when you're ready. The afternoon rush won't start for another hour or so."

After Wonder left, Arezoo leaned against the wall and tried to reconcile her new reality. The village wasn't the perfect sanctuary she'd imagined. It housed victims—her and her family and others, and former perpetrators, Doomers, offering second chances to those who'd once served darkness.

She wasn't sure she was ready to extend such grace, especially to men who'd been part of that organization, but neither could she retreat. This was her new home, for better or worse, and she needed to learn to live with its reality.