Page 6

AREZOO

T he lunch rush hit the café like a tidal wave, and Arezoo barely had time to breathe between taking orders, preparing drinks, and delivering trays to tables.

The line at the counter stretched almost the entire length of the café area, filled with impatient immortals seeking their midday caffeine fix and a bite to eat.

"One cappuccino, extra foam," Arezoo called out, sliding the cup across the counter to a waiting guy. "Your turkey avocado wrap will be out in just a moment."

She wiped her hands on her apron and turned to the next customer, remembering to smile despite her aching feet.

It sucked being the only human working with an immortal and a hybrid Kra-ell who both looked as fresh as they had in the morning and could keep going until closing without needing a break.

A small voice in the back of her head whispered that she could be an immortal too if she chose one of the guys who'd signaled their interest. The problem was that even thinking about being intimate with a male made her nauseous, or worse, sweaty.

Would this ever go away? Would she one day feel attraction to someone again?

Arezoo hadn't been this way before the abduction. She'd been a typical teenager who had crushes on movie stars and gossiped with her friends about their boyfriends and who had dared to do what. She'd even gotten excited hearing some of those tales.

Not anymore, though.

Perhaps she should schedule a call with the clan's psychologist and get herself sorted out.

"Arezoo!" A familiar voice cut through her unpleasant thoughts.

She turned to see Drova weaving through the tables, her tall, slim frame making it easy for her to navigate between them. The Guardian uniform looked good on her, even without the insignia she coveted but wouldn't receive until she graduated from the training program.

"Can I get you a juice box?" Arezoo asked while pumping syrup into a latte.

The box only appeared to contain juice but was actually filled with synthetic blood for the Kra-ell, who couldn't consume anything else. Well, except for black coffee and alcohol, which Drova had no problem with.

Her friend leaned against the counter. "No, thank you. I'm not hungry." She looked at the packed tables. "The whole village must have decided to have lunch here today."

"It surely looks like it." Arezoo finished the latte and started on the next order. "Don't you have Guardian training?"

"Lunch break." Drova shrugged. "Not that I need it. I had a nice drink of fresh blood yesterday, so I'm good for the next two days. But the other Guardians in training need food, so we are on a break, and I thought I'd stop by and see how you were doing."

Arezoo loaded a tray with three drinks and two sandwiches. "I'm swamped, as you can see, and my feet are killing me."

"I'll take it." Drova snatched the tray from Arezoo's hands before she could protest. "Where does it go?"

"Table seven, the one under the willow tree." Arezoo pointed. "But you shouldn't be doing this. You don't work here."

"I can help a friend if I want to." Drova was already moving toward the table, balancing the tray with ease. "Besides, we can talk while we are delivering the orders."

Arezoo was too tired to argue, so she nodded and followed Drova with a coffee carafe to refill cups on the way.

When she returned behind the counter, Aliya took over the deliveries so Arezoo could stay in one place. "One iced Americano, one blueberry muffin," Arezoo announced, setting them on the pickup counter.

"Your mother and aunts must be proud," Drova said. "The grocery store is really happening."

"They're excited." Arezoo started on another espresso.

"They cleared out the house Ingrid arranged for them.

Every piece of furniture is gone, and they're scrubbing every surface in preparation for the refrigerators and shelving units that are supposed to arrive tomorrow or the day after.

" She felt a twinge of guilt in her stomach for not being there to help.

"I should be there scrubbing with them, but I need this job.

My mother offered to pay me, but I can't take money from her. My sisters will help her."

"I get it." Drova crossed her arms over her flat chest. "Working for family is complicated. That's why I'm happy to be in the Guardian program instead of training with my mother."

Their eyes met, and Arezoo felt a kinship with the Kra-ell girl. They weren't even the same species, and yet they had a lot in common. They were both refugees from oppression and had controlling mothers. Both of them were carving out their own paths, separate from their mothers' expectations.

The difference was that Drova was her mother's only child, and that she was a warrior born and bred and seemed to fear nothing, while Arezoo was afraid of her own shadow.

Drova's lips quirked in what might have been a smile on a more expressive face. "I'm a better fighter than my mother, and she's even acknowledged that, but that was it. I've never heard a compliment from her."

Was she really better than Jade?

If so, what was she doing in training?

"My mother is not as bad. I think she said once or twice that I was a good daughter. She tells me she loves me often enough, though, so I'm not complaining."

Wonder emerged from the back with a fresh tray of sandwiches. "Arezoo, these need to go to—oh, hello, Drova."

"Hi." Drova saluted Wonder. "How are you doing?" she added with a smile that looked so fake it was comical.

Drova had admitted to Arezoo that polite conversation was still a struggle for her and the other Kra-ell. It wasn't part of their culture, and it felt uncomfortable, but they were trying to integrate.

"Very well, thank you," Wonder answered with a straight face.

"Where do these need to go?" Arezoo asked.

As Wonder directed her to the table, Drova pulled out her phone and checked the time. "Damn. I need to get back." When she lifted her head, a smirk spread across her face. "Look who's just shown up."

Arezoo followed her gaze and felt her stomach flip. Ruvon had just walked into the café, looking a little nervous. He always looked like that, even when he wasn't trying to flirt with her, hunching his shoulders as if trying to make himself smaller.

It was a shame, really.

He was a tall man, and if he straightened his back, he would appear even taller. Perhaps even handsome.

When he spotted her behind the counter, his face lit up with a smile that transformed his usually plain features, making him look almost attractive.

"Good luck," Drova said, clapping Arezoo on the back as gently as she could, which was forceful enough to make her stumble forward. "There is nowhere to hide this time," she whispered in Arezoo's ear. "Nowhere to run."

"Drova!" Arezoo hissed, but her friend was already heading out.

Ruvon joined the line, patiently waiting his turn. Arezoo found herself stealing glances at him between orders, noting how he kept checking something on his phone, then looking up at her, then back at his phone. He also carried a wrapped package under one arm.

By the time he reached the counter, her palms were sweating. She wiped them discreetly on her apron.

"Hello, Arezoo," he said, his voice soft enough that she had to lean forward to hear him over the noise of the café.

"Hi." She forced herself to meet his eyes. "What can I get you?"

"Two cappuccinos and two blueberry muffins, please."

Two? Arezoo's heart sank a little. Of course, he was meeting someone. Why else would he order two of everything?

She rang up his order while Wonder prepared it, and as he walked away, searching for a table, she tracked his movements, waiting to see who he was meeting.

The café was still packed, but just as he was starting to look discouraged, a couple stood to leave, and he quickly claimed their spot, setting down his order, his laptop, and the wrapped package while they were still clearing away their used dishes.

Arezoo tried to focus on her work, but her eyes kept drifting to his table. He'd opened his laptop and started working on something, occasionally glancing toward the counter. The second coffee and muffin sat untouched across from him.

When she passed by his table carrying a carafe, he turned to her. "Arezoo?"

She paused, the tray heavy in her hands. "Do you need a refill on your coffee?"

He hadn't touched his coffee yet, so she knew that wasn't why he'd called.

Ruvon shook his head. "Could you join me for a few minutes?" He gestured to the empty chair across from him. "The coffee and muffin are for you."

"Oh." The word came out as barely more than a breath. "I can't. I'm working, and we're so busy?—"

"You can take a break," Wonder said from behind her, materializing there like some matchmaking apparition. "Fifteen minutes."

Arezoo opened her mouth to protest, but Wonder was already taking the carafe from her hands. "Go on. Your feet must be killing you."

They were. Arezoo had been at it for four hours straight, and her arches ached with every step. The prospect of sitting down for a little bit was too tempting to resist.

"Thank you," she said to Wonder, then turned to Ruvon. "I have fifteen minutes."

His smile could have powered the entire village. "Please, sit."

Arezoo sank into the chair with a grateful sigh and reached for the coffee. The first sip was heavenly. "This is exactly what I needed. Thank you."

Ruvon watched her with an expression that could only be described as adoration, and it made her shift uncomfortably in her seat. She wasn't used to being looked at like that—like she was something precious and fascinating.

She'd been looked at by men before, but those looks had been covetous, and they'd always made her uncomfortable. Even her father's friends had sometimes looked at her like that, and it had disgusted her. They were married, and they had soft bellies and soft chins from overeating.

Ruvon didn't look at her as if she were a piece of meat. He looked at her as if she were special.