Page 53 of Guiding Desire

The latter still held true for this group, but the concept of a dining table was totally absent as all the food sat on the small black table cubes and moldables Orrey had noted strewn around in the center of the living area when he’d first come here.

Trays were also in use, for the bowls with porridge and additional fruit or whatever people had picked from the fridge.

“This is really delicious,” Senlas said. His bowl was about half neatly sliced tara leaves, half porridge.

“It’s nothing much,” Orrey said. “You have a good spice selection.”

“I don’t use them that much, but I’d like for you to use it. If you’re willing.”

“I would like that,” Orrey said. “And I’m really not scared. But cutlery isn’t supposed to just float around.”

“I can levitate more than cutlery,” Senlas said.

Karmine snorted. “Understatement of the fucking year.”

“I really meant no offense,” Senlas said.

Orrey nodded. “Understood.” He tapped his spoon against the rim of his bowl. “Coldis, Senlas mentioned you were holding on to my screen?”

“I was, little brother,” Coldis said, put his bowl on one already full tray where it balanced precariously on the rest of the sliced tara, and pulled Orrey’s screen from a pocket hidden inside the folds of his dress. “I’ve taken calls from each of your parents and assured them that all is well, that you are just recovering but being taken care of.”

“Sorry if they’re annoying,” Orrey said, took his screen back, and immediately saw a stack of messages.

“They aren’t. Very eager to meet Senlas and happy for you. Also relieved.”

Orrey eyed his screen, knowing he wouldn’t be able to enjoy his food with his parents waiting.

“Would you all excuse me while I give them a call?” he said and headed for his guest room, leaving his bowl on the kitchen counter.

Senlas, those blue eyes radiant, was watching him, longing in his expression.

With the room’s door closed, Orrey called his father first. As the call connected, his eyes fell on the bedside table from which his alarm bot was absent.

“Hello?” his dad said.

“It’s me, Dad. I’m okay.” Orrey went to his knees to check under the bed in case the tiny bot had wandered off, looking for a sleeper to wake. Nothing.

Orrey heard him breathe out in obvious relief. “It’s him finally. Otanna? It’s Orrey. Orrey, putting you on speaker.”

“Oh, okay. Is everyone there?”

“Yes,” his dad said. “We came over to Otanna’s when they lifted the lockdown a few hours after the incident. Thank Guardians they caught the insurrectionists quickly. You’re really okay? Nothing we should be worried about? Your mom said she got ahold of the Guardian in the hospital. We didn’t believe her at first.”

“Well, I still struggle to believe it myself. And his name’s Senlas. I didn’t get hurt that badly, honestly. I think he just took me there because he was worried.”

The bot was nowhere to be seen. Orrey looked around the room, once more admiring the way the art prints worked. The bathroom door was closed, so the bot couldn’t be there, and the room was clutter free. Orrey checked on the small desk, behind his plants, found nothing.

His second mother, Livis, said, “The man has sense, then. The common kind, which dictates you head to the hospital and make sure you’re really okay after you’ve been involved in an explosion.”

“I liked his voice,” his mom said. “Rey-Rey, you wanted to bring him to lunch?”

“That was the plan, yes,” Orrey said. He eyed the closet and walked over to it, slid it open.

“I still can’t believe you’re a Conduit, Orrey. We’ve been wondering where you got it from.”

“We’ve been wondering why they didn’t tell us when you were tested,” his mom said. “That can’t be legal, can it?”

“Oh, the, erm, well, Senlas is part of a team. And I am too now, I guess is the consensus. Anyway, Conduit Coldis, who’s been holding on to my screen, says it was a simple clerical error, but one with dramatic consequences.”