Page 16

“Nonsense. You have two jobs: eat and sleep, Mckenna said. And I am here to see you to that with no disturbance.” Tana went to the closet and returned quickly.

Kai watched her pour water into a glass from a pitcher before removing the steel dome from two dishes.

The first was bread. The warm, fresh smell wafted up to her nostrils, and she felt a drop of drool seep out the corner of her mouth.

Thankfully, she was quick to wipe it. Her mother had been an artisan at baking fresh bread for the family, something Kai had never mastered well.

Then, she had run out of money to have it at all.

“I hope you like bread and roasted mutton and lamb. There’s also a mix of vegetables because we know the human body doesn’t produce enough vitamins. Tsk, tsk.” Tana whipped the second lid off with a flourish as she shook her head.

This time, Kai had to wipe her mouth to catch the track of saliva rolling down her chin. She just stared at the dishes. Her body began to tremble, and her eyes burned. Kai was too afraid to reach for the food, fearing it would disappear.

“Is something the matter with the food? Do you need me to get the cooks to prepare something else?” Tana stared at Kai with canary-yellow-flamed eyes.

Looking from the food to Tana and back again through a watery haze, Kai shook her head. “I’ve never had or seen meat outside of old photographs and videos.”

“Oh, dearie.” Speaking to Kai soothingly, Tana leaned down and covered one of Kai’s hands. “I am sorry you have been going without.”

Going without wasn’t causing the issue. It was that those in the Dispatch District didn’t get anything remotely close to meat or even meat byproducts. Before she was born, her parents, like others in their area underground, ran out of canned meats months before Kai was born.

Now, her gaze feasted on the smaller bowl filled with seared squash, zucchini, potatoes, and more.

Kai realized all that they lacked in the district.

She and Morlie survived on the same things as others who struggled to afford food at the marketplace: many leafy greens rolled tight and eaten raw or made into soups.

Kale soup. Collard soup. Onion and tomato soup.

But not much else. Rumors were rampant among the lower class that those in the Consumer Providence had meat and gardeners who grew many vegetables of old like Kai had now.

But the district never got it. And those who did? It cost them—more than a month’s rent.

Kai felt speechless. She wasn’t sure how to put her experience into words that the kind older female could understand.

As if sensing the emotions twisting Kai up inside, Tana rubbed over her shoulder and made soft sounds. “You’re here now. Eat up and rest.”

The gentle touch made the emotions rise into her throat, and Kai felt relieved when Tana walked away toward the closet.

Swallowing hard to push down her emotions, Kai began to eat.

Her first forkful was the vegetables. She was too nervous to introduce the meat to her body right off.

She wasn’t sure how her system would react.

The vegetables practically made her moan; they were firm, with a crunch but soft enough to chew without a problem, and seasoned well.

However, she couldn’t get out any sound because she was too busy shoveling forkful after forkful into her mouth.

The hunger she’d lived with for so long wanted to reject the food, and for a brief moment, she felt nauseated.

However, she refused to let it stop her from eating.

Soon, that sick feeling turned into pure blissful satisfaction.

Gobbling down the food in such a greedy fashion had not been how her parents taught her, but they weren’t here.

Nor did they have to endure the harsh reality of the world above ground.

Not allowing herself to feel shame about how she conquered her appetite, Kai picked up the thick slice of bread and took two big bites.

“Well, I’m glad you are enjoying your meal.”

Nodding, Kai continued to eat while Tana kept busy. The older woman moved around soundlessly, bringing two blankets from somewhere in the closet and spreading them over the bed. Tana then disappeared into the closet again.

Kai glanced over her shoulder and saw Tana, who, instead of carrying the dirty clothes, leaned over and delicately lay a mint-colored garment along the far end of the bed before returning to her full height again.

The woman was efficient, Kai thought as she speared a piece of meat.

“Well, I will leave you to eat in peace. Do you need anything before I go?”

She started to shake her head and slide a chunk of meat in her mouth, but Kai’s brain found a way to operate and function on something beyond the glorious food.

Setting down the fork, Kai picked up a cloth napkin and wiped her lips.

She was sure she had food all over her mouth. Shifting, she faced Tana.

“Yes. I hate to be a bother.”

Tana waved her words away. “It’s what I am here for. What is it?”

“Um.” Kai fingered her damp hair behind her ear. It was so thick it would take hours to dry. “I wondered if there were different bathing supplies I could use.”

“Why? You don’t like the scents?” Tana tipped her head left.

“It’s not that. The different substances in the jars smell amazing.” She rubbed along her arms, still feeling the tingling sensation. Hoping not to offend, she continued, “I think I’m allergic to whatever is in the jars. I’m irritated all over.”

“Ooh. I’m sure your body is responding to the powder mixture of coneflower, sunflower, vanilla bean, and white ginger.” Tana smiled. “Just a pinch of the yellowish-orange mixture helps to stimulate blood circulation and relax tired muscles. Most male and female Drahks enjoy a soak now and then.”

Did she say a pinch? Kai recalled it had been the jar that Ninki had poured the entire content into the bath.

Kai may not have been embarrassed about her eating habits, but she could not bring her lips to part and ask what would happen if someone used a lot of the substance.

It made sense to her why her body was acting a bit haywire.

She could only hope that the effects wore off quickly. “Good to know.”

Note to self: never allow Ninki to help her with another bath.

“Well, get some rest. I’ll collect the dishes later, so don’t trouble yourself.” Tana turned and started toward the front door.

“Oh, thank you for bringing me something to sleep in,” Kai called after the older woman who was now halfway across the apartment.

“Oh, no, dearie. We Drahks sleep bare. It’s for when you wake.” Barely with a pause in stride, Tana continued out the door.

Kai sat shocked, dumbfounded. Nude?

She had never slept without clothing. She shook her head and exhaled. This place gave her all kinds of new experiences. Turning back to her plate, she decided it was best to put off the thought of sleeping attire for a little longer until she finished eating.

Picking up the fork, she brought the glistening, thick piece of meat to her mouth.

A thick gravy coated it and dripped heavily back into the dish.

Tana had piled the entire plate with the meat mixture.

Kai didn’t feel like she had a name to describe what she smelled—‘gamey’ and ‘fresh’ came to mind.

Hell, she only knew that word from the encyclopedia of cooking. Not entirely sure what it meant.

She took a bite of it. It was succulent and tender.

But the taste was the best thing she’d ever placed in her mouth.

As she ate the second half, she stared at the abundance of chunks on the platter.

There was no way she could finish much more.

Even though her eyes said ‘yes, yes, yes, please.’ Her stomach, already stretched to capacity, was screaming, ‘no more.’ She took the middle road and ate another eight pieces before laying the utensil down, having barely gotten through a quarter of the offering.

She hoped to finish more when she woke. Cold food didn’t bother her one bit.

Kai stood after taking two healthy gulps of water to wash everything down.

She was exhausted, and the big bed with the blankets piled on top looked inviting.

Now, with her belly full, she just wanted to shut her eyes.

Kai felt guilty going to sleep when a part of her thought she was a pitiful big sister for not being in the lower-level room to watch over Morlie.

Make sure she was safe and getting better, especially with all the smoke.

Aodh said it was a healing smoke, but she couldn’t believe it.

Kai had lost friends to fires from people trying to keep warm in tiny dwellings with poor ventilation.

If a fire wasn’t safe, then how could smoke be?

She glanced over at the hearth and saw that Aodh’s flame was still burning, flickering, filling the space with warmth and making the room toasty.

Aodh .

The thought of him was doing things to her body, causing the tingling she had been able to ignore during her meal to ratchet up once again. Her body was no longer tingling but starting to throb, and there was a slickness now on her thighs.

As she crossed the space to her bed, she considered doing like those in this territory, crawling into bed with nothing on.

She could rub her body along the fabrics of the sheets and blankets to ease some of the sensations.

When she considered sleeping in the buff, it made her cheeks feel like she stood too close to the fireplace.

She looked over at the clothes on the end of the bed.

She didn’t want to wrinkle them by sleeping in them.

Instead, she compromised with herself and kept the robe on.

Realizing she wasn’t good to herself at her current level of exhaustion, Kai climbed into the bed.

She sank deep into the mattress, unsure of what the bedding was made from to make it soft and firm.

She thought about Goldilocks from Robert Southey’s Three Bears.

A bed like the one Kai lay in had now had to be the experience to make someone moan the words “just right.”

It was Kai’s last thought as she drifted off to sleep.