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K ai’s steps slowed more as she entered the buzzing room. She glanced around. The place wasn’t packed, but many people sat at long tables around the room. The hum of voices didn’t stop as she and her sister, two strangers, walked in, but eyes were on them.

“Come on. You two can sit with me at my table.” Eilidh waved over her shoulder for them to continue to follow her.

The tall, young lady with long, dark hair guided them through the tables, speaking and smiling at those close to her she passed.

It was mostly a response to a few adults teasing Eilidh about something and the young woman just laughing it off.

“You’re always on the edge of trouble, Eilidh.” One woman gripped their guide’s hand when she walked by her.

“Never.” Eilidh patted the woman’s hand before pulling hers away. “Just making sure our guests feel welcomed.”

“You better hope the Mckenna feels the same,” a man called out from across the room.

Eilidh’s laughter rang out.

Kai turned in that direction, curious how the man even heard the conversation. The man saw her glance his way and raised his glass to her, a salute.

She gave him a small smile of greeting but continued behind Eilidh and her sister.

Once they arrived at a long table sitting too close to the center of the room, Kai let the girls work their way into the empty seats among the young people their age, and she claimed the vacant chair at the end.

“This is Morlie.” Eilidh bumped her shoulder against Morlie’s, who sat beside her. “That’s Kai, her older sister. They’re guests of the Mckenna’s.”

Young male and female voices clamored over each other to greet them. Kai didn’t miss how the boys gave Morlie more than a few appreciative looks. Her sister, who was not used to guys admiring her with interest, blushed and lowered her eyes.

Kai arched a brow at the teen boys, but none appeared nervous about being caught.

Eilidh went on with her introductions as she pointed to her small group. “This is Linda, Saphira, Anguis, Fafner, and Irad. Some of my friends. Not everyone eats in the meal hall every night.”

“We like to come because most nights there’s music.” Saphira pushed one of the platters of food closer to Kai. “Have some before the boys get to it all. They have no manners.”

“Thank you.” Kai noticed Morlie might have felt shy under the young men’s attention but not about scooping vegetables and adding a heap to the plate before her.

“If you’re hungry, you eat.” Irad speared two chunks of meat from the platter before Kai.

“You’re right.” Linda reached over and snagged both pieces from him before he could add them to his plate. She popped them into her mouth with a big grin.

Fafner laughed, but it died out quickly as Eilidh stole half the long bread from his hand. “Hey,” he growled and snapped his teeth.

Eilidh snapped back. “If you’re hungry, you eat,” she tossed Irad’s words at Fafner.

All of them laughed as they continued to eat. Kai noticed they shared more food than they stole. They even included Morlie in their generosity, who ate with just as much gusto as the others, as if she hadn’t eaten not too long ago.

Feeling calmer about them being downstairs, Kai added a small amount of food to her plate and ate as she listened halfheartedly to the youth but glanced around at people.

The end of their table made a T. Currently, it was empty.

Kai wondered why no one sat there. Even as more people came in, they chose other places around the large room.

She figured it had more to do with the rambunctious teens’ over-the-top behavior and conversation than anything else.

Most adults who worked hard all day wanted peace at the end of it.

Well, that’s how it was in the Dispatch.

However, Kai did notice the jovial atmosphere, something she and her sister never experienced since death came to the district.

Something else evident in the room were the layers of sexual tension.

It wasn’t just that Kai sensed it. The people around her boldly displayed intimate touching while others became tangled up in deep kisses.

She tried to look away and give people their privacy, but it didn’t appear they cared if she looked.

Everyone else continued talking as if they saw heavy petting and sensual touching happening daily at the dinner table.

Occasionally, a couple wrapped up in each other would rush from the hall, leaving little to the imagination of what they would do. Seeing the interactions made her body tingle and throb, but she ignored it.

No need to get yourself worked up, Kai. She would not see Aodh this evening.

At first, when he’d agreed to let her be with her sister tonight, she’d been glad to tend to Morlie, who had just awakened, not that anyone could tell looking at her sister now.

Morlie seemed to be doing well. Now, she missed Aodh.

He wasn’t present in the room. Kai told herself she was only trying to get a sense of his people when she scanned one table after another, but deep down, she’d been hoping to see the leader here.

She shrugged it off. The man probably had a lot of responsibilities to take care of, especially since he’d spent so much time with her or helping Morlie.

As she poured herself a drink from one of the pitchers on the table, she chided herself for her needy, selfish attitude toward Aodh. She took two gulps of her drink and immediately realized the sweet fruit juice had a kick.

She glanced at Morlie on her second glass and noticed her sister’s glassy eyes and a wide smile. It was clear her sister was feeling the effects of the drink, even though it appeared Morlie’s new friends were not.

Reaching out, Kai took the cup from Morlie.

“Kai!” Her sister pouted.

“You’ve had enough. Your body is still healing.

I’ll find you some water.” Kai rose, feeling a little lightheaded initially, but braced herself against the effects of the juice.

She’d had alcohol more than a few times over the last five years.

In the Dispatch district, it wasn’t hard to find a person who was making and selling it.

When life was hard from long hours of strenuous work and death could come for you at any time, many people turned to the homebrew.

“Hey, the music is about to start,” Eilidh announced.

Kai glanced over her shoulder and saw five people gathering on stage with various instruments: a vihuela, fiddle, archtop, tin whistle, and a set of Ngoma drums. From what she knew of music from archives, the instruments typically would not be played together—they were from different countries.

It seemed someone had the idea to combine Irish, Latin, and African music.

However, the blended sound worked well when the musicians started playing to create a new, eclectic beat.

She enjoyed the unique music filling the room as she looked around at the tables for a water pitcher. Morlie needed to stay hydrated.

“Can I help you find something?”

Kai turned and saw a young man with shoulder-length straight black hair and jade eyes, who stood taller than her but thinner than others of his kind in the room. There were still muscles that stretched his shirt sleeves, but they were not as bulky as others. “Um...yes. I’m trying to find water.”

The man offered her a kind smile. “I think I can help you. I’m Yeongi, by the way.”

“I’m Kai.” She held her hand out.

The man did the same thing Eilidh had done. He only stared at her hand but didn’t take it.

“I guess your people don’t shake hands.” Kai pulled her hand back and rubbed it against her other, feeling awkward.

“No. It’s a human custom. Something we did at one time. But our people are not big on casual touches.”

Kai turned her head left and right, glancing pointedly at the excessive amount of touching.

Yeongi chuckled, his rumble not as deep as Aodh’s, she noticed. “Well, intimate touching is different and for a specific purpose.”

Biting her bottom lip, she nodded. She didn’t want to have a conversation about sexual desire with this man. “The water.”

“Right this way. There are usually stations set up along the walls.” He pointed to one not too far off as he led her to it.

“Oh. Good to know.” She walked beside him and was happy that he kept his strides short. “So, what’s your position in the territory?”

Yeongi smiled as a faint purple glow ran through his markings, lighting up the material of his shirt. “I’m the assistant to the Mckenna. Your mate.”

She blamed her tripping on the long dress getting tangled up in her legs or the effects of the fermented fruit and refused to believe it was her weakened knees’ response to the word ‘mate.’

The man beside her didn’t grab her instead held an arm before her to catch Kai if she fell.

Thankfully, she didn’t. She took a breath and drew her body back to a standing position. “Are you saying that because I am staying in Aodh’s suites?”

She wouldn’t deny the man’s words, but conversing with Aodh about it was better. Kai was more concerned with the people here seeing her as some whore to their leader.

“No. Mckenna declared it to the wyrms and the thunder leadership.”

“The wyrm’s?” She frowned, unfamiliar with the term.

“The wise one’s council of some of our oldest Drahks. Most were in high positions before the current leaders.”

Wyrms and Drahks were terms she had never learned in her study of the archives. “Oh. Thank you for clarifying.”

As they continued toward the water station, Kai’s mind was swirling with both apprehension and joy at the thought Aodh had claimed her to his people. Even though she wasn’t sure how long she and Morlie would be staying, it was good to know she wasn’t just a warm body in Aodh’s bed.