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A valore yawned. She’d never slept so well.

She was pretty sure the giant, broad-shouldered man’s smoke had knocked her out; even now, the remnants of cinnamon and aged whiskey still hung in the air she breathed and spread warmth through her body and made her throb between her thighs, not that she’d ever confess that to him.

But she couldn’t muster up the anger to tear into him about it.

Especially not as she considered her body and no longer felt the aggravating burn from the bees’ stingers.

She considered it a good sign that she’d healed more during the night.

Shifting around on the heavenly mattress, she could feel the tightness in her body from the lack of use and how hard she’d slept. Her body craved a good stretch.

“You’re finally awake.”

Avalore froze, her arms still high above her head and her toes curled down and pointed toward the end of the bed under the blanket as she’d been giving herself a good stretch—a morning ode to how well she had slept.

She hadn’t done anything more but take a few breaths to remove the sleep fog from her mind.

She hadn’t opened her eyes yet, but the rough lilt showed she wasn’t alone in the room.

However, it wasn’t Liekki who spoke to her.

Gathering her courage and feeling under the covers for her rock because she wasn’t a fool, Avalore opened her eyes.

It wasn’t hard to find the person who spoke to her, a tall, pretty woman with soft-reddish-brown skin and round eyes.

The woman was young, possibly in her early twenties, like Avalore, with two long, straight, black plaits hanging over her shoulders, the end practically at her waist.

The woman strolling into the area, where Avalore lay in bed, with a wide smile didn’t make Avalore feel at ease.

When Avalore’s hand brushed the stone and she sat up, she felt a little more prepared if this grinning woman tried anything.

Liekki had been adamant that she needed to stay inside, and it wasn’t safe for her to leave alone, so Avalore couldn’t be sure the woman didn’t mean her harm. “Who are you? Where’s Liekki?”

“Don’t be afraid. I don’t mean you any harm.

” If it were possible for the pretty woman’s smile to get any wider, it did as a moss-green color illuminated the black markings along the woman’s arms and sides.

Her torso was without markings, unlike Liekki.

The woman’s periwinkle shirt only covered her breasts and shoulders and revealed too much of her skin before the waistband of her matching wide-legged pants started.

“I’m Chumana, Avalore. Liekki is working this morning and sent me to assist you. ”

Why this woman? What was his relationship with the gorgeous Chumana?

Avalore told herself she didn’t care. ‘Liar,’ the tightness in her belly and nerve-ending fire off along her arms declared.

“He wants you to assist me in what? I can take care of myself.” She slung the coverings away to prove her point and rose with the rock at her side.

Chumana’s gaze flitted to the stone before her round eyes returned to Avalore’s face. Those markings were now canary yellow. “Wow. Liekki allowed you to keep one of his hearthstones, which makes sense.”

Makes sense? What?

It was becoming apparent to Avalore that these dragon-shifters revealed some of their emotions through the flames that flared in their eyes and the smooth designs along their bodies. However, she had no damn clue what the colors meant. For example, did the woman’s coloring mean she was jealous?

Probably . In the Dispatch District, jealousy arose because of possessions like food, clothing, and shelter, not relationships.

They were too fleeting, and most were limited to the time needed for a woman to get pregnant and split the stipend funds over the next year.

They may continue to stay together out of convenience or not.

Some may have fallen in love and made lasting commitments, but no one found it necessary.

But how did the Drakh handle cheating? Avalore didn’t want to fight the woman who stood at least a foot and a half taller than her short five-seven height, but she would do what was necessary to protect herself.

“Whatever you think is going on between me and the big man, it isn’t sexual.

” Avalore smoothed a hand down the front of her borrowed shirt, feeling as if wearing the man’s shirt didn’t bode well for her declaration.

The severely oversized shirt and what she was pretty sure was an unkempt appearance of her hair made Avalore feel frumpy and unattractive compared to the stylish beauty.

She went on to explain her presence in the man’s space and bed, “I got hurt, and he was helping me out.”

She didn’t glance down, but at this instance, Avalore hoped she hadn’t healed too much that her face or legs didn’t hide the truth from this woman.

The other woman cocked her head to the side. “Oh, it’s very sexual. Trust me.”

Before Avalore could contest, Chumana waved her hand away and stepped to the end of the bed. She patted the butterscotch bundle she held. “I brought you some of my clothes to wear out.”

“Out?” Her heart rate picked up its speed. Is he sending me away? It was what she had tossed at him that she could take care of herself. Is he calling my bluff? Avalore steeled her spine. “Where am I going?”

“I figured you’d be hungry and ready to break your evening fast. When Liekki asked me last night, after the ceremonies, to help you today, he suggested I bring you something from the kitchen and then take you to the textile building for your clothes.

But I thought you’d appreciate a small tour of the territory and eating in the Great Hall. ”

Avalore perked up and dropped the rock on the bed before rushing to get the clothes. “Yes. I want to get out of this place.”

Maybe I can get directions out of the territory or find work here and get a little place to stay . Liekki’s home was way too spacious. It didn’t make sense for anyone to need a dwelling with such a high vaulted ceiling. Avalore was shocked she didn’t hear her voice echoing back at her.

“Give me a second to freshen up and get dressed.” Avalore hurried off to the bathroom. She didn’t want to waste any time in case Liekki returned and tried to keep her inside.

“Take your time. I’ll be downstairs when you’re ready,” Chumana called out after her.

Nodding at the woman, she closed the door.

Avalore walked to the sink. Since she only needed to wash her face and brush her teeth, she could be quick about getting ready.

In the mirror, she spotted the tub on the other side of the room, her mind filled with her bath yesterday.

She saw how Liekki had washed her hair and combed it for her.

The intense desire he stirred in her was bewildering.

She’d yearned to have him kiss her and touch her in more places than her hair and feel the heat of his breath all over her skin.

Shutting her eyes, she took a deep breath to defuse the intense need for a man she didn’t know.

When she smelled his potent scent again, she realized Liekki’s scent clung to her hair and skin.

It didn’t help that she was still in his shirt.

Her thighs quivered as she opened her eyes and set the clothing on the counter.

Her knees threatened to buckle as the soft cotton material of his shirt grazed against the tips of her nipples, making things more complicated.

Her mind was back in the tub and wishing Liekki rendered the same strong strokes he’d used along her scalp, over her breasts, thighs, and ass.

Avalore, you have to pull yourself together.

She’d never imagined there would be a time when she was naked in a tub with a sexy man tending to her.

Nothing in her life had come close to preparing her for this situation.

Even her parents, father and mother or father and stepmother, never had such intimate relationships that she’d ever witnessed.

Avalore didn’t blame them for their relationship's lacklusterness because, in the Dispatch District, people’s lives were hard.

People found a small piece of joy where they could in relationships because daily, they had to work hard to have little, and the little they had was never enough.

So, it didn’t leave time for long baths, and if one partner was washing, the other was tending to kids, working, or catching a few winks.

A part of her felt terrible that she’d been grumbling mentally about Liekki’s prominent place when her family was cramped in the unfit dwelling in the Dispatch.

Even before escaping, she hadn’t seen them for so long being sequestered in the lab area.

She couldn’t help but wonder how they were doing, if the illness had taken any of them, or if her sister was pregnant again.

If so, with the man of her first two babies or a different one.

She wished there was a way to get them all beyond the Wall, especially since the lies their government had told them about what was outside the area didn’t seem true.

Or at least not all the land was invaded by skinless, mutant cannibals, even if she could get her family into positions where they could live lavishly like those she’d seen eating and drinking in expensive stylish clothing with the Governor in the Consumer Providence.

Avalore shook her head. Right now, she wasn’t in any position to aid anyone. She wasn’t sure where she was and still needed to figure out if she was staying there or going.

In the meantime, she had to get clothing and gather as much intel and supplies as possible to plan to escape. Tearing her gaze away from the tub, she glanced in the mirror to check on her injuries and then turned on the faucet.