Page 91 of Wrapped in Their Arms

Her cheeks flushed at the memory ofBurnandBright“helping” her the night before.She’dbeen absolutely shameless… and yet she wasn’t sorry.

They made their way to the cavernous kitchen and climbed up into their chairs.Noellesat in a booster seat, as before.

Breakfast was waiting on silver trays, she saw—it looked like more mystery hash but this batch was somehow worse than yesterday’s.

Chunks of what looked like orange squash were mixed with hard purple pellets that crunched like candy but tasted like soap.Longwhite noodles, rubbery and bland, wiggled in the mix like worms.Someof the vegetable chunks were undercooked and others so overcooked they collapsed into gray mush.Asquare of something vaguely meat-like sat off to the side—charred on one end, raw on the other, smelling faintly of vinegar and old shoes.

Noelle picked at it, trying to find a piece of food she could tolerate.Acrossthe room,Cookiestood at the stove, frying something on a massive flat griddle.Thescent that wafted over made her stomach tighten—it smelled like bacon.Realbacon.Salty, crispy, and delicious.

Her mouth watered.

“Whatever’s he’s making smells way better than what we got,” she remarked under her breath.

“You’re right about that,”Brightagreed, making a face at his mostly-full plate.

“Hey, what are you making?”Burnshouted at the chef.

“Breakfast for oldThune,”Cookiegrunted.“Don’teven ask—you can’t have any of his special meat.Ifthe three of you are finished eating, you’d best get to your chores.”

“What chores are those?TheTrollox—uh,Thune—never told us exactly what to do,”Brightsaid.

Cookie turned, pointing one thick finger atBurn.

“You—wash the shuttle.Cleaninside it too—oldThunemakes a mess and you’ll need to clean it all up if you want to keep him happy.You…”Hepointed toBright“Goover his books.Heleft them out on the desk in his study.You’dbetter be a damn good accountant—his finances are always a snarl.Andyou, missy—”Herehe jabbed a finger atNoelle“Needto clean his bedroom and make his bed.Besure you do a good job and throw any bones you find in the special can here in the kitchen.”

He pointed to a huge barrel in the far corner, sealed with a rusty metal lid.

“I use ‘em to make soup,” he added, as though that was perfectly normal.

Then he stomped off, muttering about babysitting brats and how it wasn’t his job to look after them.

The three of them exchanged a long, uneasy look before climbing down from their chairs but there didn’t seem to be much they could do except follow orders.

“Okay,”Burnsaid.“I’mheaded for the shuttle bay.Imight get lucky and find the key in there somewhere—you two be ready to go ifIcome for you.”

“Got it,”Brightnodded.

“You andIneed to keep an eye out for anything we can use againstThune,” theLightTwinadded toNoelle.“AndI’dstill like to know what happened to our predecessors.Sokeep your eyes open for any clues.”

“You got it.”Shenodded, heart thudding.“Um…Iwonder whereThune’sbedroom is?”

“I’ll come with you to find it,”Brightoffered.

“I’m coming too,”Burngrowled.“Theshuttle can wait.”

They didn’t say it aloud, butNoelleknew the truth—they didn’t want her alone anywhere near the monstrousTrollox.

Fortunately,Thunewas nowhere to be found when they located his bedroom—a huge, dim space at the very back of the sprawling house.Theceilings were twice as high as any normal room and the bed large enough to sleep ten normal sized men.Theair was thick with the scent of old sweat and something metallic.Trashlittered the floor—the three-headedTrolloxwas a slob,Noellethought with disgust.

“I wonder where he is right now?”she murmured, afterBurnwent in and made sure the room and adjoining bathroom were empty.

“Maybe he’s already eatingFirstMeal,”Brightsaid quietly.

“Whatever he’s doing, if he comes in here while you’re working, you get out or hide,”Burngrowled.

“I will,”Noellewhispered.Shedidn’t like the idea of being alone with the troll-monster either.“Idon’t like splitting up like this,” she admitted.

“I know, sweetheart.ButBurnandIare attuned to you now,”Brightsaid.