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“Della is in the kitchen.”
She frowns, lowering her line of vision to the gun again, before locking on my eyes. “Where’s Silvera?”
“She’s outside, roaming the forest. Probably hunting.”
Willow nods, and after giving me one more concerned onceover, she turns from the door and walks away. I sit back, blowing out a breath and closing my eyes. When I start to get up from my chair, my transmitter illuminates on the desk.
“Council. Council.” The transmitter repeats the name of the people trying to contact me.
Shit.I knew this would come. I just didn’t think it’d be so soon.
Fifty-One
WILLOW
Della servesme eggs over easy and two strips of a yellow fruit that tastes like apples, and I gobble it down before sheepishly asking for seconds.
As she prepares another plate for me, Juniper enters the kitchen, wearing a black jumpsuit and chunky boots. Her hair has been washed and appears fresh and curly. She looks much better than she did when they had her in the ring, though her left eye is swollen and bruised, and her upper lip is stitched. She has a steel cup in her hand, her other wrapped in bandages, but blood is seeping through them. They’ll need to be changed soon.
“It’s quite early to be drinking, Juniper,” Della says, cutting her eyes at her as she cracks an egg.
“It helps me think.” Juniper sits on the stool next to mine. “Can I have breakfast too?”
Della nods, fetching more eggs from the fridge. With a sigh, Juniper lifts the rim of the cup to her lips and takes a long sip.
“What is it that you’re always drinking?” I ask.
“Blue tonic,” she answers. “They call it that because it eases a bad case of the blues.” She winks, and I can’t help smiling. I study Della’s back as she works on the eggs, then side-eye Juniper again.
“Listen…I know about…the teacher thing.” I glance at Juniper, who freezes.
“Who told you?”
“It sorta came up in conversation when we were on the way to get you and Killian from those fighting caves.”
“Hmm.” She sips, avoiding my eyes.
“I’m sorry that happened to you, Juniper.”
“Don’t be,” she says, waving a dismissive hand. “It’s over. Happened so many years ago.”
I clamp my mouth shut and plant my elbows on the counter. Through my periphery, I see her take a bigger gulp of the drink, and I sigh for her.
I can’t imagine what it must be like being a woman living in this world—given no respect whatsoever. It’s a mid-century approach, this place. The women are only looked at for sex and meals. Fortunately, Caz and his crew don’t seem to be that way entirely, but encountering men who are is infuriating.
Della brings our food, setting it on the counter in front of us, then tells us she has to go to the garden for more fruit. She wipes her hands on her apron before leaving, and when it’s just Juniper and me, I smile at her. She returns a half-smile, then sets her cup down.
“Thought she’d never leave,” she says, rolling her eyes.
I huff a laugh, cutting into one of my eggs. “Do you not like Della?”
“Oh, IloveDella. I fancy her very much, actually. She can just be a bit…overbearing.”
“She seems very motherly.”
“Hmm. Yeah. She was a mother once. A good one, I hear.”
I stop chewing. “What do you meanwas?”
