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“We are eating in Decapitation Central. Haven’t you noticed the murals?”
Lenore looked around the dining hall. It was a large, open space with tables in the center and flanked by food stalls, reminding her of a mall food court. Abstract figures decorated the ceiling, warriors among the stars wielding swords and…oh. She never really studied that ceiling.
“It’s art. That guy holding a head in one hand and a star in the other is symbolic.”
“There’s a plaque. It’s history.”
“I’m sure if I were going to be arrested and decapitated, it would have happened by now.” The royal guards would have dragged her out of her bed in the middle of the night.
“Ugh, you were almost interesting.” Lydia rolled her eyes again. Lenore didn’t have a little sister, or any sibling for that matter, but this was exactly how she pictured it. “You’re so boring.”
“I’m sorry I’m not being decapitated. How tedious for you,” Lenore said in a flat tone. As sarcastic as she sounded, the dark humor deeply amused her. And why not? They were two women stranded on the far side of the universe, light-years from home. If she couldn’t laugh, she’d burst into tears. “I take it you have big, non-boring plans. Going to finish school?”
“Maybe.” Lydia pushed the last bite of food around on her plate. “I’m taking time to figure it out. Maybe go to the capital, Farhaven, and check out the vibes.”
Lenore blinked. “That’s remarkably mature.”
“I’m not a kid, you know.”
She held up a hand in surrender. “I know. I’m impressed, that’s all.”
She tilted her head back to examine the mural on the ceiling. She’d lived on the station for a month, had dozens of meals at this very table, and never bothered to look up. That said things about her, not necessarily bad things.
When she was interested in a subject, she focused on that with an alarming intensity. Usually, it was work. That focus propelled her through school and her residency. It kept her going when her life fell apart, and when she was pulled through a portal and light-years away from home, it kept her from despair. People needed her. She helped. So what if she didn’t really have any hobbies or never took the time to notice public art?
Actually, she didn’t like what that said about her.
A generous helping of gold leaf decorated the mural, making the ebony black angel wings seem darker and the stars glow brighter. The eyes gleamed in the light, even the eyes in the heads no longer attached to bodies.
“It’s a bit over-the-top for a cafeteria,” Lenore said. Now that she thought about it, the entire station had more adornment than she would expect for a military base. Ornate scrollwork hung in every entryway and corner. What did soldiers need with fancy gold leaf murals or scrollwork? Maybe in the officer’s dining room for the top brass, but this was a common area. Except all the lavish details were high up, near the ceiling. No one noticed unless they looked up.
Or they were a bird.
Lenore could have slapped her face in embarrassment at how slowly she pieced all that together. The mural and the lavish details, the ornate scrollwork, weren’t for the people. It was for the karu. Just like the beams that crisscrossed the rooms weren’t for structural support.
“Later,” Lydia said, finishing her plate. “I’m going to hang with Lev.”
“Lev? Is that your gentleman friend from the party?”
“Don’t lecture me. He’s hot. And nice,” she added, almost as an afterthought. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back before curfew, Mom.”
Lenore put her hand over her heart, wounded. “Ow. My sense of youth and immortality…you monster.”
Lydia’s laughter drifted above the crowd as she walked away.
Lenore pushed around the remains of her breakfast, trying to muster the enthusiasm to finish but failing. Lydia’s words killed her appetite.
She had a point. She had such a good point. Lenore failed to pay attention to anything that wasn’t a medical diagnosis. She never bothered to look up and notice the damn place she had been living in for a month. A month! She’d been to palaces and whole-ass planets. What other marvels had she failed to notice? Even more mortifying was that she didn’t remember Joy or Ha-joon. Bad enough but downright humiliating when there were fewer than ninety humans in this part of the galaxy. She had no reason to forget their names.
Lenore fiddled with the packet of sweetener and poured herself another coffee. She felt like such an asshole. Clearly, more coffee would stop her from wallowing in guilt.
Baris claimed to love her? What a joke. He knew nothing about her. If he knew how she really was, how she could be selfish and rude, he’d turn tail and run, head for the hills, or whatever space-age-appropriate metaphor. Her brain wasn’t cooperating, too busy with all the wallowing. And yeah, let’s add self-pity to all the guilt. What a fantastic duo.
Lenore drained her now lukewarm coffee. She was so fucked.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
LENORE
