Page 10 of Breaking the Bloodstone Curse
“I…I don’t know. I don’t think we should,” she said, though she wished more than ever for his arms around her. Why did she feel so drawn to the big Kindred half-breed? She couldn’t say.
“I understand.” He nodded and took a step back. “Just know that the offer is there. If you ever want a hug, I’m more than willing to give you one.”
“Thank you.” Serenai sniffed and swiped at her eyes, which were still stinging. “Sorry, I don’t normally cry like this.”
“You just lost your mother—you have every right to cry,” Brax said seriously.
“Oh…thank you.” Serenai couldn’t help thinking that his attitude was a big change from Aunt Nibblegrim’s. Whenever she got sad around her Aunt, she would make a sour face and snap at her to “stop sniveling!”
It was nice to be with someone who validated her grief. Because even though she hadn’t known her mother very well, Serenai still felt the pain of loss. She had assumed that one day she and her mother would be friends—that they would spend time together and laugh and talk and get to know each other. That possibility was gone now and she couldn’t help feeling sad for what might have been.
Still, it was time to get hold of herself.
“Maybe…maybe we should get changed for dinner and eat,” she suggested to her new bodyslave. “Are you hungry? I can get Robbi, the robo-butler to make us some food.”
“I would be pleased to eat anything you serve me, Mistress,” Brax said formally and she felt bad again that she had rejected his hug. But she couldn’t get her Aunt’s dire warnings out of her head. She needed more time to get to know her new bodyslave before she could trust him so close, she told herself.
“All right.” Serenai raised her voice and called, “Robbi? Where are you?”
“Here, Mistress… Coming, I’m coming!” called a high, mechanical voice.
A moment later an ancient droid came waddling into the room. Robbi was an old unit—one the droid factory hadn’t made for years, according to Aunt Nibblegrim. He had a fat, round body and short little legs which gave him a comical appearance. But though he was old, he was still functional and he seemed to know a lot about Yonnie Six, which made him a good resource for Serenai.
“Robbie, can you make dinner for two people?” she asked him. “Or, er…” She looked up at Brax. “Maybe make dinner for three people,” she corrected herself—she was certain the big half-breed warrior would eat at least twice as much as she did.
“Very good, Mistress,” Robbi said in his high, mechanical voice. “And what would you like to eat?”
Serenai raised her eyebrows at her new bodyslave.
“What sounds good to you? Robbi can make almost anything. Do you like meat or vegetables or…?”
Brax smiled at her, his pale eyes crinkling at the corners in a way that somehow made him even more attractive.
“You know it’s not usual for a Yonnite Mistress to let her bodyslave choose what they’re having for Last Meal, right?”
“Oh, I don’t care about that right now!” Serenai said impatiently. “I’m not going to treat you like dirt just because I bought you. And I only bought you because I’m in fear for my life—not because I wanted a big, strong bodyslave for status, like the other Mistresses,” she added.
Brax became immediately serious.
“In fear for your life? Who’s threatening you?”
His pale eyes were suddenly scary and his big hands curled into fists. For a moment, he had that single-minded death-glare she’d seen on his face when he was fighting in the arena of the Blood Circuit! Just seeing it made Serenai shiver, even though she recognized that it wasn’t directed against her.
“It’s this thing…this monster,” she began, hoping she wouldn’t sound crazy. “It has these red, glowing eyes. I’ve seen it in my bedroom three times in the past three nights. The first two times I thought it was a nightmare but last night I was sure I was awake. And it keeps getting closer and closer to me!”
She could feel her panic rising as she spoke. After all, it was getting dark outside the curving windows of the living area and soon night would be on them. What if the thing came back to hurt her? What if?—
“Easy, little one,” Brax murmured. He put out a hand as though he wanted to soothe her but didn’t quite dare to touch her.
“I’m sorry. I’ve just been scared to death.” Serenai shook her head. “At least it disappears when I turn on the lights. But I can’t sleep with the lights on forever, you know?”
“Of course not.” Brax nodded. He turned to the robo-butler, who had been standing quietly all this time, waiting to be addressed again. “Robbi, make us a light supper,” he directed. “We’ll want to be alert tonight.”
“As you wish.” Robbi made a bobbing little nod and then waddled off to the food prep area of the house.
It seemed they were going to be on alert tonight—which made Serenai feel a little bit better about the situation. She just hoped her new bodyguard could see the thing with the red eyes—otherwise she was going to have to worry that she might be going crazy.
7
