Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 272(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 272(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
I bet he gives good hugs, though, she thought longingly. He’s so big I bet I’d feel completely surrounded if he hugged me.
Still, though, she stood her ground, keeping distance between them.
Brax stayed where he was as well.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, his deep voice soft and gentle. “It’s difficult to lose your mother—that’s a great loss.”
“I hardly knew her,” Serenai shook her head. “She left me in the Convent as soon as I was born and never visited me once.”
“What? Why the fuck would she do that?” Brax demanded, his brows drawing low on his forehead. “My own mother died when I was just sixteen cycles old, but up until then I saw her every day. How could your mother just abandon you like that, little one?”
“Oh, she still kept contact with me,” Serenai said quickly. “I mean, we had vid-chat conference calls twice a year. So it’s not like we were complete strangers.” She sighed. “I think she was planning to bring me here and train me to take her place, but she was always too busy to do it. And of course, she didn’t expect to die so young—or so suddenly.”
“What did she die of—if you don’t mind me asking?” Brax asked.
Serenai shook her head.
“I don’t know—no one does. She was found dead in her office by my Aunt. There were no wounds and no signs of poison—just her dead body. And then Aunt Nibblegrim had her cremated right away, because she said it was disrespectful to wait. So I never did get to see her in person…not even after she died.”
Grief overwhelmed her then and she felt salty tears stinging her eyes.
“I…I used to dream of the day when we’d finally meet in person,” she whispered. “I wondered what it would be like to hug her, to hold her…” She shook her head. “I never got that—never got to hold her. Not even once.”
“Oh, little one…” Brax came over to her, crossing the vast expanse of the living area in a few long strides. He looked down at her, his pale eyes filled with sympathy. “I want to hold you,” he rumbled. “I want to comfort you, little Mistress. But only if you want me to.”
Serenai looked up at him uncertainly and swiped tears from her eyes.
“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.