AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lerun raised his mug. "I’ll drink to that."
I held out my cup. "For Racopia."
He touched his mug to mine. "For Racopia."
***
HARPER
Iwoke up a coupletimes during the night to find the bathroom or get a glass of water. Other than that, the cavern was the best sleep I had in a long time. It made me think of those unique underground vacation experiences people paid thousands of dollars for on my home planet.
The bed slept surprisingly well. I stretched out on the big mattress and gave in to the irresistible pull of sleep. I opened my eyes when I heard Varus’s voice directly behind the front door.
I yawned and stretched. Time to see what the day’s plans were. I meandered to the bathroom to wash and dress in my uniform. I still heard Varus talking outside the door when I went into the living area. My footsteps paused once I saw fabric draped over the chair near the table. I lifted the fabric and saw it was clothing, two sets of a shirt and pants. I turned them over to discover the openings in the back for wings were sewn closed. Someone was nice enough to alter them for me. Namina, maybe.
I removed my uniform and changed into the new clothes. It felt strange being out of my uniform and in these civilian clothes. Over the past five years, since I enlisted at twenty-one, I'd either been in camo fatigues on Earth, a labcoat, or the standard issue Wanderstar Fleet uniform of pants, tunic, undershirt, and jacket. I stretched my arms as though my fingers could reach the fifteen-foot ceiling of the cavern space. I could get used to these soft clothes and free range of movement.
A sound at the door interrupted my joy at being in Racopian civvies. Varus stepped inside.
"Is it not custom to knock?" My question was part-genuine, part-sarcasm. "I was getting dressed a moment ago."
"I need to work on my timing." He closed the door again to the world and gave me a flirty grin, not the least bit remorseful for barging in. He also made no attempt to hide it when he checked me out, his view sailing from my head to my feet. "I like you in those clothes."
"They’re comfortable."
"Good, but that’s not why I like them."
I imagined it had to do with the broad neckline of the top, designed for the wider shoulders and backs of winged Javorians. On me, it was giving sassy off-the-shoulder vibes. I adjusted the top to where it covered me up in the front but draped down in the back. "Do you have a key to get in?"
"The doors all have codes on the panels. This was my living space, or was, years ago when I grew up here."
"This was your family’s house?" I panned my gaze as though exploring it again. Though spacious, it didn’t seem like it was big enough for an entire family with impressive wingspans.
"Not family, just the children who survived the volcanic eruption further south. We were taken here to live until we were old enough to make a living in one of the cities or join the soldier’s ranks."
"I’m sorry." I regretted my entire attitude at this point. "I didn’t know you were orphaned."
He didn’t look offended. "You don’t have to apologize. It was over twenty years ago. I was ten. Those of us who survived consider each other family. Lerun was one of the children who made it."
"He’s like a brother to you, isn’t he?"
He nodded. "I’m grateful this place serves as a refuge for us again."
I studied the door. "I heard you talking to someone out there."
"New recruits. Lerun and I located them nearby." He started to sit at the table.
"New recruits already? You got an early start this morning."
He paused from taking a seat. "It's not morning. It’s two in the afternoon."
"Seriously?" I looked to my com link on my wrist for the time and remembered everything on it was scrambled. "I couldn’t have been out half of the day."
"You were asleep for thirty-six hours."
"What?"
He didn’t share in my surprise. "It happens to most people who visit the planet since we’re the farthest away in the galaxy."
