Chapter 33
Blair
“The tea’s delicious, Ophelia.” I place my cup on the delicate China saucer and lean back.
Annabelle and Marlee have gone off to the nursery Ophelia has in her apartment to play with the baby and visit with Kai.
Her granddaughter is a delight, all rosy cheeks and chubby legs.
She’s the spitting image of Kai. Having a girl first is apparently unheard of.
Most pods have podlets until they have a girl and then stop.
“Is it as good as that tea the Mason pod gave you? The one you were raving about last time?”
I’ve never been a good liar. Even white lies come out like I’m telling a lie. I’m sure my face is scrunched up right now. “It’s nice. I like the flavor.” I pick my cup up and take another sip of tea.
Ophelia laughs. “When Grayson Mason tells you what it is, you’ll have to give me the secret.”
“I will.” I smile over my cup. I should share some of what I have left with my friend, but I only have a little left. It’s selfish of me. “I have a little more. I’ll bring it next time I visit.”
“No, you keep it for yourself. I can wait. Now, I hear you’re going out with the Driftwoods tomorrow, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” I put my cup down and take another of the little cakes from the tiered cake stand. “These are delicious.”
“Don’t change the subject on me. I’m the queen of that. I can spot a subject change a league away.”
“Yes. I am.” I squirm in my seat.
“What are you wearing for the outing?”
“I . . . I hadn’t thought it through.”
“Oh, well, they’re Tinom. I mean, I’m supposed to hate the lot of them, but the Driftwoods?
They’re not horrible. The Tinom dome colors, though .
. . gray and dark gray are so boring. But with your skin tone?
” She leans across the sofa table and touches my bare arm.
“I think you’ll look nice in them.” Ophelia’s wearing a baby blue tunic and golden flowing pants.
There are shells embroidered on the top, and I could be wrong, but I think they’re done in real gold.
The beads that make the center of the flowers are a deep blue stone.
She looks fantastic, but she always does.
“I . . . Do I need to . . . wear gray?” It’s not my favorite.
“No, of course not, but if you want people to take you seriously, you should.”
“I don’t like people thinking Annabelle and her guys are keeping me away from other pods. I don’t want Annabelle, Castor, Nico, Eros, and Holter to suffer because of my dating life.”
“Oh . . . that’s exactly it. I’m so glad you understand.
Otto said I shouldn’t bring it up. But you are so clever.
You’re really figuring out how the city works.
The Mason pod is a good fit for you, but there’s no reason you shouldn’t have fun.
Even if you want to end up with them in the end.
Or not. You should still make sure they’re your favorite flavor of tea. ”
I reach for my cup, finding it empty. I hold it for a minute before putting it down on the table.
“Let me get you some more.” She touches her block. “Now, what are you doing on your outing with the Driftwoods?”
“We’re going window shopping.”
“You need a window?”
“You’re sure you want to do this, Mom?” Marlee sits up from reclining on Annabelle’s day chair in her mermaid sitting room.
“This feels silly.” I smooth down my tunic. My new tunic. It’s dark gray, almost black. “I didn’t wear Stele colors when I went over to the Masons’ apartment the other day. This is really a thing?”
“It is. And if you want people to think you’re really trying to fit in with some other pods, it’s a good signal,” Annabelle says.
“Tinom’s colors look like steel. But Stele’s colors are purple and gold?” Marlee holds her notebook to her chest.
“Yes, Tinom. Like Tin. Though I think they do most of their commerce in oil now.” Annabelle puts another pin in my hair to hold up the elaborate braids she’s done in my shoulder-length hair.
I’d always had long hair, but that first night after we escaped the farm, I chopped it off.
I haven’t let it get much longer than it is now.
“You look great, Aunt Blair. The Driftwoods will be knocked out.”
“Thanks. I don’t know that I want to be with them or any—”
Marlee cuts me off with a look and points at me in the mirror. “Do I need to remind you how you snuck back into your bedroom from mine when Zion was there?”
I glare at her behind me in the mirror.
“Or how much you’ve been smiling. That’s why I want you to be sure. Are you sure you want to go on this da—outing? Not with the Masons?”
I nod once. But . . . Marlee’s right. I do have a good time when I’m with the Masons, or at least most of them. Dancing with the guys in the kitchen two nights ago was a lot of fun.
“I’m having a good time. That doesn’t mean I need to commit to anyone.” I give Marlee a hug.
“Really? That’s fascinating.” It could be. It could really be fascinating, but I have no idea what Kade just said. My heart is too busy bouncing around inside my rib cage every time––
“Do you mind backing up, Mason? No one is going to attack Blair in a furniture store.” Kade Driftwood goes toe to toe with Sterling, and I can’t help wondering if Kade has a secret death wish.
This is the third time he’s challenged Sterling, and each time Sterling’s expression turns more and more .
. . well, grim. Yes, I know this is supposed to be me getting to know the guys in the Driftwood pod.
But I’m finding myself glancing at the tall brooding Mason male more than focusing on anything Kade, Hale, Torin, or Severn Driftwood are saying.
“Yes,” Sterling says.
Kade blinks. “Yes, you mind backing up, or yes, you think someone will attack Blair in the furniture store?”
Sterling takes a sideways step, and Kade grunts.
“Like I was saying, Blair, this is one of the best furniture stores in all the Veiled City. This is a lovely sofa, don’t you think?” He runs his hand down the back of a black and coral sofa. There are little bumps in the leather.
“What type of leather is that?” I lean over the sofa, touching the back pillow.
Sterling laughs.
“What?” Kade snaps around. “Bodyguards aren’t supposed to talk.”
“I’m an agent of the king, and it’s rotten shrimp shells, Little One.”
Kade runs his hand through his hair. There’s a blush to his handsome jaw that wasn’t there earlier. “This is one of the most exclusive stores in the entire city. I had to pay to get this shopping spot.”
Sterling bows his head to me and whispers, “It’s crushed crustacean shells composited back together. Rotten shrimp shells, a waste product.” He wanders away from the three Driftwood males that are here with me.
“I suppose it is a bit weird,” Severn says, dropping onto the sofa.
He’s a few years older than me. I think.
It’s hard to tell. They’re all buff and fit, with only a smattering of wrinkles on their rugged faces.
Severn’s hair is curly and the same shade as my golden doodle I used to have.
He runs his hand down the fabric. “Yeah, this is a no from me.”
I laugh, and from across the room I more feel Sterling growl than hear him.
“Why do you wear those?” Severn points to my glasses.
“I’m nearsighted.” I push my glasses up my nose.
Severn nods. But I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know what nearsighted means. “Can I try them on?”
“Uh, sure.” I’m about to sit next to Severn on the sofa, but the salesclerk scowls.
At first, he was thrilled to have us in his shop. But he has long since picked up on the I’m-not-with-them-and-we’re-not-furnishing-a-new-house vibe.
There’s a growl from the other side of the room.
I snap my head toward it and find Sterling also scowling at me.
It catches me off-guard; my brain is telling me to sit, but my knees don’t listen.
I do an awkward almost-squat, then swoop back up to standing.
I’m trying to hand my glasses to the quizzical Severn, but I end up stumbling in front of the sofa and landing on my butt.
My glasses sail across the room, skittering across something hard and then landing far out of my grasp with a clatter and a ting.
“Oh no.” I want to stand up more than anything, but that’s difficult to do when there’s a wall of muscle around you. Severn’s to the side, still on the sofa. Kade’s behind me, and in front of me is Sterling. How he got across the store so quickly, I haven’t a clue.
“Are you okay, Blair?” Kade asks from behind me.
I should answer, but I’m too busy looking at Sterling’s blurry face. I don’t have to see him clearly to know what he’s thinking—clumsy human. “I’m okay. Just lost my balance.”
Severn stands and reaches for my hand. It’s crowded with the front of this massive bumpy sofa facing the back of another humungous sofa. Sterling steps back while Severn helps me up. He pulls me up, and I end up standing between his legs. I’m waiting for my lusty heart to take off. But it doesn’t.
There’s nothing wrong with Severn Driftwood.
He’s handsome, but handsome in an aren’t-you-a-good-boy way.
I want to run my hands through his hair to see if it feels like my old dog’s.
I could definitely see myself being his friend.
And most certainly see fixing him up with one of my friends.
Now I’ve got a list of single women from my travels around the country running through my head.
Cindy from Brattleboro, Vermont? No. Ashley from Kennebunk, Maine?
Yes. But that just might be because she’s got three labradors.
I suppose it doesn’t matter. If they don’t have the same gene as Marlee, Annabelle, and me, neither of them would be wanted. “Thanks,” I say.
“Here,” Sterling growls at me. “Be more careful.” He takes my hands in his, pushing my glasses into my palm.
I might need to find a therapist, because his growling at me like an asshole has goosebumps racing up my arms. I fumble with my glasses, which are mercifully not broken, and put them on my face.
“Thank you.”
He hmphs. “It’s time to go.”
“We’re not done,” Kade says.
“You were done before you started,” Sterling replies. “Are you ready to go?” His gray eyes glare down at me.
“No,” I say. Though I really am. I was ready to go before I got here.
“Again, Mason, back off or I’ll have to talk to the king about your interference.”
I give an inward sigh. I need to try instead of just go through the motions. I need to see if there’s any spark. “Spark.”
“Spark?” Severn asks.
“Oh, right.” Did I say that out loud? “It’s nothing.”
Sterling’s eyes burn into the side of my head, the kind of stare that makes my head turn to his from the magnetic pull.
There’s a smirk on his lips. Which . . .
I don’t get it. I would have thought he’d want this date to go well.
He hasn’t told me he’s not interested in me. But he’s certainly shown some interest.
He cocks an eyebrow at me. Questioning—what? Should we leave? Is he the reason I’m feeling off around the Driftwood pod? Or is that me?
I push my glasses up my nose and square my shoulders. “I think you should wait outside the shop, Sterling.” I don’t have to have any loyalty to him. I haven’t promised him anything, and being the good girl has never gotten me anything but more trouble.
“Think?” He glares.
I give myself a kick in my confidence. “I want you to wait outside.” I cross my arms in front of my chest, over my dark gray tunic. One Ophelia had delivered especially for my date with the Driftwood pod.
I turn back to Hale and Severn, a polite smile on my face as Sterling steps toward the entrance. I don’t think they understood my slip. Though Sterling clearly understood the meaning of the word spark. “What’s the difference between a bodyguard and an agent of the king?”
Kade turns to me. “Nothing.”
Torin, though, shakes his head. “An agent of the king can kill with no consequences.”
My throat is suddenly very dry. “Oh . . . How about we get some tea?”