Chapter 13 Drova
DROVA
The dark sunglasses were giving Drova a headache, but they were better than dealing with the construction workers' reactions to her eyes. She'd tried going without them for exactly five minutes before deciding that men tumbling down ladders in fear of her would upset Kian.
Now she stood near the training facility, observing the construction crews working while looking like a wannabe action movie star. Come to think of it, she could be an incredible stunt double. She would be unmatched.
Drova allowed herself to fantasize about that glamorous life for a moment, but then Kalugal arrived and spoiled it for her.
"You know you don't have to wear the glasses," he said.
Even on a humid tropical island, the immortal managed to look like he'd stepped out of a boardroom, his lightweight shirt somehow remaining wrinkle-free and dry despite the humidity.
"Tell that to the guy who nearly fell off the scaffolding when he got a look at my eyes.
" Drova adjusted the sunglasses, which kept sliding down her nose.
Human accessories weren't designed for Kra-ell facial structure, and she'd forgotten to pack the one pair that actually fit well.
These belonged to Syssi, who had graciously parted with them so Drova wouldn't scare the workforce away.
"They'll get used to you. We're going to thrall them all anyway and make them forget all the oddities they've seen."
"If any of the workmen fall to their deaths, it's on you." She took the sunglasses off and tucked them in one of the many pockets of her cargo pants.
"You looked good in them, though."
She rolled her eyes. "Decide. Do you want me to wear them or not?"
"It's up to you. If you want to make a fashion statement with your all-black outfit, then why not? I like the intimidating chic."
"Thank you," she said sarcastically. "I don't need to dress any particular way to be intimidating. I just am."
A worker carrying a load of electrical supplies walked past, did a double take at Drova's eyes, and promptly walked into a support beam. The sound of metal conduits clattering across the concrete was spectacular.
"See?" Drova gestured at the man now scrambling to collect his scattered supplies. "That's the third one today."
"Fifth," Phinas corrected, walking toward them with a tablet in hand. "Did you forget the two this morning?"
"That was Jade, not me."
Despite being a pureblooded Kra-ell like Drova, her mother looked a little less alien for some reason, but she still looked different enough for humans to do a double take.
"Right." Phinas nodded. "You had the glasses on. Where are they?"
"In my pocket. I need to return them to Syssi."
"See that you do." He patted her on the back. "I bet they cost a small fortune."
Did they?
Drova pulled the glasses out of her pocket and examined them to see if there was anything special about them. "They don't look expensive to me."
"Look at the logo." Phinas pointed with his stylus. "It's Gucci."
"What's Gucci?" Drova asked. "And why is it expensive?"
Kalugal chuckled. "You are definitely not like other teenage girls."
"Duh." She put the sunglasses back on her nose. "I have better things to do with my time than fill my head with nonsense about fashion."
She filled it with other kinds of nonsense, but that wasn't something she was about to share with Phinas or anyone else.
Phinas leaned over to whisper in her ear, "So, why did you put them back on?"
She shrugged. "Kalugal said they fit my intimidating chic. I will need it for the human recruits when they arrive."
"How are we doing with the exoskeletons?" Kalugal asked Phinas.
"Not great. They still need a lot of adjustments. When the first batch of recruits arrives, we will have them test the suits and see what needs to be done."
Another worker walked by and openly stared at Drova despite the sunglasses hiding her eyes.
She wished it really were her intimidating chic that had such an effect, but it was her height and overly thin frame.
She was used to it by now. At six feet two inches, she towered over most of the human workers on the island.
"I wonder what they think when they look at me," she murmured.
"Probably that you're suffering from some rare medical condition," Kalugal said. "Humans have a remarkable capacity for explaining away the impossible, and they are willing to go to great lengths to do that instead of admitting that things don't add up and that aliens might be walking among them."
"Drova! Drova!" Allegra ran ahead of Syssi. "Up!" she demanded.
"Hey, tiny tyrant." Drova caught her and spun her around. "Getting into trouble?" She had the girl on her hip.
"She's having a blast," Syssi said. "I'm having a hard time keeping up with her." She sighed. "I miss Okidu. I wish we had brought him along."
"I'm having some equipment delivered from the village," Kalugal said. "If you want, I can fly your butler over."
"I would have taken you up on that if we were staying longer, but we are flying back on Thursday."
"Right." He nodded. "The stuff will get here right as we are ready to leave." Kalugal checked his phone. "If you'll excuse me, I need to make a call to the mainland."
As the others left, Drova pulled out her phone and checked the time. It was just past two in the afternoon, which meant it was nighttime in California. Maybe eleven? Midnight? Time zones were just stupid.
After finding a shaded spot, she sat on the ground, leaned against a tree, and hit Arezoo's contact.
"Drova! I was just thinking about you."
"Telepathy?" Drova sat cross-legged on the ground. "Are you developing paranormal abilities?"
Arezoo laughed. "Not that I know of."
"How's engaged life?"
"Wonderful." Arezoo chuckled. "Not that anything has changed between Ruvon and me.
We are still the same, but now my mother feels entitled to boss Ruvon around.
She calls him anytime she needs something heavy moved or when she needs supplies delivered.
The poor guy didn't know what he was getting himself into. "
"Is he complaining?"
"Not yet. How's the island?"
"Hot. Humid. Full of construction workers who think I'm either a medical marvel or a failed science experiment."
Arezoo was quiet for a moment. "That must be tough. Perhaps going there wasn't the best idea. The village is safe and everyone knows you."
"That's the problem. I needed to get away, at least for a little while. Besides, I like being needed, but working with the Saviors or the Avengers was just too depressing for me. I needed a change."
Drova had thought she was tough and could handle it, but seeing the victims broke something inside of her that she doubted was fixable.
She was a pureblooded Kra-ell, her people were savage, and killing was in their blood, but human brutality was unrivaled.
The level of evil humans were capable of was shocking.
No self-respecting Kra-ell would ever target children, and violating anyone sexually was unheard of.
And to think that the immortals thought the Kra-ell mating customs were barbaric. They might be violent and rough, but never nonconsensual or disrespectful.
"Are they working you hard over there?" Arezoo asked.
Drova shook her head to dispel the depressing thoughts. "The recruits don't arrive for another week, so right now it's just watching people make preparations. Exciting stuff. And speaking of excitement, have you and Ruvon finally done the deed?"
The choking sound from the other end was deeply satisfying.
"Drova!"
"What? You've been dating for months, and it has been weeks since you got engaged. Surely by now you did more than kiss."
"We're taking our time."
Drova rolled her eyes. "You're killing me, but mostly you are killing Ruvon. He is desperately in love with you, you're in love with him, and you're 'taking your time'? What are you waiting for, a signed permission slip from the Fates? Or maybe the Mother of All Life?"
"It's not that simple."
"Arezoo, my dear dormant Arezoo. You need to have sex with an immortal to transition. You're engaged to an immortal. That's math even I can do."
There was a long pause. "I want to wait until we're married."
Drova nearly dropped the phone. "You're joking."
"I'm not. I know how it sounds—"
"It sounds insane. Are you afraid of getting pregnant? Bridget can give you contraceptives."
"I know. It's not that."
"Then what? Are you afraid it'll hurt? Immortal males are supposedly very focused on their partner's pleasure."
"What would you know about those kinds of pleasures? You are a virgin just like me."
That was regrettably true. "I've done my research."
"What kind of research?"
Drova looked around to make sure there was no one within earshot. "Steamy romance novels. You can learn a lot from reading those."
Arezoo chuckled. "You? Reading? And where did you even get them? I'm sure your mother doesn't read that kind of stuff."
"Of course not. Jade wouldn't be caught dead with one of those. I found them online. The beauty of e-books is that no one needs to know what you're reading on your phone."
"I can't believe that you are reading without being forced to, let alone steamy romance novels."
"They're educational, and I found out that while reading online, I can make the font bigger and turn the background dark.
Makes it much easier to read. It still takes me forever, but it's a hundred times better than reading paper books.
There is also the text-to-speech feature that allows me to listen to the story during my runs. "
"I'm impressed."
"Don't be. I skip all the boring parts of he loves me, he loves me not and go straight to the good stuff. But seriously, Arezoo, what's the real issue? Does it have anything to do with what that enhanced Doomer asshole did to you?"
There was a long pause. "Maybe."
"The fucker," Drova muttered. "What he did to you was about power and humiliation. What you have with Ruvon is love, tender and sweet. It's completely different."
"I know that logically. But the only intimacy I've ever experienced was brutal and degrading, and that's what my body remembers."
"You're fine when you guys are kissing, right?"
"It's not the same as getting naked with him."
"So, don't get naked. Stay clothed and in control. Make him lie there and not move unless you say so." Drova thought about some of the scenes she'd read. "There are lots of ways to be intimate without feeling vulnerable."
"Is that from your 'research?'"
"Mock me all you want, but those books have taught me things. Like how important communication is." She paused. "You should read some. I can send you a couple of mild ones to get you going."
"Romance novels from Drova. Now I've heard everything."
"Perhaps you can read them with Ruvon, or maybe it'll give you ideas for how to talk to him about all this."
"He knows what happened to me."
"But does he know you're afraid? Or is he just thinking you want to wait for traditional reasons?"
Arezoo was silent for a long moment. "Probably the latter, but maybe both. He told me that he would wait for as long as it takes."
"You need to talk to him. He can't help you feel safe if he doesn't know you feel unsafe."
"When did you become so wise about relationships?"
"I'm not." Drova snorted. "I've read like fifty of these books in the past two months. It's not exactly tailored for Kra-ell, but I have to admit that I like all that mushy lovey-dovey stuff that human women enjoy before they get to the orgasms."
Arezoo laughed. "Fine. I'll read one, and if I like it, I'll ask you for more."
"I know just the right one. It's about shifters who are possessive and protective but also respectful and adoring."
"Like the immortals?"
"Exactly. Ruvon seems like the type who'd channel his possessiveness and protectiveness into giving you foot rubs and bringing you chocolate."
"He does bring me chocolate almost every day despite my protests. And gifts. Not big things, he knows I wouldn't feel right about accepting expensive gifts, so he buys me thoughtful presents that are worth much more to me."
"See? He has the right instincts."
"He does, but enough about me and my love life. Tell me about the island. Is it beautiful?"
Drova looked around the tropical landscape, the dense green vegetation, the glimpses of ocean between the buildings.
"It's hot and humid, and there are bugs the size of my fist. But yeah, it's pretty.
Different from the village, but supposedly it's similar to what my mother remembers from Anumati.
Except for the sky, that is. She says the sky over there has a reddish hue and that the winds are relentless.
Anyway, everything here feels temporary.
Like we're just borrowing the space from the jungle, and the moment we let go for even an hour, the jungle will swallow everything back. "
"That sounds poetic."
"Blame the romance novels. They're rubbing off on me." Drova paused. "Don't you dare tell Ruvon who gave you the e-book or even the idea. Not him and not any of your sisters or cousins."
"Your secret is safe with me."