After they’d returned their rifles and extra equipment, Kalyna went to the library to finish an essay on the last civil war in Faery and the continuing tensions between the seelie and unseelie courts, then she joined her friends in the cafeteria. Zhak’s squad hadn’t yet returned from their exercises in Tartarus, and Alad looked even more subdued than he had the previous day. Isemay tried her best to cheer him up, but he wasn’t in the mood.
“How about this,” Marois offered. “We finally have the chopper operational and so I’m finally due some downtime. You’re due off duty in a few hours, and the CROWs only have one lecture this afternoon. How about we meet up at The Bunker and have ourselves a few drinks?”
“CROWs?” Kallie asked, confused.
“Can’t read or write,” Alad answered with a grin. “Recruits, in other words. That’s you kids.”
“We were all CROWs once upon a time.” Isemay winked. “So, what do you think? Drinks at The Bunker? Keep Alad’s mind of Zhak and Kallie’s mind off whatever Staff Sergeant Tall-and-Fangsome is doing.”
“I wish you wouldn’t call him that,” Kalyna rebuked, then rolled her eyes at her friend’s grin. “But I agree with the plan.”
The Bunker was the compound's bar. Because they all lived an worked on site, they’d been granted permission to have their own watering hole. It never got as raucous as Red Night and no one ever rolled out of it’s doors too inebriated, but it allowed them to get a few drinks and relax when their shifts came to an end.
“We still have an essay on the creation of magical amulets to finish,” Brandr interjected, shaking his head as he looked to Alauda. “You promised we’d get it done tonight.”
“Pfft,” the willowy dryad responded, unconcerned. “Tomorrow is another day.”
“You promised, Princess,” the duergar chided, looking irritated.
Everyone knew that if he didn’t keep Alauda on track, she’d miss deadlines. At the same time, Kalyna suspected she pushed her luck purely to get a reaction from Brandr. Perhaps if they just admitted they liked each other in a romantic sense, they might feel less inclined to drive each other to distraction, and they might save everyone else some frustration too. Unfortunately, Alauda wouldn’t take that step.
“Come on. It’s for Alad’s mental health!” the dryad insisted.
Alad at least chuckled at that. “Hey, don’t bring me into your arguments.”
“Fine. It’s for Kallie’s mental health,” Alauda said instead.
Brandr sighed, perhaps knowing he wouldn’t win against the dryad, or perhaps willing to give her whatever she wanted no matter what he thought was best. “Fine. Alright. The Bunker it is.”
That’s why, once their History of Off-World Conflict lecture finished, they all returned to their rooms to change out of their uniforms. Kalyna pulled on ripped jeans and a tank top that had a series of slashes down the back, the strands of which had been plaited together so a braid ran down her spine. More slashes crossed her waist and cleavage, cutting through the winged skull design on the front of the shirt, and the whole ensemble had a slightly punk feel that she quite liked. It also showed enough skin to imply confidence, sexuality; all the things she still felt she needed to reclaim.
Once she pulled on a pair of biker boots, she jotted a note for Dunstan and left it on the bedside table, just in case he made it back before she did, then she headed back out to reconvene with her friends outside The Bunker, where Isemay looked her over in approval.
YOU ARE READING
Where Lost Things Dwell: Night Creatures Book Two
ParanormalAfter five years hunting down the vampires who had killed her family, living alone, outside society, Kalyna had finally found a home. She had signed up as a trainee with the Occult Task Force, a cross-species military branch where supernaturals and...
