Children Of The Sky (The Scripts Of Neptune, Book 2)

Chapter 28

There was a highly uncomfortable period of adjustment when Craventi decided to let Dria live with he and Chad. Dria didn't share a bedroom with them, at least--she slept in the kitchen on a patterned bedroll she'd brought--but having her around the little cottage was more nerve-wracking than anything else. She was always up before he was, silent as a ghost as she perched on the counter with her knees to her chest, looking out the open window. She didn't often sleep in much; a cloth fastened around her chest and a pair of loose, short trousers were her usual nightclothes. Her habits didn't seem to bother Craventi, and when Chad had asked him, he'd reminded Chad with not a little amusement that he'd been married to a woman from her culture for well over ten years.

The blessed day finally came when they were allowed back at the university. The first day passed in an exhaustive tour of the place and introductions to professors whose names left Chad's head as soon as they entered, odd looks from classmates, and the looming dread of what'd happen when they discovered what he was and with whom he boarded.

Dinner was a casual affair. Craventi was still out, and Dria--who was quieter than he'd anticipated--sat with Chad in the silent kitchen at a round table with crooked legs, eating by the light of a lamp between them.

"How was your day?" she asked suddenly, startling him so badly he almost dropped his spoon.

Looking up at her, her face colored gold in the glow of the lamp and haloed in hair made frizzy by humidity, Chad shrugged and took a bite of his fish. "Not bad. Sort of boring."

Dria nodded and lowered her gaze to her own food, picking at it. He'd seen her do that a lot at dinner. It probably wasn't helping with the weight she'd lost since arriving.

"How was yours?" he asked hesitantly, not knowing what else to say.

"Hell."

Chad blinked, and, when she neither continued nor looked up, took another bite of fish in silence. "Why?" he asked after a moment, if only to break the awkward silence.

"Would you care if I told you?" Dria asked dryly, dropping her fork with a clatter and sitting back. "You've barely said three words to me since the first day I got here."

"What did you expect?" Chad shot back, feeling his cheeks get hot. "You acted like you didn't know me, stalked me, and somehow convinced Craventi to let you stay here, despite knowing how uncomfortable I am with that. Forgive me for not wanting to be chummy."

Dria's eyes narrowed to slits as she stared at him. He stared right back with as little expression as he could muster, really just wanting to drop all this, finish his dinner, and go back to the passive silence they'd maintained before.

"I'm sorry."

The apology caught him off guard. He tried not to show it. "Pardon?"

First leaning an elbow on the table and rubbing her face wearily with one hand, Dria set her chin in her palm and glanced out the window. "For not showing I'd recognized you. I'm sorry. I was afraid they'd tear you up if they knew you and I were acquainted."

It was Chad's turn to squint suspiciously, weighing her words as she turned her gaze back from the window. She didn't seem at all insincere--just wearied. The tiredness in her eyes that he hadn't seen before made him pause and consider what she might've been dealing with herself.

"Do you want to..." He felt his cheeks go red again as he stumbled over his words, feeling foolish. "You know...make a truce?" Leaning back in his chair, he put his hands to his face. "Gods, that's a terrible way of phrasing it. I'm sorry."

Dria snickered a little at him, looking down and poking at her food again. "I think clearing this up'll do for now."

"Right. Yeah." Wolfing down the rest of his dinner, Chad washed his plate and went to hide in his own space for the rest of the night. And he found, when he blew out the candle at Craventi's behest, that though it wasn't gone entirely, an odd sort of load had lightened in his chest.