Page 93 of Dark Rover's Luck

Aliya glanced at the tables. "Looks like we have a few customers who might need refills. Want to try taking orders tableside?"

Arezoo didn't want to get so close to the customers. The register was one thing—the counter served as a barrier—but walking among the tables meant direct interaction with the village's intimidatingly beautiful immortals.

"They don't bite," Aliya said with a crooked smile. "Well, not unless they are invited to do so."

Arezoo swallowed. Aliya's words evoked images that were as terrifying as they were arousing. She'd overheard Aunt Kyra talking with her mother and the other aunts, giggling about how wonderful sex with immortal males was. They hadn't known she was in the living room while they'd acted like a bunch of teenage girls, and she'd pretended she hadn't heard anything, but that conversation was etched in her mind.

"That wasn't helpful," Wonder chided, then turned to Arezoo. "You'll be fine. Just be polite and ask if they need anything. If they have questions you can't answer, say you'll check with me."

Arezoo nodded, tucking a small notepad and pen in her apron pocket.

The first table she approached was safe, with two females who seemed nice. They smiled when they saw her, asking for refills of their teas and ordering two more croissants with a warmth that eased her nervousness.

Table by table, Arezoo made her way around the café. Most patrons were friendly, some merely polite, but none were rude, and she slowly relaxed, growing more confident with each interaction.

Until she reached the back, where a man sat alone at a small table in the shade of a large canopy. A laptop was open before him, but his attention wasn't on the screen. Instead, his gaze was fixed on her with an intensity that made her skin prickle.

He wasn't conventionally handsome like many of the immortal males she'd seen around the village and the café. He was slightly built, with narrow shoulders and a lean face.

Not ugly, but not striking either.

There was something about his stare, though, that made her uncomfortable.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked, steadying her voice.

He continued staring for a moment before answering. "Black coffee, please. No sugar."

His voice was softer than she'd expected, and a little hesitant, which somehow made the intensity of his gaze all the more unnerving.

"Right away, sir," she managed, jotting down the order even though it was simple enough to remember.

As she turned to leave, she felt his eyes follow her, a physical sensation like fingertips trailing down her spine. She quickened her pace, returning to the safety of the counter.

"Everything okay?" Aliya asked.

"Yes," Arezoo said automatically, then reconsidered. "Actually, could you handle table 13 in the corner? The guy sitting there is making me uncomfortable."

Aliya glanced over. "Ruvon? He's harmless. Just a bit socially awkward, especially around females."

"Do you know him?" Arezoo asked.

"Everyone knows everyone here," Aliya reminded her. "It's not a big village. Ruvon is Kalugal's tech security specialist. He's actually quite nice once you get to know him. Sometimes he just stares like that into the distance, probably thinking deeply about something. He doesn't mean anything by it—he just isn't good with social interactions."

Arezoo barely heard anything after Aliya had brought up Kalugal. The name had come up several times since her arrival in the village—the former Doomer commander who'd defected with his men. Men who'd once been part of the same Brotherhood as the evil people who had abducted her and her sisters and cousin and who had killed Uncle Javad.

"That makes him even creepier," she murmured. "I have a very good reason to fear Doomers."

"He's a former Doomer," Aliya said. "Like all of Kalugal's people. They've been part of this community for a while now, and they are sworn to defend it along with the immortals just like all the Kra-ell are sworn to do. Besides, Ruvon is completely harmless. He was probably abused when he was a Doomer, and I wouldn't be surprised if that was why Kalugal took him under his wing. A scrawny guy like him would have gotten beaten up mercilessly in their training camp."

Now, Arezoo felt sorry for the man and ashamed for feeling such resentment toward someone who had most likely been a victim of those monsters as well.

"Black coffee for table 13," Wonder said, sliding a mug across the counter.

"I'll take it to him," Aliya offered.

Arezoo shook her head. "No, I'll—" she began, then stopped as an involuntary shiver ran through her.

Aliya couldn't be sure of any of the things she'd said. She'd been making assumptions based on the guy's social awkwardness and slight build. That didn't mean that he was harmless. He could be just as much of a monster as the fake doctor who had done unspeakable things to her aunt and to Fenella, and to a lesser extent to her and her sisters and cousin.

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