Page 31 of Hell On Earth
She had my phone in her hand before I realized she’d even moved.
“Wait. I don’t think we should—”
My phone vibrated, and she turned it to show me.
Me (Zotera): Ashlyn loved the food and would like you to bring your mate over for breakfast.
Eliana: We’ll be there in thirty.
Then my gaze lifted to the previous messages. Zotera hadn’t just been calling Eliana. She’d been texting too. A lot.
And Eliana was still willing to come over in thirty minutes? She was either a saint or so sleep-deprived that she didn’t know what she was agreeing to.
“I better go get ready,” I said instead of commenting. “Can I have my phone back?”
“Of course.”
She handed it over, and I hurried to my room, waiting until the door was closed to send another text.
Me: I’ll talk to her about late calls.
Eliana: No, you won’t. She was so excited to do nice things for you, and I was glad to help. Can’t wait to see it all.
Shaking my head, I deleted both messages. Eliana was too nice for her own good sometimes.
It wasn’t until I turned to go to my closet that I realized it wasn’t there anymore. I went to the intercom.
“Do I still have clothes?” I asked.
“Oh. Sorry. I’ll be right there to fix that.”
Knowing I didn’t have a lot of time, I closed myself in the bathroom and hoped my clothes would be there by the time I was done showering. Washing in my new shower was bliss, especially since Zotera had left the modern shampoo and conditioner. It was hard to hurry, and I had to force myself to turn off the water after I finished rinsing.
A scream ripped from me when I turned around for a towel and saw Zotera just standing there, staring at me. The hungry glint in her eyes evaporated in her shock. She quickly fell to her knees and bent forward until her forehead touched the floor.
“Forgive me, Ashlyn. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s okay,” I said, placing a shaky hand over my heart. “You were so quiet I didn’t know you were there. It’s no big deal.”
When she didn’t move, I wrapped a towel around myself and went to coax her to her feet.
“Seriously, I’m not mad,” I said when she continued to look dejectedly at the floor.
“But I saw the fear in your eyes. Fear of me.”
I rubbed her arm. “It was irrational fear and doesn’t count. I was thinking of how nice the shower was and wishing it could be longer, not that there might be anyone else in the room with me. I was startled. That’s all.”
She nodded.
“Please don’t feel bad,” I said. “If you feel bad, then I’ll feel bad.”
She sighed and finally met my gaze. “I will try not to feel bad.”
I gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. “Did you make me a closet full of clothes?”
She had. The closet was like another room entirely and had so many clothing options that I didn’t know where to look.
“Can you point me to jeans and a t-shirt?” I asked as I ran my fingers over a Grecian-style dress similar to what I’d worn in Hell.
