Page 46 of Bound
Chapter 17
Amoret
I stand in silence as Gage fades around the side of the manor, smoke billowing in his wake.
Nisha sighs. “Well, he’s pissy.” I stare at her. She rolls her eyes. “I’d say excuse my language, but pissy describes Gage in a nutshell.”
“So,” I nibble at my lip, “he’s always like this?”
She cocks her head. “More often than not, yeah. Gage is … He’s a good guy. Great warrior. Strong. Smart as a whip. But he can be touchy unless he’s smoking.”
Smoking?
I peer past her in the direction Gage went.
Was that what he was doing?
“Look, why don’t I take you to find a room?” Nisha asks, redirecting my focus. “It’s been a long day and you smell like smoke.”
My face heats. “Thank you.”
Her nod is mild. I follow her into the glass front doors. The foyer is sprawling pale marble and dark, gleaming wood. I wait for the press of technology like at the human hotel.
Though a handful of dancing televisions are visible yards away, there is no hum. No buzz.
“I don’t understand,” I murmur, drawing up short just inside the doors. “Where is all the technology?”
Nisha glances over her shoulder. “Markus is weird about tech,” she admits. “They have Wi-Fi, lights, and phones here, but everything is solar powered. The main colony house uses lamps and torches where possible. LEDs to conserve on electricity when they require something brighter. Most of the power goes into the security measures for the colony house, and all of that is buried behind thick, thick stone. But, when you have guys like Gage, Ruin, T, and the others, it still seems kind of moot to have security alarms.”
My mind casts to every towering male I met since arriving into town.
She has a good point.
“It’s easier here. At the hotel it was like being in a buzzing prison,” I say. “Here … Here I can breathe.”
Her lips curve. “Being surrounded by trees helps. Town is a nexus of electricity. The colony house is the only thing for miles.”
I noticed that on the way in. It is reclusive. Far from anyone and everything. And the quiet is welcome.
Nisha leads me past a recurved desk with a cleaning elderly man, up a short set of stairs, and to a long hall. I trail her down the opulent expanse, taking in the gilded gold trim mixed with the rich hue of the wood paneling and numerous oil paintings.
She stops in front of a honey-oak door and opens the panel on a stately room done in emeralds and golds.
I slip past her, taking in the large four poster and the gossamer gold curtains around it. An open doorway offers the view of a tidy bathing room, and two slim French doors wait beyond the bed. And it is bigger than my chambers at the white tower.
“I’m going to go check on Lilah,” Nisha says from behind me. I turn to find her leaning against the doorjamb. “If you need anything, the white phone will get you the desk. Just press star-nine.”
My nod is slow. Unsure.
Her expression sobers. “You’re safe here, Amoret. But if you get lonely or anything, head back down this hall and knock on the colony house doors. They will send someone to come get me.”
Her words make my eyes burn, but I drop into a grateful curtsy. “Thank you.”
She chuckles. “I don’t think I will ever get used to that.” Shaking her head, she pushes from the doorjamb and reaches for the knob. “Night, Amoret.”
My lips tug. “Good night, Nisha.”
Smiling back, she walks out, closing the door behind her.
