Page 30 of Amaros
Chapter Sixteen
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AMAROS COULD HEAR THEgirls talking, but they were speaking too quietly for him to overhear their conversation.Hoping they weren’t plotting any pranks against him, he performed a thorough search of the south wing.It was closest to the cliff and worried him the most.
“It looks sound,” he murmured as he checked the perimeter first.There were cracks in some of the walls, but they could be repaired easily enough.“We’ll have to dig out the trees that have grown inside,” he said.That would be a big job, but his men would be up to the task.
The foundation needed to be repaired in some areas.Made of ancient stone, there were a lot of gaps.He made a mental note to find concreting supplies.They needed to make the structures as solid as possible.Windows and doors would also need to be added.It would no doubt snow copiously in winter, so they would have to move fast.
“We can start on the main wing first,” he figured, stopping to gaze through a window of the south wing.It overlooked the cliff and gave him an amazing view of the nearby ranges.“This will be our room,” he decided, then stiffened when he realized what he’d just said.His subconscious was working against him.It was already planning to bond with Zoe and turn this spacious room into their private bedroom.It even had a fireplace.All of the rooms on the north side and south side of the outer wings had them.They were back-to-back, so two rooms shared a chimney.They had stone walls between them so each room had privacy.
“You’ve lost your damn mind,” Amaros muttered to himself, trying to shake off the growing compulsion to become bonded to Zoe.The cambion became more appealing with each day that passed.Soon, it would be impossible to ignore his need to claim her as his own.
For now, he had plenty of work to keep himself occupied.Standing there, gazing out through the window wasn’t going to help.Amaros continued his examination of his new base, amazed by its size.There were more rooms than he’d expected.It stretched back further into the trees than he’d realized.There would be plenty of room for all of his men and the cambions who might choose to bond with them.The only thing missing was a garage for the vehicles they would no doubt acquire.
With thoughts of building something to house the truck in tucked inside his mind, the knight headed back to the main wing.The girls passed him and smiled in greeting.He was glad to see they were in a good mood.He nodded and resumed mentally mapping the place.
“I love this view,” he heard Zoe exclaim a couple of minutes later.From her direction, he was pretty sure she was in the same room he’d mentally claimed for them both.
“You should stake your claim on it,” Grace suggested.
“I’ll grab a sleeping bag and put all my stuff in here,” Zoe agreed.
“Do you mind if I stay in here with you?”the teen asked.
Amaros suppressed a groan of frustration.How was he supposed to seduce Zoe if she was never alone?He scowled at his mind for betraying him again.
“Sure,” Zoe replied.“We’ll both feel safer staying together until we get some doors and windows in place.”
“At least this wing has an intact roof,” Grace said.
Amaros figured he and his men would be making a lot of trips to the nearby towns.They would have to secure a supply of gasoline for their vehicles.That meant they would need to build another structure to keep their stocks of fuel in.It would be too dangerous to store it in the main buildings, or in the garage.
When he was done with his examination, Amaros had figured out where everything would go.One of the bigger rooms in the main wing would become the kitchen.It had a huge fireplace and crude stone counters.Bathrooms needed to be added.It would take a lot of work to make them operational, since the structure lacked plumbing.
“What do you think, Amaros?”Zoe asked when the females joined him at the truck to grab their gear.“Can we turn this wreck into a home?”
“I’m sure we can make it habitable,” he confirmed.“We’ll work on the main wing first, since it’s the biggest.Once it’s done, we can repair the other two wings.”
“How are you going to find your team?”Grace asked.
“I’m hoping Zoe will be able to assist me with that,” he said.“Usually, we all arrive in the same general area.Sometimes, it can take weeks or months for my team to show up.”
“Why?”Zoe asked.
“Time moves differently in the Void.A month here can be a day there.”
“Does that mean we’ll have to drive all the way back to my hometown to find them?”Zoe asked in dismay.
