When I entered my homestead, I was met by Hilah.
“Levi.” She gasped. “What happened to you? You’re soaking, and your clothes are ripped … Almighty! Is that blood?”
I looked down at my clothes for the first time. I was soaked to the bone, and my clothing was ripped, but what made me shake was how much of the fabric was covered in red blood. Linsah’s blood. I looked up when Hilah stepped forward and put her hands on my shoulders. In the back of my head, I was aware that this was the first time that Hilah had ever touched me. We weren’t close like I was with Nuni. I looked at her dark brown eyes and saw concern. I was still blown away by how beautiful Hilah was. Like most people, she was born in New Europe on Earth, but her ancestors came from a country that was once known as India.
“What happened?”
“A Maji female got hurt by a fallen tree during a flash storm, and I helped her,” I answered robotically. “I don’t know if she’s okay or not. She was with a healer when I left.”
“Let’s get you up to your room so you can strip and shower,” Hilah said, moving a hand to my forearm. “I’ll contact Nuni through our bracelets. Did you know they upgraded them while we slept last night? We can contact members of our homestead through them with our voices now. It’s really cool.”
I didn’t answer Hilah as she led me upstairs and into my private washroom connected to my bedroom. She helped me remove my clothing because I was shaking so much. When she left with my destroyed clothing, I stepped into the cleansing unit, placed my palm on the wall, and closed my eyes when deliciously heated water poured onto my head. It reminded me of the downpour I had been in earlier, only this water felt beautiful as it touched my skin. I carefully washed my hair and my body twice before deeply conditioning my curls. I stood under the water for a long time, so long that the skin on my fingers looked like shrivelled prunes.
I turned the unit off.
When I reached out to grab a body cloth to dry myself, my hand grabbed air. I looked at the rack and found it empty. My washroom didn’t have a built-in body dryer in the ceiling, so I hand dried my skin and hair. With a groan, I leaned my head back into the unit and squeezed as much water from my mane as I could before I left the washroom. I walked into my bedroom, naked as the day I was born, and quickly found that I was not alone. The first thing I heard was a low, rumbling growl. I spun to my right and sucked in a sharp breath when I found sunset pink eyes locked on my naked body.
Chapter Nine
Levi
“My prince!” I screeched as I covered my breasts with my arm and my vagina with my hand. “I’m naked!”
Ezah was standing in front of the viewing pane of my bedroom. He had his hands clasped behind his back, and instead of looking outside, his eyes were on me. He was still growling and had yet to say a word. I couldn’t move. I was shocked by his presence, so covering my body was the best I could do.
“I have seen many naked females before,” he said, his voice sounding shockingly deep. “You do not need to hide your beauty from me.”
My mouth ran dry.
“I … You … We’re friends, my prince,” I spluttered. “Friends don’t see one another naked.”
Ezah tilted his head. “They don’t?”
“No!”
A flash of what appeared to be amusement shone in his eyes as he turned to look out of the viewing pane. “My mistake.”
I sidestepped over to my bed and yanked my fur blanket free, then wrapped it around my body.
“I’m … I’m co-covered.”
Ezah turned to face me. “Is this how friends see one another?”
He was teasing me. I couldn’t believe it. The few times I had been in Ezah’s presence, he had always been so serious. I hadn’t even seen him smile yet or heard his laughter. Knowing he was teasing me was such a change in what I knew of his character, and I almost felt like I was being rewarded.
“Yes,” I answered. “Exactly like this.”
My response earned me a snort.
“My prince,” I said. “How … How is the princess?”
Ezah’s expression hardened. “She is well.”
I slumped onto my bed in relief.
“I’m so happy to hear that. I truly am.” I stared at the floor. “I can’t believe it even happened.”
“What exactly did happen?” Ezah quizzed. “When I finished healing my aunt-in-mate, you were gone.”
I kept my eyes on the floor.
“I got scared … I thought she would die, and I … I just couldn’t handle seeing her like that.”