“Yes. You’re an attraction, I can see that.” Jago frowned. “Since we’ve finished, we should go.” He rose.
Kriss took her elbow. He glared at the ogling men, who hurriedly returned to their meals. “Droid fuckers. If they want a Gift, they need to earn it,” he muttered.
“Hush,” Jago said softly. “We were once them, remember, gloating over the rare sight of a human.”
They exited the eatery, taking the path back toward the lake. “There are other humans here, on this planet?” she asked.
“Of course,” Jago said. “I’ve seen one in that eatery a while back with her nestor triplets.”
“Is she still here?”
He shrugged. “Possibly. Depends if her allotted time is up. She might have stayed on.” He shot a glance at her, and she felt the blush return. Was he expecting her to say something?
His comment reminded her that she had another purpose on Odesta. She had a mission that lay waiting in the wings and she’d rather neglected it. Now the Hunger had passed, she had a few days to revisit it, a little time while Jago and Kriss were busy working and less likely to bother her with their demands.
She daren’t touch their oracle again. But having seen the overtly masculine makeup of the city, she didn’t fancy coming here without their escort—too many lonely Hezara and crazy droids. Her only option remained finding another oracle, one that might respond to her thoughts but not recognize her as belonging to her nestors.
Jago slipped his arm across her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “I enjoyed that,” he said. “Not cold?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“It’s just, you look like you’re shivering.”
“Am I?”
With a gasp, Kriss spun on his feet to face her. “She’s pale. Is she sick? Has the food made her sick?”
The nausea in the pit of her belly had nothing to do with the food. She was nervous about her mission. She patted her stomach and smiled. “I’m fine. Tired. Yesterday was a tough day, you know?”
Kriss took her hand. “Not too tough. You can do it again?” He looked unusually apprehensive.
“Sure. I’ll be ready for you two.” She squeezed his fingers.
Now that took her by surprise. Not Jago’s concern, but Kriss’s. Was he softening to her?
Over the next couple of days, there were changes in the routine. Other than the occasional kiss or caress, Kriss and Jago left her alone. She was grateful as the break from their demands was welcome and it gave her a chance to recuperate her energy. She was allowed to remain clothed, even indoors, and they ordered more dresses with color and patterns, similar in style to what the Gotti wore. The Gotti continued to fascinate her. Maybe they could help her?
She ruled out going to another habitat and using a different oracle. The sensors would set off an alarm the moment she set foot in the dwelling. So she had to find an oracle that was accessible, and since her nestors didn’t mix with others, it meant finding a friendly Gotti.
“Do they live by the lake?” she asked Jago one evening. He was sprawled across the cushions watching the fish swimming past.
“No,” he said. “They stay in the city, where they work.”
Kriss was on the other side
of the room, lifting huge weights. His biceps bulged, the size of footballs. She really wanted to touch them, feel the rock-hard muscle, but for the time being, she had to keep her eyes off him and focus on teasing information out of Jago.
“You said the Gotti are nurses?” she asked.
“Yeah. Excellent medics. The droids can do standard procedures, but the Gotti have incredible eyesight, long fingers, and are intelligent, too.” Jago tapped the glass. A bright yellow fish followed his digit.
“So, they work in the hospital.”
“Sure.”
“What if there is something wrong with me, just supposing, and I needed medical advice. Would the Gotti know how to help me?”
Jago ignored the school of fish and pivoted to face her. “Are you ill?” The concern sounded genuine.