which was still a jumble of chairs, piles of sticks, weapons, and…she didn’t know what. She felt terrible for them. They couldn’t even afford cleaning or repair bots? As far as she knew there was just Max, the two-hundred-year-old bot who’d been created when the house was originally built. There might be more of the tiny bots working tirelessly in the men’s restrooms, but that was it. They didn’t even have a food dispenser. Cannibal had to cook food for them from scratch, like a primitive species.
“Do you need help getting breakfast ready?” she asked as she set Max down and let him get to work trying to clean floors. She’d gotten to know Cannibal last night and learned that despite his harsh exterior he was actually a kind male. He’d made himself in charge of feeding the crew and he took this task seriously. And she’d discovered that he kept the kitchen area surprisingly clean, which made her like him more.
“No,” he answered, “there’s an employee cafeteria at the mine. They’ll send food to our location or we’ll go down and eat there, depending on where we’re mining that day. We’ll stop there first for breakfast then go down to our level.”
“Aah.” That meant they didn’t need help with breakfast each morning before they left. Although Cannibal had food in a bag and a drink in his claw. But he was the only one.
“I left breakfast and lunch for you,” Cannibal said. “It’s in containers in the cooling unit. And I also left out the Traq machine and the ingredients.”
Traq was the warm, coffee-like drink he’d given her yesterday morning. More of that sounded fabulous. She placed a hand over her heart. “Thank you. That’s nice of you.” It really was.
“Are you okay living with such a large crew?” Zayzon whispered in her ear.
She shivered at his warm breath touching her skin. “I don’t mind at all. When I was growing up, my house was always the place where everyone gathered. My parents were always inviting friends and family over to celebrate. And even now the staff is there. I’m used to there always being other people around. In fact, at night when everyone leaves, it’s kinda lonely. I don’t mind at all living with all of your brothers. I guess I enjoy having a busy house? I’m not one of those people who likes living alone.”
“Staff,” Scar muttered.
Her face flamed as she realized she’d admitted too much. Darn it. She really did like it here at the compound, though. She felt comfortable already. And when she got this mess all cleaned up, she’d be even more comfortable.
“This is good, because Xylan normally live together in large extended lines. Sometimes we create a new compound, like Hook and Daxon both moved out with their Brides, but they still live with other Xylan close.”
“I was wondering, why is Daxon your only brother without a nickname?” she asked.
“It’s because he’s no longer an Illibrium miner, so he lost his crew name,” Heavy answered. “He broke his fever-bond with his crystal and left the planet.”
“But that wasn’t his choice, right? Wasn’t he banished?”
“Yes. But the result is the same, therefore his crew nickname is retired.”
“Oh. What was his nickname before he had to give it up?”
“It is retired,” Zayzon repeated.
She blinked. “You won’t tell me?”
“No. It’s retired, therefore never to be spoken of again.”
Hmm. A secret. She grinned and leaned into Zayzon. “I’m going to tickle you until you tell me.”
“I will never give it up. None of us will.”
“We’ll see about that.” She started digging her fingers into his sides, but his work uniform was so thick it was making her tickling plan super hard—and then he handed her something. Luckily for him this instantly distracted her from the tickling. “What is this? A new tablet?” she gushed.
“Yes. It’s yours.”
She hugged it to her chest and then her face fell. “Wait, are you sure you can afford this? I don’t want you buying anything for me that I don’t truly need.”
Chief laughed. “Your Bride is hilarious.”
“I don’t want to be a burden.”
Zayzon again reached out to tap the tip of her nose. A gesture she really, really liked. “You’re not a burden,” he replied. “And of course I can afford this.”
“You’re so sweet. I promise when all of this is over, I will pay you back for everything you’ve done for me.”
“Stop talking like that. You’re my Bride, what’s mine is yours. That tablet is yours. Use it.”
She eagerly tapped on