Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,25

lovely Ashleigh. However will I survive?” Cyler grinned and rolled over to me then settled under the covers. He smelled like cinnamon and mint, and the combination wafted throughout the room. I rolled my eyes at him and felt slightly uncomfortable by his nearness. Kemper slipped off his sweater and threw it at me. I accepted it gratefully, and he turned a large screen at the front of the room. Maverick and Kemper filtered out the door. While Cyler nonchalantly flipped through channels, I laid back down and tried to wrap my head around all that had happened.

Cyler sat in comfortable silence, watching the news, but I felt hyper-aware of every move he made and breath he took.

“I was worried about you,” I whispered.

Cyler turned to face me with a sad expression on his face.

“I’ve been an ass to you. I’m surprised you were so worried.” He shrugged. “Kemp told me that you looked wild when they pulled up. Almost like a true Dormas woman.” He smiled.

“I couldn't let a fan of my chocolate cake perish,” I replied with a chuckle. “Where are we?”

“My brother and I live here with the other council leaders. We built it a while back as the main hub for all of Dormas. We don’t have the fancy government buildings that Galla has, but I like that my people feel welcome in my home.”

I got up from the bed and walked over to a window dressed in sheer, white fabric, which coated the room in an incredibly bright light. I felt Cyler’s eyes on me, so I tugged Kemper’s sweater down lower so as not to show off too much of my legs. Obsessive modesty was something ingrained in me by Mistress Stonewell.

I slowly opened the windows and gasped at the sheer beauty of the town. Logs and wood made up each building, and the main street that led up to the Black home seemed paved with a dirt and sand mixture. People loitered on the road, selling goods and exchanging pleasant conversations.

“Wow. It's beautiful.” I exclaimed.

“Be sure to tell Kemp. He’s led most of the teams that built our town. When Influenza X hit, we burned most of old town down to prevent the virus from spreading and rebuilt about ten miles east from the original town center,” he explained.

I tore my eyes from the beautiful scenery and openly observed Cyler again. He looked pale. “You need to rest,” I said. “May I please excuse myself? I don’t know who helped me change and wiped the blood off of me, but I would very much enjoy taking a shower.” I wondered if Maverick was the one to change me into this nightie. The thought made me shiver.

“Ah, sure. And, no worries. The seamstress that sewed me back together helped get you in here,” he assured me.

The shower was amazing. Cyler warned me that there was a hot water timer of ten minutes, so I used every nanosecond to enjoy the heat that caressed my tired muscles. Kemper told me that a pile of clothes in my size would be in the cabinet under the sink, but instead, all I saw were small scraps of fabric that couldn’t possibly pass for actual clothes.

I picked a brightly-colored piece that left my shoulders bare and only hit my knees. It clung tightly to my waist and flared out at the hips. The pattern had white and yellow flowers on it. It was beautiful but severely revealing. I walked past the room Cyler and I were in, and was pleased to find him sleeping peacefully. Although he wanted me to spend the day relaxing, I decided that my time would be better spent exploring my new home and finding out where my living quarters would be.

The upstairs was stunning. Six bedrooms, each with private baths, covered the expanse of the floor and were connected by a living area in the center. Although it felt highly intrusive, I snuck peeks into each room and was surprised to find them all tidy and neat. The wooden furniture throughout the house was uniform, but each room had different bedding.

The sitting room had six recliners, instead of a couch, and all of them faced a large and intimidating screen on the far back wall. How many people did he say lived here?

I made my way down the vast and beautiful staircase that welcomed me into their entryway. Weapons of all sorts hung up on the wall, and again I noticed that there