“Ugh. You sound like Fenris,” Eliana said with a playful eye-roll.
I grinned and handed her a brownie.
“Have some chocolate therapy while you think over our wisdom.”
“Zotera first.” She took the plate to Zotera and sat across from her. “I love desserts and heard that you don’t have much food variety in Hell. Try this and tell me what you think.”
Zotera took her first bite as I plated two more pieces. Her eyes went wide. She made a small sound, almost like a whimper.
“It’s good, right?” Eliana asked with a grin.
I sat and passed a plate to her. “These kinds of desserts typically aren’t allowed in Uttira, but thanks to Eliana, I know a place where we can get the sugar and chocolate.”
Zotera took another bigger bite. “Father needs to try this,” she said after she swallowed. “He would enjoy this very much.”
I felt the kick of longing and loneliness again, and Eliana glanced at me. Giving her a smile I didn’t quite feel, I took my own bite of self-soothing confectionery.
“Mags hasn’t been exactly welcoming lately,” Eliana said. “Call me if you need anything, and I’ll pick it up for you at a fair price. At least until Megan finds Adira.”
Her gentle reminder that the extremely limited freedoms I’d enjoyed prior to Hell—going to the academy and making risky runs for chocolate—were no longer options had me looking down at my dessert. I was more trapped than ever.
Eliana helped us with the dishes then left with a promise to return for another visit soon.
After I closed the door behind her, I wandered back to the kitchen to look at the food she’d put away. Zotera and I had enough to make lunch and dinner, likely with leftovers the next day. As long as Oanen kept his word about delivering the phone before nightfall, which I knew he would, Zotera and I would be fine.
“Are you still hungry, Ashlyn?” Zotera asked.
“I’m pretty full, actually.”
“Would you like to give me the tour now?”
“Absolutely,” I said, feeling bad I’d already forgotten.
Our house wasn’t that big. So I started with the garage, showing her the tools there. The snow would linger for another month or two, so I knew neither of us would need to worry about mowing anytime soon. But Zotera was fascinated by the machinery and improved “torture” tools.
“They’re for yard work,” I said for the second time. “No torturing, okay?”
She nodded and followed me inside where I explained all the kitchen appliances and gave her a warning about sticking things in the toaster.
Saving the living room and its one source of entertainment for later, I walked down the only hallway. She stopped to study Uncle Trammer’s picture on the wall before following me to the first door.
I hadn’t been in my uncle's room since the day after he died when I’d put away his things. His bed was neatly made, and his uniforms still hung in his closet. The bedside table and alarm had a thin layer of dust on them.
I walked over to his window and opened the curtains, something I would have never done before going to Hell. It still wasn’t smart, but my uncle had lived with darkness most of his life, and his room needed light. Desperately. And fresh air.
Unlocking the window, I opened it wide.
“Help me strip the bed,” I said.
We did more than strip the bed. We washed all the bedding, which Zotera found confusing, and packed away his uniforms. She was quiet as we worked, listening to my stories of the past as we removed his things and dusted.
When I brought out the vacuum, I had Zotera’s full attention.
“It removes dirt?”
“It does,” I said. “Do you want to try it?”
Her enthusiasm to help in any way reminded me that I was all she had. And, if I were honest with myself, she was all I had, too. Eliana and Megan, the only two children of the gods I trusted in Uttira, had mates now. And the other humans were connected with Uttira in ways I’d never been.
