"Vaguely," she admitted.
"Are you related to him?"
"No," she assured me. "He's actually on the list I was just given. It's why I recognize his name. Why?"
I let my eyes close and thought a prayer to anything that might listen, thanking it for making this so easy. "Because he needs a wife," I told her. "One he can trust, who won't expose what he's doing - because he's helping Tobias and me."
"A wife?"
"In name only," I assured her. "He says he has no interest in holding a woman down to impregnate her. He told me he needs a wife to get a promotion, and that promotion will help all of us.It's what might allow us to escape to the surface, Felicity, but I'm already married, and I don't know who else I can trust with this."
"I'm not a pretty woman," she said. "I'm also older than him. He's young and fit. He could have one of the young girls!"
"He doesn't want a real wife," I reminded her. "He wants a friend. Someone who can help him pass messages to Tobias. Someone who'll plan with me. Someone willing to take a risk in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, we can escape this hell, because the surface sounds a lot like Heaven."
"I'll do it," she breathed. "I won't be married for weeks yet, but if you don't have anyone else, I will do it." And she flopped back against the wall she'd grabbed moments before. "I mean, thatisthe best offer I've gotten so far. A man who won't hurt me? I'd take it just for that."
"Now," I told her, "we just need the two of you to meet."
Nineteen
Meri
Omden said I no longer had to be on bed rest but I still had to take it "easy." While I understood the words, I didn't quite know how to do that. They'd tried to give me books the first few days, but I couldn't lose myself in the stories the same way Ayla did. Probably because she read Vestrian better than I did.
But the sketch pad Lessa had given me? The colored pencils that went with it? Well, they let me keep my promise to Omden. He'd said he wanted a new wardrobe for Drozel, and I knew the fabrics and options up here well enough to at least give it a try.
Drozel's skin was tan with brown markings and some green along his sides. All of the colors were muted, which meant he could wear any color he wanted. I happened to like red. It was such an intense color up here, and since Omden had both red eyes and small red lines beside them, I liked how it tied them together visually.
I had the shirt halfway drawn when the front door opened hard. Jumping in place, a little squeak slipped out of my mouth, making Drozel pause halfway inside.
"Sorry," he mumbled, closing the door a lot softer than he'd opened it.
"I just didn't know you were home," I told him.
Which earned me a little smile. "Well, speaking of homes..." He came deeper into the room, tossing his things down in a corner without slowing. "I stopped by Lessa's place. She has her guest room empty, finally. All the fabric in there has been moved to the sewing room out back."
"Okay?"
"And," he said, moving to sit on the corner of the couch closest to the chair I was in, "she's trying to get some furniture. Unfortunately, when the Moles missed their last attack, a lot of businesses began shutting down early enough for everyone to make it home before dark."
"Because Moles hunt after dark," I said, showing I knew that part.
Drozel nodded. "Yeah. It also means a lot fewer hours of work in a day, so orders are taking longer."
"Is she in a rush?" I asked.
He shifted in place. "Well, she was going to offer the room to you, Meri."
"Oh." And I could feel my shoulders slumping. "I don't need much."
But I didn't really want to move again. I was just starting to get used to being here. I knew the way Omden did things, and Drozel didn't ask for much. I wanted to work with Lessa again, though. These men said I could, but only after Naomi cleared me at my upcoming checkup. If I lived with Lessa, it would be easier to do that, wouldn't it?
Yet the idea of living withLessafelt strange. Not bad, but definitely intimidating. She was so beautiful with her matching skin, hair, and eyes. Being around her made me feel awkward and fumbling. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to simply stay there. To never go home, never relax, and always feel like I was trying to keep from looking foolish.
"You just got quiet," he said.
"I'm sorry."
