“Aye. Strangers don’t come here willingly,” Koal added. “Not this close to the portal, and not with the usurper’s lapdogs sniffing about.”
Her appetite diminished, but Ash forced herself to take a bite and chew. She would need all the energy she could get.
Race frowned as he paced, rubbing the back of his neck. “Not much we can do but stay low till it’s time to leave.”
“The basin will be watched,” Attor said, flipping the schedule his way and studying it. “We’ll need a diversion.”
“Tea?” Ash blurted, before panic could take root. “Bregga mentioned a kettle?”
Koal started to rise. “I’ll help?—”
“No.” Race’s voice could have cut steel. “You bought the damn pies. We need to plan.”
Okay, then.Ash carried her pie and made her way down the passage, slipping into the warmer kitchen, grateful for a moment alone. The place smelled of coal and old wood. A lit oil lamp cast a warm glow over everything.
A scarred table dominated the middle, a bench tucked against it, and cupboards with shelves stacked above lined one wall.
Ash found the kettle easily since it hung on a hook by the stove.
She set her plate down and cranked the dull brass tap. It choked, groaned, sputtered, then gushed water into the kettle. As she waited, she glanced toward the window. Outside, theworld lay hushed in the quiet dark, hiding the monsters, and she shivered.
Kettle filled, she set it on the still-smoldering coal stove. Hands on her hips, she glanced around.
Right then. Where was the tea?
Her gaze settled on the shelves, lined with rows of tin canisters, each dulled with age. She brought one down, flipped the lid, and breathed in the sweet, smoky scent of real leaves.
“Oh, Mum would be proud. Proper tea.”
A sharp pang cramped her chest. Her parents must be frantic by now.
Just as well she’d be back on Earth soon.
As she lined the cups, the floorboards creaked behind her, and she spun around to find Race filling the doorway.
“You’re here?” She arched an eyebrow. “I thought you were plotting our escape?”
He pulled off his ruined shirt, revealing the healing lesions and smears of blood on his skin.
“No plotting.” He balled the fabric. “We reach the basin, they create a racket, we bolt.”
“Brilliant plan,” she teased, side-eyeing him while she scooped leaves into five battered mugs.
“Yeah, thought so, too.”
Ash bit back a laugh. Likely took him all of one minute to strategize.
“So, Koal’s busy doing…nothing?” she asked, her tone light.
“Better than staring at you. Next time, I just might kill him.” He swiped at the blood on his abs with the ruined shirt.
“Race.” She sighed. “He’s really nice. Stop growling and stop giving him a hard time because I chose him. He doesn’t know anything about our situation, and besides, I only did so becauseyougave me no choice.” Ignoring his narrowed-eyed stare, she took the shirt from him. “Here, let me do that.”
“He should stop watching you.”
“He’s only watching becauseyoumade it a rule, remember? Nothing must happen to me, or you won’t help them.” She pivoted toward the sink.
“Yeah. So?”
