AREZOO
The village was quiet at night, which was one of the things Arezoo loved most about living there. It was the deep, cushioned silence of late evening, when the only sounds were crickets, the occasional owl, and the faint hum of the air conditioner.
Enjoying perfect temperature regardless of the season was a luxury she hadn't enjoyed when living in Tehran. Well, that and countless other things.
Oppression was insidious.
On the face of things, it hadn't seemed like such a big deal to cover her hair every time she'd left the house or to dress modestly. But when that wasn't a choice and noncompliance could result in death, when being a woman was a guilty sentence for the inappropriate thoughts, intentions, and deeds of men, life felt dimmed. Arezoo hadn't realized to what degree her spirit had been stifled until she'd tasted freedom, respect, and equality.
She was so incredibly lucky to have been given another chance at life, away from the oppression and the constant threat. Given what she had gone through between Tehran and California, calling herself lucky was saying a lot.
She was curled up on her bed, wearing pajama bottoms and Ruvon's oversized sweatshirt. He'd left it in her house after dinner two nights ago, and she'd claimed it as her own because it smelled like him.
Her mother and sisters were asleep in their bedrooms, and the house was dark except for the soft glow of Arezoo's phone screen, which displayed the time and Drova's contact photo. It was a picture of her friend wearing her Guardian-in-training uniform and scowling at the camera.
The scowl was a permanent feature, so it didn't necessarily mean that Drova was angry or dissatisfied with something. It was just her badass expression.
Arezoo calculated the time difference. Safe Harbor was thirteen hours ahead of Los Angeles, which meant it was close to eleven in the morning there. Drova would be at work, but she answered the phone no matter what she was doing.
She pressed the call button and waited.
Drova picked up on the second ring. "Hey. I was about to call you."
"You were?"
"No. But I should have."
Arezoo smiled. Drova's idea of social niceties was a work in progress, though she had improved enormously since they'd become friends, and Arezoo wanted to believe that it was herpositive influence. When they'd first met, Drova's conversational style had consisted primarily of declarative statements and occasional grunts. Now she could do small talk for up to three minutes before becoming annoyed with it.
"How's the island?" Arezoo asked.
"Hot and humid, just as I like it. How are you?"
Arezoo chose not to ask about Drova's progress with the humans the clan was recruiting and training to fight while wearing exoskeletons. It was supposed to equalize human fighting power with that of immortals, but the recruits needed a lot of training, and it would be months before they were mission ready.
"I have news. That's why I'm calling."
"Good news or bad news?"
"Somewhere in between." Arezoo tucked her feet under her. "We're postponing the wedding."
"Yeah. That's what I wanted to talk to you about and forgot. By how much?"
"Two weeks. Amanda and Syssi came to talk to me about it. A lot of the Guardians are being deployed to Safe Harbor this week, and you can't leave because they might need you."
"Yeah," Drova said. "They might. It drives me mad when they put me on standby."
"That was the deciding factor for me. I can't get married without my best friend."
"Oh, how sweet. I'm so touched."
Arezoo laughed. "It's not working, Drova. You can drop the act."
"What act?" Drova pretended innocence.
"Like you don't care. I know you do."
"You are right. I do. Thank you for doing this for me."
