Releasing her long hair from the braid she'd woven for sleep, Drova brushed it back and put it into a ponytail. She didn't look in the mirror because why bother? She knew what she looked like.
For the duration of the training for the mission, she'd moved from the house she had shared with her mother and Phinas to the dormitories where the team was staying, and there was a good chance she would bump into someone on her way out, but she hoped she wouldn't. She didn't want to stop and chat with anyone.
Thankfully, she didn't have to share a room in the dormitory because she was the only female on the team, and the doors to the other rooms she passed on her way out were closed.
She didn't have to worry about running into anyone since there weren't any guards posted. There was no need. She compelled every human on the island to be friendly and cooperative, and so they were. All the construction workers and those who trainedwith the exoskeletons had gone through the same process. She occasionally reinforced the compulsion to ensure everyone knew their place.
As for outside threats, the electronic surveillance took care of that.
Dandor and Wellgorst had done a superb job under Ruvon's remote guidance, and William's crew of engineers had checked all the systems that had been installed by them and approved.
There were no lights on the island at night despite the human population that needed them, but Drova had no trouble seeing with just the moonlight illuminating the path winding down to the beach.
The tide was out, and a wide stretch of dark sand extended toward the water. The surf was gentle, yet the ocean's never-ending rumble filled the air.
She kept walking toward the water.
The restlessness in her body was a familiar thing. It had been with her for as long as she could remember, the low hum of energy that needed somewhere to go, the muscles that needed to be moving, the mind that needed to be solving something.
Kra-ell were not built for stillness, and for her, it always got worse at night.
It had something to do with the way the day's events insisted on being reviewed, her mind circling back to irritating moments.
Tonight the moments her mind kept replaying were small but nevertheless irritating. Pavel's hand brushing hers in practice. Pavel's voice in the briefing room. Pavel laughing at something stupid Anandur had said.
Pavel.
She kicked at a piece of driftwood that had washed up onto the sand, but the angle had been all wrong, and all she got to show for her effort was digging the wood deeper into the sand.
"You should have used the side of your boot and aimed up instead of forward."
Drova rolled her eyes and didn't turn around.
Out of everyone she could have bumped into tonight, the Mother of All Life had decided to send Pavel to bother her.
"Maybe I wanted to bury it in the sand," she said. "What are you doing out here?" She kept walking.
He fell into step beside her. "The same thing you are. The air conditioning is a joke, and it's stifling hot in the barracks. I can't sleep."
"You are a pureblooded Kra-ell. We are supposed to enjoy the tropical heat."
"Right. You and I were not born on Anumati. We were born in Karelia. Sometimes, I miss that place."
She turned to look at him. "You do?"
"No, not really. Well, parts of it I miss, like running through the woods and the game we could hunt there. I'm so sick of drinking blood from goats and sheep or from a box or a bag."
"Yeah." She sighed. "I hear you. I love the taste of moose, but I love the taste of freedom more."
He chuckled. "Well said, Drova. Well said."
His praise shouldn't please her so much, but it did.
They walked in silence for a few paces, the sand crunching under their boots.
"How is Arezoo?" he asked.
"She transitioned."
