Read The Seer (Tellaran Series) for Free Online Page B

toward the window to avoid that hard blue gaze. The Queen’s Light looked huge but Arissa had no experience by which to judge this cruiser. The shuttle that brought her to the capital from Apovia was one her uncle had gotten her transport on. Little larger than the vessel she was on now, that one had been meant for cargo. Her uncle’s bribe had gotten her on and made sure she wasn’t scanned.
    She glanced uneasily at Jolar as they docked.
    Is he regretting bringing me?
    Arissa understood now what he meant when he said having a woman along would be a liability for him.
    The pretty, pert attendant’s eyes lingered on Jolar as they disembarked. He drew admiring eyes everywhere they’d been; Arissa was like a mud sparrow next to the iridescent beauty of a firehawk.
    The clothes he’d brought her, a long belted tunic and pants in a dull tan color, were new but did nothing to flatter her and the top bagged noticeably through the chest. Before she’d left Apovia her breasts had been the one thing that had drawn plenty of male attention—they seemed tiny now with how thin she’d become. The new brown slippers were a little too big and she felt clumsy and graceless walking in them.
    A porter offered directions but Jolar shifted his weight before the man finished speaking and nudged her toward the lifts.
    They got on with other passengers and briefly Arissa threw her focus at them. Most were impatient to get to their quarters, irritable as if all this luxury were not enough to satisfy. Only one, a young girl, possibly twelve or so, regarded the ship with the same wide-eyed awe Arissa felt.
    She followed Jolar off the lift and into an area of the cruiser that felt sparsely populated. Jolar stopped in front of one of the suites and, with a press of his palm to the reader, opened the door.
    "Lights," he said.
    Instantly the cabin was bathed in soft warm light. A large arched window filled most of the far wall and framed a breathtaking view of Tellar and two of its moons. The living area, ringed by cream colored semicircular couches made a cozy conversation area. To the left of the living area lay a small dining room with food station and drink bar.
    “We’re staying here ?” Arissa asked.
    Surprise and annoyance bloomed in his sense. “Something wrong with it?”
    “ Wrong? Gods, are you kidding?” she breathed. Her fingers trailed the smooth wall she went down the short hall to explore.
    The bedroom was done in dark, rich greens. Another viewport showing Tellar dominated the wall next to the wide bed. Through a doorway lay a small neat dressing room with a vanity table, mirrors, and valet-closets to keep all the clothes in it clean and ready for wearing. Jolar’s luggage had already been delivered and sat just inside the dressing room door. She didn’t have anything but the clothes she was wearing.
    Swirled in white and green Novician marble, the bathroom gleamed. A wide shower had showerheads on both sides and above. Folded towels waited stacked into warmer shelves.
    “What’s the matter?” Jolar asked when she returned to the living area.
    “Is there another bedroom?”
    “No,” he fairly growled. “Because we’re married . Married people sleep together Arissa. I’m sure you’re practiced enough at sharing a bed.”
    “Right. Yes, of course.”
    She looked out the viewport, at the plush carpet, at the wall.
    Anywhere but at him.
    He sighed. “Are you hungry? There were some selections ready in the food station so I put those out. I wasn’t sure what you might—”
    As soon as the mouthwatering smell reached her she was at the table and lifting the covers away to reveal the steaming contents.
    She attacked the first dish, not even bothering to use a fork. Savory and hot, with some kind of cooked dough in the gravy. Gods, when had she had tasted anything so good?
    She stood there, her fingers stinging with the heat, closing her eyes, scarcely tasting as she chewed. Her fingers were already dug into the