Obedient Read Online Free PDF Page B

gouges she had made in his cheek.
    “I will heal. It is less than I deserve.”
    She couldn’t argue with that.
    “Do you have any questions?”
    “Yes, if you have been here so long, where did the med scanners come from?”
    He got to his feet and flexed his wings slightly. “I designed them while I was still on Drai. It seemed only right to sell some of the patents to support myself.”
    Realisation dawned. “That is how you could buy a planet.”
    “And the moons and other uninhabited worlds in this system.”
    She smiled. “Any questions on your part?”
    He ran his fingers over her ribs and the marks on her arm. “What made these?”
    “A shotgun. It is a projectile that fires small metal pellets in order to have a wider strike radius.”
    Rad looked a little angry. “How did this happen?”
    “I distracted a man and robbed him of his intended target.”
    “What happened to him?”
    “He was arrested after he was treated for second-degree burns.”
    Rad’s face twitched as if he was struggling with control. He nodded tightly and bent his knees before pushing down with his wings. A few wobbly wingbeats took them higher, and then, his pace evened out as wind was scooped and propelled away.
    The wind blew over her damp hair, and she shivered as he flew them back to the house. She definitely needed a solar shower and a change of clothing.
     
    Once she was dressed, she felt better, if exhausted. The bots made clicking noises of concern and wrapped her in a dress, shawl and boots. Apparently, she was registering a little on the cool side.
    In the living space on the main floor, she sat curled up in a couch while the bots brought her endless rounds of hot tea.
    Rad sat on a chair that appeared designed for him, but then, it probably was. “The bots like you.”
    She twitched her lips in a smile. “I am glad. I was afraid that they took offense to my singing along.”
    “Singing?” He took a teacup and saucer from one of the bots.
    “More of an off-key humming, but I have been crooning along with the music in my head.”
    She sipped at the tea and sighed happily as the warmth spread through her.
    “You have been hearing music?”
    Zel narrowed her eyes. “I know it is you singing or, rather, synching my mind to yours. I read the Drai dossier.”
    He raised his brows. “Is it?”
    She snorted. “Of course. Unless you have put another Drai somewhere on this world; in which case, I think my getting naked swimming lessons from you is a little crass.”
    He chuckled. “Fair point.”
    One of the bots chirped and held a fold of fabric out to him.
    Zel chuckled. “I think they are attempting to sooth my delicate sensibilities.”
    He took the fabric. “What is it?”
    “A hip wrap. It is easy enough to drop and will help me keep an eye on our conversations.”
    He stood and worked out how to drape the fabric from hip to mid-thigh. He grinned, “Better?”
    She sighed. “Yes, thank you. I am sorry, but the culture I was born to was rather ill at ease with exposed genitals, primary and secondary. I am sure I will get used to it, but today is not that day.”
    He barked out a laugh that shook the walls. “Fair enough. You have already done your share of adjustment. I will learn to bend my ways a little. I used to wear clothing when I was growing up, it isn’t a foreign experience, it has simple been a while.”
    The wrap around his hips was the same deep blue as his eyes.
    “Where did the fabric come from?”
    “The monks weave it. They make their own textiles as well as whatever else they require. What they cannot make, we trade for. I have maintained contact with the Imperium on a regular basis.” He sat back and drank his tea.
    “We are in the Imperium? I thought we were in the Alliance.”
    “The Alliance may have recruited you, but we are beyond their laws. Now, there is one matter that you need to deal with, and I will leave you to recover from your morning.”
    Zelia scowled. “What is