Saving Verakko: The Clecanian Series Book 3 by Victoria Aveline (books to read for teens TXT) 📕

Lily blinked, furious that he was right. He briefly squeezed her shoulders, then dropped his hands. Unsure what else to say, she looked down at her bottle and took a sip. The liquid stung as it slid down her throat.

“Just a few days,” she confirmed, weakly clutching the bottle against her chest.

“Yes, miv—Lily,” he amended and disappeared through the door to the odd kitchen.

Sparks of static electricity crackled over her scalp at the almost-uttered pet name. Scowling, she wondered if she should question him about the name again. Taking another long pull from the bottle, she retreated into the living room, deciding against it. She was far too susceptible to Verakko’s particular brand of sweet talk as it was. She settled herself on the odd half bed, half couch.

How did I get here? Lily shook her head in exasperation and watched the silver glowing orbs bob around the ceiling. It wasn’t as if she’d had much say in the matter; this was an alien planet, after all. Verakko was right, she didn’t know how to do anything for herself, but with a flare of irritation, she realized she was allowing that to be true.

Lily stood again, intent to ask the right questions this time. Questions about each and every device in the house and what it did. Questions about the food being prepared. How it was being prepared. Where she could buy it. How it needed to be stored. But she only made it a few determined steps before bumping into Verakko exiting the kitchen. “Can you show me how the appliances in the kitchen work?”

He smiled and moved past her to a small shining panel on the wall. “Yes, but not right now. The food is ready.” Skating his fingers across the screen without looking at her, he programmed something.

Lily took an instinctive step back as the large couches began to move, sinking into the floor. A small table and chairs, made completely of a clear material that looked like glass, rose to the center of the room.

“Tomorrow, then,” Lily said, her attention divided as the dark tint on the enormous windows faded and a gorgeous view of the glittering black desert came into view.

Verakko stopped fiddling with the control and faced her.

Lily forced her focus back to him. “Then tonight, I want you to answer all of my questions, and I mean all of them. Truthfully. No more leaving upsetting information out. I have the right to know what I’m in for.”

He stepped toward her. She could feel the heat radiating off his body, and from this close, she could also see that beneath his calm, strong demeanor was a hint of anguish. “I’ll tell you everything.” He turned and walked back toward the kitchen. “Over dinner. You need to eat.”

Lily rolled her eyes and stomped toward the windows, mott in hand. “Impossible man,” she muttered under her breath. Only one crescent moon was visible at the moment, but the sky was clear and sparkling—the portion of sky she could see anyway. The large flat roofs of the other buildings crowded nearby blocked the full view overhead. She looked down and guessed the house was at least fifty stories up. She pressed her hand to the glass, angling her head to squint toward the ground.

“Do you need another drink?” Verakko intoned from behind her, making her jump.

She spun and found him standing near the table, now set with food and cutlery. She glanced down to her mostly untouched bottle and shook her head. Lily studied him and noticed his body language was off. His shoulders were tensed, fists clenched, and he forced his eyes to remain on hers, not as though he wanted to look at her, but as if he were trying to not look anywhere else.

He cleared his throat, and for the briefest moment his eyes slid to her palm, still flattened against the window, then back to her. As realization hit, a sudden impulse to run over and soothe him forced her feet to take an involuntary step in his direction.

“It’s the windows, isn’t it? Why in the world would you buy a house this high up if you’re afraid of heights?”

“It isn’t normally a problem, but I’d prefer it if you didn’t stand so close to them.” He puffed out his chest and sat down, avoiding eye contact. “It was the floor Ziritha suggested.”

Lily came to join him at the table, brows drawn. “She made you buy this place even after you told her how uncomfortable heights make you?”

“Why would I have told her?” He scowled, reclining in his chair.

“Seems like something important to talk about before buying a house in a skyscraper.” Lily shrugged. “You told me.”

His gaze turned serious. “You’re different.” Verakko looked at his food and added in a mumble, “You’re the only one I’ve told the story of my fall to.”

Lily’s heart squeezed in her chest. The only one?

She gave herself a mental shake and studied her food. Odd gray cubes were covered in a charcoal-colored sauce that smelled savory and a little familiar.

“I kept it simple. I didn’t know how much you’d want to eat, and I didn’t know if you’d prefer to remain a vegetarian now that you have the choice once again.”

Of course he’d been thoughtful enough to think about that. He couldn’t have made this easy, could he? Been a lying ass through and through? No, he had to have just enough reasonable explanations and sweet gestures to make her question everything.

Lily scooped up a small amount of food with the odd flat spoon he’d provided. She wasn’t particularly hungry, though she couldn’t recall the last time she’d eaten, but she was curious to try the unappealing gray slop that smelled so much better than