Free Central by Raine Thomas Page B

and drank most of it before she did anything else. It probably saved a lot of time and additional drama, Olivia thought.
    Without a word, Amber set her glass down and reached out to touch Skye’s nose. Even as her gold healing light faded, Ini-herit filled the doorway and looked around the room.
    “Why is it you did not set up a light?” he asked.
     
    Since Jabari was right behind Ini-herit and they were all awake, they all sat at the kitchen table and ate a breakfast of fresh sliced fruit, wedges of cheese and crusty biscuits with honey. One of the most fascinating things Olivia had encountered on this plane was the hospitality methods of the Lekwuesti. The lavender-winged Estilorians dedicated to fostering comfort and culture among the other classes could use their power to send all kinds of food and beverage anywhere on the Estilorian plane. They had to have a formal pairing with the particular Estilorian requiring the refreshments, however, so the three sisters were currently unable to request anything since they didn’t have such a connection. It was also something that could only be done once per day to avoid exhausting the Lekwuesti. This was how the Estilorians got around their lack of electricity and refrigeration.
    Caleb and Amber had both tamed their unruly hair and now wore ponytails, tank tops and loose pants. Skye had changed into a tank and shorts since her nightgown had gotten bloodstains on it. Olivia was still in her robe. As they were finishing up their meal, Jabari informed them that the big meeting with the other elders had been delayed due to the weather.
    “Gosh, it’s going to be a long, boring day without tube, flicks or tunes,” Skye sighed.
    Olivia noticed James’ confused expression, but before she could say anything, Caleb translated for him. “Television, movies or music,” he said.
    Everyone looked with some surprise at the usually silent and serious Gloresti. He just shrugged, his expression neutral. Olivia figured he did much more listening to Skye’s babbling than anyone would have imagined. He had likely learned quite a lot about humans in the past couple of months that way.
    Amber glanced consideringly at Skye, then shared a look with Gabriel. He smiled at her once she had communicated whatever telepathic thought she was sending him. Clearing a spot beside his plate, Gabriel held out his hand and sent out a thought. There was a flash of lavender light. Olivia leaned forward and recognized what he had requested of the Lekwuesti.
    “So cool,” she breathed.
    “What do you say, gals?” he asked with his charming grin, looking around the table and holding up the deck of cards. “Care to show these Estilorians how to spend a rainy day?”
     

Chapter Seven
     
    They played for hours. To get everyone comfortable with the concept of playing card games, they started with games that many human children played: Go Fish, Crazy Eights and Old Maid. Then they switched to games like Rummy 500, Ninety-Eight and Chase the Ace. It seemed the more strategy and thought that was required, the more involved the Estilorians became. Even the reserved Ini-herit showed a decided interest. Although he knew about cards from his time on the human plane, he had never actually learned any of the games.
    “I can’t believe none of you have ever played cards before,” Skye said shortly after they got underway.
    Jabari smiled at her. “Well, these cards were not around when we created the Estilorian plane. Back a couple of millennia ago, most humans spent their time simply warring and surviving, and the only games involved physical contests. We found ourselves doing what we could to try and prevent the warring, so our time was not really spent in any leisure, either. We trained and educated our young and worked to establish a political system for ourselves as well as the humans.”
    “Well, what do you all do in your free time now?” Skye wondered, evidently not having considered any of that before.