Free The Seer (Tellaran Series) by Ariel MacArran Page B

with other passengers in the ship’s main dining room starting tomorrow.”
    “Oh.” She wasn’t sure how she felt about having to sit and converse with strangers. She’d never spoken to anyone she didn’t know longer than absolutely necessary. “That wasn’t the ship’s dining room?”
    “No,” he said slowly. “That was one of the restaurants. And since we’ll be sitting with other people for the rest of this journey,” he folded his arms, “I really don’t want a repeat of tonight’s dinner performance, okay?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean you acted very oddly,” he said, throwing out little spikes of annoyance. 
    “Oh.” She clasped her hands. “I’m sorry. I’ve never eaten in a restaurant before.” Her fingers twisted together. “Maybe if you tell me what I did wrong, it would help.”
    His shock rippled. “Are you serious?”
    She gave a half-shrug, her cheeks warming. “It was dangerous for me to go anywhere on Apovia so my parents never took me. I bought food from stands when I got to Tellar. There was one restaurant I got food from but I never ate there. I’ve seen people eat at restaurants in holos,” she offered. “Of course that’s usually just before something dramatic happens like someone runs out crying or the place is robbed or something. But,” she said, smiling tentatively, “tonight was wonderful. I’m so glad I finally got to go.”
    He passed his hand over his eyes. “You’re serious.”
    “Did I do that badly?” The waiter had been amused, but she would bet her life none of the other patrons even noticed her. “I’ll do better next time.”
    “I just need—I need to think about this for a minute.” He took a step back. “No, I need more than a minute. I’m going out.”
    “You could stay here and I could go,” Arissa offered quickly. “I’d love to go for a walk.” Her shoulders fell in disappointment. “You don’t trust me to go about by myself now.”
    Jolar blanched. “Stay here,” he said hoarsely. “Just—stay here. I’ll be back in a couple hours.” He took another step back. “I just need to figure this out.”

Eight

     
    Blue eyes flashed through her mind and she started to wakefulness. Jolar was watching her from the bedroom doorway, still dressed in the clothes he’d worn last night.
    “Good morning,” he said quietly.
    She’d waited for him for hours and finally gone to bed around midnight. She sat up, rubbing at her eyes. “What time is it?”
    “Eight hundred hours.” He took a step back. “Come on. It’s time to talk.”
    Fear gnawed at her insides and her hands trembled as she dressed. The table was filled again with food and he was pouring white tea for her when she joined him in the little dining area.
    He handed her the cup and she wrapped her shaking hands around its warmth.
    “Are you sending me back?” she blurted.
    “No.” He met her eyes squarely. “I can’t. I convinced the Zartani Councilor that I needed your help. I can’t send you back. And I can’t just send you off on your own. The deal I made with Dacel was that you’d help me on Sertar or no ID.” He shook his head. “I don’t think we have any choice now but to go forward. I think we still can if I can teach you how . . .”
    “How not to be so odd,” she finished quietly.
    He gave a reluctant nod. “You have to play this part now and you need to do it well.”
    “Okay.” Arissa nipped her lip. “What did I do wrong at the restaurant?”
    “Not wrong.” He rubbed his eyes. “I understand now why you would be so . . . enthusiastic. It just never occurred to me that this would be a problem.” He sighed. “Sit down. You’ve got to be hungry.”
    She looked over the dishes. Now that she knew he wasn’t going to send her back to Tellar, her appetite was returning. She picked up a plate, noticing again that he took nothing but caf for himself. She wondered where he’d been all night.
    “What do you know about Sertar?”
    She