Free Exiled by Rashelle Workman Page A

talked. That’s it. I swear.” She blinked a few times. “I was mad you’d ignored me all day. I figured you’d forgotten.”
    Michael turned toward her. “But the lake, our lake?” Seemed too coincidental. He watched her push a dark strand of hair behind her ears. Admittedly, he was still attracted to her.
    They’d arrived at AnnaBeth’s. The sprawling rambler was bathed in light. Music blared into the night. Chev put the car in first and turned off the ignition. “I’m sorry, Michael. I promise nothing happened. I’d never do anything to hurt you.” Tears trickled down her cheeks.
    A part of him, the part that had gone and made her chocolate-covered sugar cookies wanted to lean over and wipe them away. Tell her not to worry, that everything was okay, all was forgiven . . . “I’ll have to think about it.”

14 . Take My Breath Away
     
    Neither Venus nor Zaren went to the party.
    Dervinias’s little house had two bedrooms. He’d given the smaller one to Venus. The room was basic: a window, closet, dresser, nightstand and a bed. The décor on the walls—not so basic. The top half had been painted a cotton candy pink. The bottom half had paper stuck to it, covered in (get this) little princesses. There were hundreds of vertical rows of blond, brown and black-haired girls wearing a long bright pink gown. Each had a tiara and scepter. An off-white border cut the walls in half and a hot pink colored word, ‘Princess’ repeated itself over and over and over and over all the way around the room.
    At least the bed looked comfy. A white comforter covered it and tons of different sized pillows had been propped against the headboard. It’d reminded Venus of a fluffy cloud. The pillows were pretty. Some covered in lace, pearlized shells, ruffles and tiny roses. Over the bed hung a small chandelier and with the lights on, the room sparkled with hundreds of tiny diamonds. On the white nightstand sat a lamp, the shade a soft pink. And the curtains dressing the window were thick, fluffy white.
    When she’d first entered, she nearly died of humiliation. Dervinias swore he hadn’t done it. He said the previous owners had sold him the house furnished. Both Zaren and Dervinias had laughed. Yeah, hilarious.
    The cute little room, clearly decorated for a little girl, brought concern and twisted her gut with worry. She couldn’t help wondering about the people who’d lived in the house before Dervinias. What’d happened to them? Why had they left everything? The girl? What sort of sadness or trouble had caused them to up and move? Humanity! Crappy new-fangled emotions for people she’d never met. They coursed through her body, an unfamiliar strain, the effects almost as poisonous as the air.
    She’d asked Dervinias about the family, but he’d said he didn’t know. Somehow she didn’t believe him. Something felt off. He seemed too happy, too cheerful about . . . everything. Even when Venus had asked questions and he’d complained she was giving him ‘the third degree’, he’d continued with his too upbeat attitude. It was irksome. Irritating. The worst part was he seemed to enjoy bugging her.
    “Look,” he’d finally said, “your fiancé’s father has a great desire to understand all things human—especially the younger generations. Teenagers to be specific. A lot of it probably has to do with the fact that we kelvieri look sixteen and will forever. But I’m sure it’s more. Over the centuries, he’s witnessed the younger generation become smarter and smarter while they’ve grown lazier and lazier. It’s made him curious. So here I am—an experiment.”
    Venus nodded. Her parents had talked about sending an expedition to Earth for the same sort of reasons. They had questions about why humans seemed to die at such a young age.
    “So you’re here to study the humans? You’re a Discoverer?”
    “Well, yes and no. My official title is Geneticist, but I’ve gone on several expeditions before this one