TheDutyofPain Read Free Page B

her. Alda grunted and got to her feet, shedding the robes and mask while she stumbled to the lav.
    It took her ten minutes to get the makeup off her skin, but when she looked at her own face in the mirror, it showed her sallow cheeks, hollow eyes and pale lips. She looked like hammered hell.
    Shivering, she had to admit she probably needed a meal. She looked at the ashy skin of her hands and the scars left by the cuffs. The marks might fade in time, but her body had been so busy replacing the energy she was using that healing itself had come in last place.
    She left the lav and went in search of the galley. The smell of food was easy to follow, and Bukel had a plate ready for her when she arrived.
    He stared at her and blinked. “You changed colour.”
    She chortled softly. “I took off the court makeup.”
    “Why did you wear it?”
    “It is a uniform. We wear it to hide facial expressions and give us a unified appearance. Why do you wear the robes?”
    He chuckled. “Because it was required by the Olsted court. It was the same reason that we wore the masks.”
    He wasn’t wearing a mask now, and the clean-cut line of his jaw was definitely worth looking at. He had pointed ears, his eyes were more slanted than they had appeared in the fabric mask and his nose was straight and well-shaped.
    She took a seat at the table, and he put the plate in front of her. She reached for the glass of water first.
    Alda engaged in the same behaviour that she had in the Olsted court. She shoved the food into her mouth and washed it down with the contents of the glass.
    “You really enjoy your food.” Bukel sat across from her.
    “Not really, it is fuel. I eat until I am full and then stop.” Alda put the eating prong down and set the plate aside.
    He smiled, and he was about to speak when Larsilk came in, his pale green eyes showed his good humour, but it was his face that got Alda’s complete attention.
    “You have the same face.” It was identical. It was not the similarity one saw in twins, but a completely identical face right down to the small scar in his left eyebrow.
    Larsilk got a meal into the heater and sat down with it next to Bukel.
    “Why do you have the same face?”
    Larsilk smiled, his lips quirking up at the corners. “Terlio didn’t tell you?”
    Bukel elbowed him in the ribs. “Quiet.”
    “Terlio said that I would find out on Udell.”
    Larsilk sighed, “That would be safer.”
    Alda rubbed at her forehead. “This is immaterial. I will find out soon enough. What am I going to be doing at Sector Guard Base Udell?”
    Bukel spoke quietly, his deep voice slow and deliberate. “You will train for combat situations as well as espionage. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to contact loved ones and keep them apprised of your progress and location.”
    “I can just call my family?” She hadn’t had contact with them since the court guard had come to collect her.
    “You can. We have a secure network that sends a completely masked signal. You can contact anyone who is within range of a com device.” Larsilk mumbled the words around his food.
    Bukel sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Ignore him, Alda-Xeri.”
    She stood and got another glass of water. “You may call me Alda. Alda-Xeri is my formal name. We are now beyond formality.”
    Bukel raised his eyebrows and Larsilk did the same, the only difference in their faces was their eye colour. “How is it that we are beyond formality?”
    She crossed her arms and sipped at her water. “Gentlemen, when a lady lets you see her without makeup, the formality has gone out the window.”

Chapter Four
    Udell was an enclosed base. Their shuttle snugged up against an umbilicus while the seal settled against it.
    “All right, we are home.” Quuro unbuckled his harness and stood. Terlio left the navigation station while Bukel and Larsilk escorted her to the exit.
    She was coming to grips with the fact that all of the men around her were the same except