Page 54 of Urzra

The knight made the rounds of all of the houses and none of them were occupied.A few had bodies inside when he broke in to search for food.He still hadn’t answered his own question when darkness fell and he headed back to Bria.

He could hear his female humming as he approached their base.She’d sensed him coming and opened the front door.“You found more food?”she asked, seeing the bags that were slung over his shoulders.

“Merry Christmas,” he said with a grin when she stepped aside to let him in.

“You’re five months early, but I appreciate the gifts,” she said, closing and locking the door.“I take it we don’t have any dangerous neighbors?”

Urzra shook his head as he dumped the bags on the dining table.“We don’t have any neighbors at all,” he corrected her.“They were either raptured, left afterwards or ended their own lives.”

She wasn’t surprised to hear that and her expression turned grave.“It must have been hard for the people who were left behind after losing their friends and families to the Rapture,” she said.

“Most people would have had trouble coping,” Urzra agreed, then began unpacking the bags.“Where do you want me to put these?”he asked.

“I’ll take care of that,” she said.“Take a seat and rest.”

“I don’t think anyone has ever said that to me before,” he said, casting his mind back through time as he ambled over to an armchair.“It’s comfy,” he said in approval when he sank down onto the tan-colored recliner.

“All you need is a can of beer and you’d look like a guy who just came home from a hard day’s work,” Bria joked.She began putting the items he’d scrounged up in the pantry.She’d found an old kettle and was heating up water to make herself some coffee.Something was cooking on another gas burner.It smelled nice and he almost wished he needed to eat.

“I saw the lake while I was out scouting,” Urzra said.“It’s small, but there are fish in it.I’d like to try catching some so you can have a fresh meal.”

“That sounds great,” she said in surprise.“I saw some fishing rods in a shed behind the house when I searched the place earlier.”

Urzra felt a strange need to provide for his female.It was what had driven him to search for the food and beverages.“My brothers will probably laugh themselves stupid when they find out how I’ll be spending my time while waiting for Amaros to find me,” he said with a sheepish grin.

“Fishing isn’t manly enough for the mighty Knights of Order?”Bria asked mockingly as she stirred her food.

“None of us have ever been fishing before,” he said in a rueful tone.

The kettle started whistling and she poured the water into a mug.“Fishing is easy,” she said.“You just need to dig up some worms from near the lake and put them on the hooks.Cast the line into the water and wait for the fish to bite.”

“Will you show me, female?”he asked, knowing she would sense his vulnerability at being rejected again.

“Sure,” she replied.“I used to fish every now and then back home.I’m pretty good at it.”

His tension faded and he relaxed into the chair.He was too tall for it and his legs hung over the end, but it was the most comfortable chair he’d ever sat on.“This is the life,” he said, lacing his fingers over his stomach.“What did you do to keep yourself busy before the Rapture?”he asked.

Bria checked her meal, then spooned it into a bowl.It was orange in color and was some kind of soup.“I read most of the time,” she said.“Ethel left me enough money in her will that I didn’t have to work if I didn’t want to, as long as I was frugal.With my talent to feel emotions, the only kind of jobs I could have done would have been solitary ones anyway.”

“What sort of books do you read?”he asked next, glancing at the e-reader she was charging.It sat on the coffee table, plugged into a long cord that led to a wall socket.

“All sorts of things,” his cambion said.She carried her bowl and coffee to the other recliner and sat down.“I’ve been reading a lot of romantasy lately,” she confessed.

“What’s romantasy?”he asked.

“Books based in fantasy worlds that are heavy on romance,” she explained, cheeks going pink in embarrassment.“The main female characters usually have some kind of magical talent.Their men are warriors or have magic of their own.They get into all sorts of trouble as they save their towns or worlds from whatever problems they have to face.”

Urzra cocked his head to the side.“You just described us, female,” he said teasingly.“You have magic and I’m a warrior with magic of my own.We’re fighting our enemies to save this world from the chaos they bring.”

Bria’s face went a darker shade of red.“Yeah, but we’re not a couple,” she pointed out.

“We could be,” he reminded her.“I’m not pushing you, Bria,” he said, holding his hand up when she frowned darkly.“I’m just saying that’s what Fate intends for us.I’m content to wait until my commander arrives and see if he knows what’s going on.”

She was still frowning, but at least she hadn’t fled from the house.His cambion took a sip of her soup and he felt the burn on her tongue with her.“Too hot,” she complained, then blew on her spoon.

Instantly hard again, Urzra wished he didn’t react like a horny teenager around her all the time.“I’m going to take a shower,” he said, then lurched to his feet.

“Make it a cold one,” she said to his back with a hint of amusement as he strode down the hall.“Towels and washcloths are in the linen cupboard just next to the bathroom!”she called out.