Huntsman Read Online Free Page B

seen.
    “I am glad you were able to make it. Have you had a chance to make a decision?”
    Derin gestured for her to take the seat next to him. “Not yet. I was hoping for your input.”
    Harka laughed and directed him to foods that he would find close to familiar. They spent an hour with the others, sampling foods and pointing out favourites to others.
    Sno’s companion said, “We need a shop like this closer to the base.”
    Harka laughed. “I am working on it. The problem is location and permits. It is already at capacity for food vendors.”
    He grimaced. “I will look into it. This is the best meal I have had since I woke.”
    Sno nodded. “It really is. He’s fussy.”
    Harka watched the closeness between the two and suspected that they had had a relationship before last night’s events. Sno had never said anything about him, but she had been a medic before she was a monitor.
    The group dispersed but Derin remained. “I have taken a day off and would love to show you my home.”
    Harka bit the inside of her lip. “Is that a good idea?”
    Derin cocked his head. “Well, it will put you squarely into my clutches, so I think it is a great idea.”
    She giggled and nodded. “With that as an inducement, I will be right with you. I just have to get my bag.”
    Harka ducked to the back office and grabbed her bag.
    The manager gripped her arm. “You are going with an Edinar?”
    Harka smiled. “I am.”
    “Thank goodness. I was wondering what it would take for you to go out on a date, now I see it was a man who was recently on the brink of death. Kinky.”
    Harka smacked her friend on the arm and headed back into the café where Derin was taking care of the bill. She was pleased to see that he was a good tipper, and when they stepped outside, the dark car was waiting again.
    She was bundled inside, and she smoothed the skirt over her thighs. “So, where is your home?”
    He grinned as he closed the door behind him. “I am amused that you are asking now. It is on the other side of the compound, facing the forests.”
    “That sounds like the location of the great archive of Horalthia.”
    “It is. I have been put in charge.”
    “Oh. And you live there?”
    “There have been some concessions. I have also been granted property in the deep woods for my own recreation. There is a small cabin being built for me.”
    She blinked. “You like to hunt.”
    “I do. I also like the quiet of the woods.”
    They crossed the city and went through familiar checkpoints. Harka’s status as a former monitor allowed her access to the secure areas with Derin. Her time as monitor was finally doing some good.
    When they entered the underground drive, she moved closer to Derin. She had never been a fan of being underground. She didn’t want to curl up to him for protection, she just wanted to use his body heat to let her know where he was.
    Once the car came to a halt, Derin walked around to open her door. She stepped out carefully, her narrow ankle-length skirt did not allow for a lot of free movement.
    He took her hand, and she could feel him trembling with eagerness. With his ocular scan and palm print, they entered a lift and were whisked to the uppermost floor of the archive.
    “I have never been on this floor before. I mean, I have come here a few times on school trips, years ago, but not recently.” She was babbling, but he ignored her, pulling her out of the lift and into his living space.
    The moment they cleared the doors and she could look around, she went with him eagerly. Books. There were books everywhere.
    Books, scrolls, flat parchments, all were carefully arranged inside specially built shelves in the wall.
    “Feel free to read anything that catches your fancy.” He gestured to any and all the records around her.
    Harka smiled and headed for the desk decorated with scrolls opened and held down with paperweights. “What is this?”
    “Immigration reports. The monitors have such ease in contacting us that