Beneath the Fallen City by Jamie A. Waters (chapter books to read to 5 year olds .TXT) 📖

Kayla looked down at the dress. “I feel ridiculous.”

The gown was pure white and made from some sort of impossibly soft material. It had a revealing neckline and spaghetti straps that crossed her back. Except for the two small straps, the back was open and accentuated her curves before cascading nearly to the floor. A high slit in the side reached almost to her hip. Kayla wondered why these Omnis even bothered wearing anything at all.

Her mother had twisted Kayla’s hair into a complicated up-do, leaving a few wisps to fall around her face. She’d allowed Seara to paint her face using the strange bottles on the counter. Kayla stared at herself in the mirror and had a hard time believing it was her reflection staring back at her.

Seara practically beamed. “You look exquisite. That dress looks far better on you than it ever did on me. It looks like it was made for you.”

“You guys seriously wear this stuff to eat? I’m going to end up spilling something on it or worse,” she complained, looking down at her cleavage on display. “I think my boobs are going to pop out.”

Seara laughed in delight, waving off her concerns. “You’ll be fine. If it gets ruined, I have plenty more. I can’t remember when I’ve ever had this much fun dressing for dinner.”

Kayla laughed in spite of herself at Seara’s giddiness. Her mother was wearing a long, cream-colored dress with intricate, golden threading, and her hair was pinned up in some sort of bun fastened with sparkling clips. She was absolutely breathtaking.

Seara reached up to adjust Kayla’s hair, and she noticed the strange bracelet around her mother’s wrist. Kayla frowned, remembering the earlier conversation with Alec and his father. “Hey, is that one of those security bracelets?”

Seara’s eyes widened, and she pulled back, self-consciously twisting the bracelet around her wrist. “Who told you about them? Did Alec say something?”

“No,” Kayla replied, puzzled by Seara’s reaction. “We ran into his father outside, and he mentioned I should get one. He said it gives you access to secure areas?”

“Something like that. What did Alec say about it?”

“He said I didn’t need one. He wanted me to meet you first. I’m guessing he wanted to show me around himself. Maybe I should get one though.”

A security access bracelet might come in handy. She’d like to investigate some of OmniLab’s new prototypes. An all-access pass could get her into the restricted areas without too much trouble. Although, even without one, it wouldn’t stop her planned exploration.

Seara touched Kayla’s arm and vehemently shook her head. She held her finger to her lips to indicate silence, then pointed to her ear and gestured to the entire room. “That’s an option. You may not need one though. Wait and see.”

Kayla’s brow furrowed. They were being monitored? She looked around the room trying to figure out a likely place for listening devices. In a room this size, it would be easy to plant something. Deciding it would probably be best to play along until she could learn more, she said, “Uh, okay. I don’t want to wear something around my wrist anyway.”

Seara nodded emphatically and kept her finger pressed against her lips. “We can talk more about it later. Let’s go show Veridian and Alec your dress. I can’t wait to see their faces.”

Kayla let Seara lead her back down the hall to where Veridian and Alec were waiting. Both men stood as they entered, looking polished in formal suits.

Veridian’s eyes widened as he tugged at his collar, looking as freaked out as she felt. “Kayla? Wow, um… wow.”

She flushed. Veridian looked uncomfortable in his suit, but Alec seemed to be perfectly at ease in his. He was exotic, elegant, and incredibly sexy all at once. He studied her intently, and Kayla noticed the heat in his eyes. “You’re absolutely stunning, Kayla.”

Oh man, an Omni shouldn’t look that good.

The corners of his mouth tilted upward into a smirk. Kayla’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, wondering if he was reading her thoughts again. Before she could ask him, Seara clapped her hands together to get everyone’s attention. “We should probably head to the meeting room. Your attendance is going to cause something of a stir.”

Kayla grimaced at the thought of parading around a bunch of Omnis. These were the same people who controlled the lives of her friends on the surface, and she was about to go socialize with them wearing a borrowed dress worth more than her camp’s annual income. She squared her shoulders and nodded. She could do this. If not, she’d see just how well this dress would hold up on a speeder.

“Time to show everyone what a reanimated corpse looks like,” Kayla muttered under her breath.

Veridian heard her comment and smothered a laugh.

“Veridian, would you escort me?” Seara linked her arm with his. “I’d love to hear more of the stories from when you two were growing up.”

Veridian flashed her a huge smile. As they headed out the door, he launched into a story about Kayla sneaking off into the ruins when she was ten years old.

Alec approached Kayla. “May I have the honor of escorting you?”

She looked at him in alarm. “I knew it. I told Seara these shoes were death traps. Is that why someone has to escort us? So we don’t fall on our face?”

Alec chuckled. “No, although I’m quite sure if you wanted to take them off at some point, no one would mind. They definitely won’t be looking at your feet.”

Okay, now he’s definitely flirting with me.

Alec’s eyes warmed, and he leaned close to her. “And for the record, you’re the most beautiful reanimated corpse I’ve ever seen.”

“You weren’t supposed to hear that.”

Alec’s mouth twitched into a smile, and he held out his arm for Kayla. She linked her arm in his and warned, “You better catch me if I fall on my ass. Preferably before. With my luck, I’ll end up ripping this dress and giving the entire room a show.”

Alec laughed. “You’re one of the most unusual and outspoken women I’ve ever met. It’s rather refreshing. Is it just you or because you grew up on the surface, I wonder? I never know what you’re going to say next.”

Kayla shrugged. “It’s probably me. Judging by the number of people I’ve managed to piss off over the years, yeah, it’s me.”

He smiled at her, and they headed out of the Rath’Varein private quarters. They followed Seara and Veridian down the pathway toward a central meeting room area. Dozens of people milled around, sipping on drinks and chatting with one another.

Seara turned to Kayla and whispered, “They usually mingle for about twenty or thirty minutes before anyone is even seated. It’s all about politics here.”