“Why?”she asked around a mouthful of glorious gooeyness.
“He attacked Vic and challenges me often when there is no cause for either.”
“I’m sure he has his reasons.”Sniffing, she followed her nose to the glass of tisane to her left and took a sip.“If not a little misguided.”
She licked her lips, searching for every drop of saltiness.
The air charged, rippling awareness down the nape of her neck.
She shuffled on her ass, unable to shake the sensation of being stared at.“Nenn?”she whispered, angling her head.“Are we alone?”
“Yes,” he said, his voice gravelly.
“Oh.”She squared her shoulders and ignored the sensation.“Thought someone was watching me.”
“I am.”A plate scraped closer, the aroma alone confirming more tulsig cakes were before her.But his words had her frozen.
“Why?Is it my face?”She wiped her temple, unsure whether Aehort’s touch had scarred her.
“No, there is nothing wrong with you.”He caught her hand and held onto it.“I find you breathtaking.”
With her aged appearance revealed by Aehort still fresh in her mind and Ulvus’s words on what attracts Qaldreth warriors, she scoffed.“My face will shift.”She let go of her tisane in search of another cake.
“Yes, as will mine, but who you are shines through.”
Again, she wanted to scoff or roll her eyes though she doubted Nenn would understand either.“Bitter, unforgiving, scared, and lost me?Shining?”She bit into the cake to do something instead of sitting there listening to Nenn wax poetic nonsense.
“Joyful, brilliant, charming, determined, strong, and fearless.”
Is that what he thinks of me?She blinked to hold back tears as if she hadn’t emptied her ducts during her chat with Ulvus.“I’m human,” she said, her voice cracking.“There has to be some bad.”
“For Qaldreth, too.”
“Well, you’re perfect, or you’ve been hiding all your awful qualities.”She forced a smile.Knowing her luck, he could turn out to be some alien version of a psychopath.Her gut churned, and everything in her rebelled against that thought.
“I lack ambition, can be single-minded,” he cleared his throat, “and a coward.”
She tightened her fingers in his, squeezing his hand.“Now,thatI don’t believe.”
“I wanted my father to die when I was away so that I did not have to deal with his death.”
Her heart melted, and a tear slipped free.“You are just scared of losing someone you love.We all are.”
“My mother…” His warm breath on her knuckles preceded the softness of his lips when he placed a kiss there.
“You arenota coward,” she said, dropping her half-eaten cake to reach for him.
“It does not matter,hirihadie.It was his dying wish that I train with the Ivoyans.Without his sacrifice, I would still be on Qaldreth.”
“No,” she gasped, cupping their clasped hands.Her mind spun while a strange weight crushed her chest, affecting her heartbeat.“How soon?”
“Between his death and the Ivoyans collecting me?”He released a shuddering gasp.“Hours.”
“Oh my word, Nenn, I’m so sorry.Grieving and leaving your home are two of the worst stressors.How did you cope?”
“I threw myself into my studies.I refused to bring dishonor upon my tribe and nullify my father’s sacrifice.”
She inched closer to him.“Do you have siblings?”
