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My brothers stand from their seats and move slowly to shake her hand, so as not to scare her. They greet her with tender soberness, which I appreciate.
“I’ve never met a human before,” Sten blurts. “You’re amazing.”
Mica laughs and suddenly I can see she’s completely comfortable. Sten starts chatting with my female and asks too many questions about humans. Mica patiently answers them all. And then we move to sit down.
Mica takes a seat on a couch facing the fireplace and I give the other two sharp warning glances. They both back away and take nearby seats. I sit beside her, not too close but close enough. My barbed tail rests against the top of her shoulders and the back of her neck. I want to hold her hand but refrain from this mark of possession that I do not yet have the right to take. She does not behave any differently towards either of my brothers than she did towards Burl or any of the other males she’s met. I scent not a hint of arousal from her towards either of them.
And still none towards me either.
“I suppose you heard how Thorn found me and that I’m a human on the run?” Mica begins.
“Yes,” Sten answers. “We were troubled to hear you were running from Hyrrokin who’d caused you harm and that you ended up in the wildlands, hurt.”
“Yes, it was a terrible situation and I’m amazed I made it out okay.” She gives me a warm glance and places her delicate hand on my red claw. “Thorn saved my life. I’ll be forever grateful.”
Rake shrugs. “It’s what we do. We’re caretakers of this land and any beings who live here.”
Sten agrees. “Our caretaking is exhibited in how we raise pyrotaurs in the ways of old and we honor the beasts we’ve slaughtered by making sure we will use every bit that they’ve given and we raise them using only what the land gives us in this specific area the wild grasses they live off of the sun and the rains the water that is provided in the creeks. We make sure during the rainy season though, that we set aside extra food that we grew locally. The pyrotaur know to shelter in caves and now they’re back on the fields. We do our best to keep predators away.”
“The meat you ate today was from our cattle slaughtered here and cooked here. It’s very healthy,” I say. “It pleases me to know that what I grew is providing you sustenance.”
“We can talk of raising pyrotaurs and our riding beasts and ranching in general all day,” Sten apologizes.
“Yes, we can talk of this too much. In fact we need to instead talk more of the circumstances of your arrival. We would be grateful if you would tell us more about who you were running from,” Rake says, “because then we can protect you better.”
I nod and clench my fists. “I want to know who hurt you.”
“Oh, I can’t say anything more than I already have. I’ve already told this to Thorne but…”
Her hand is so close to mine that our fingers brush together. Did she just move closer to my side?
“…I can’t say anything more because I have to protect you from my troubles.”
“Protectus?” my older brother chuckles, because itisfunny.
Sten and I chuckle too.
Mica crosses her arms and lifts her chin, her eyes flashing at us with firm resolve. “Yes. You need protection too. I can’t tell you who was chasing me or why because I’m afraid that you’ll get pulled into my mess and hurt. My troubles are my own, they aren’t yours too.”
“You do know that we don’t need protecting?” Rake points out.
“But you don’t know who I’m protecting you from. Maybe if you knew, you’d understand the importance of my silence.”
They both frown.
I’m happy that they’re seeing how stubborn she is. They thought the problem was that I wasn’t being persuasive enough. No. My female speaks her mind and makes her own decisions. And I admire the strength of her will.
But the one thing she doesn’t understand—her troubles aren’t her own.
They are mine too.
Chapter 6
Mica
The next morning, I wake up in Thorn’s guest room, rubbing at my eyes. And I'm struck again by how beautiful the sunlight is, streaming through the windows. The ebony four-poster bed is luxurious and the mattress soft. The crisp, white bedding utter perfection.
I roll around, stretching. That was the best night’s sleep I’ve had since I’ve arrived on Tarvos. Although, what would it be like to have Thorn in this bed beside me? To wake up in his strong arms?
