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“It’s nothing. I wasn’t planning on going to the feast anyway, so I was already preparing dinner.”
“No, I mean, yes, thank you for sharing your food, but also for saving my life. In the forest, from the fire.” I add on as if I need to clarify.
He gives me a curious glance. Not for the first time have I felt like I’m the unknown specimen to peer at through a microscope.
I wasn’t planning on eating, but I need a distraction from his gaze. I take a few bites of food, and it’s actually superb. My appetite comes roaring back as I continue, and I remember I have eaten nothing since breakfast.
I hear that melody again, but at least it’s easier to listen to. Whatever’s playing is less discordant and more harmonious and pleasing. “So, what’s that music you’re playing? It’s familiar, but I can’t place it.”
Lucky’s head drops. “You hear it?”
I wonder if he’s joking. “Of course, I hear it. You’re not playing?”
He steps away from the table, pacing. I’m unsure what I said.
He seems to be struggling with something internally. Despite his strange reactions, he makes me sad whereas earlier he just irritated me. I want to know more about him.
On the one hand, I know I’m supposed to be nervous or frightened at his strange reactions, however, he just makes me feel sad. I want to know more about why he acts the way he does.
It’s the same instinct that Jonah lectures me on, but I can’t help it. There’s usually a reason people act the way they do and I’m usually an excellent judge of whether someone will try to kill me.
What do I say?
“If I promise not to talk about music again, will you sit down?”
He doesn’t answer me, but he paces back toward the table and sits back down. And just like that, he’s back to being calm.
We continue in silence and it doesn’t take long for me to see the industrial art motif in his dining area. Twisted metal and abstract miniature sculptures grace various shelves, yet there are no personal pictures or images.
I wonder if Otherkin don’t tend to decorate their homes with pictures. The inn had pictures throughout the common areas, but that could have been more Val’s influence than Torben’s.
Lucky perks up as if he hears something in the distance. He strides down the hall in the dark. He opens the door and raises his hand in greeting.
“Vane is here,” he calls back to me. “He’s here to escort you back to the inn.”
I guess that’s my cue to leave. He waits for me to join him and the door, and once there, he leads me down a winding staircase until we are on a ground level patio. There are more sculptures here, larger ones which carry the sun and feather brand I’ve been searching for..
“You’re him, aren’t you?” I ask.
He looks at me. Whatever he wants to say initially dies behind clenched teeth. “I’ve heard I would need to have a soul to create art,” he whispers.
Shame fills me, but before I can address it, Jonah comes up and whisks me into his arms. “Baby girl, I’ve been out of my mind with worry! Damn this place without its Wi-Fi or phone signals.” He turns to Vane, wagging his finger in the wulver’s face. “Phones, satellite phones, walkie-talkies, whatever you need to get so that each guest is in constant contact! This is crazy!”
“Your feedback has been noted with the council. Trust me,” Vane answers. He nods at Lucky. “Thank you. We’ll get them back to the inn and leave you to your peace.”
“Thank you,” I say to him again. My words seem lame to my ears.
Without a word, Lucky turns around and walks back up to his nest.
* * *
Lucky Blaze
I almost feelbad for the guy curled up in a ball at my feet. Almost. That’s what he gets for talking abouther. He had the gall of saying that he was looking for her at the feast—and wanted to ask her to share a meal.
He’s lucky he can breathe unassisted, and I say so to Kiran, my brother, who laughs at me as he leans back on the bleachers.
“Yeah, that’s the calm, cool, and collected demeanor of someone completely unaffected by his mating call,” he jests.
