She levels a dark look at me, “Easy for you to preserve it though, given your modern freezers.”
“That reminds me,” Arch rumbles, sitting upright. “Little bride, will you tell us of your schools? And your schooling?”
I see fear flicker in her eyes before she locks it down. “What do you mean, exactly?” she asks, casually, as she sips her wine.
“Can you read and write?” Theo supplies.
“Yes,” she frowns, an insulted look on her face.
“Can all humans?” I ask.
She frowns harder and presses her lips together.Debating how much of their secrets to share, I imagine. I know the answer to this question however.
“No,” she finally answers, “While the villages and settlements have taken it upon themselves to organize schooling, there are no laws requiring attendance, as there used to be, and given how much work it is to keep a family housed, clothed, and fed,somepeople use their children to help instead of sending them to school.”
That’s the truth. It’s good she shared that with us.
Arch’s brow furrows, which is rather hard for a gargoyle. “That’s cruel. Children and winglings need to play and learn, and help at an appropriate level for their age.”
Theo jumps in, “The intent of the communities we arranged you in, was to have the hands to help, to live cooperatively.”
Fern’s face is annoyed. “Yes, well, some humans are shitbags. And more often, some are just not meant to live in such a manner, it goes against their nature. Not sure why you all think we should act like little toys, doing whatever you wish.” She drinks deeply of her wine, looking annoyed. “Not sure why you think being stronger than us makes you better or more fit rulers.”
The three of us exchange a glance silently.
Theo stands. “I think the chili is done.”
I help him ladle out servings and soon we’re all back to relaxing as we eat, watching the fire in silence again.
As my spoon scrapes the bottom of my clay bowl, I sneak a glance up at Fern. She’s looking more relaxed, perhaps because we dropped the schooling topic.
She leans forwards and fills her wine glass from the bottle. After she swallows a sip, she says, “The chili is excellent, Theo. But this wine is awful. Please tell me you didn’t make it yourselves?” She arches a dark eyebrow as we shake our heads silently, all thrown by her casual conversation.
She continues, “With your abundance of river grapes, you could easily brew and bottle a nice stash.”
Something breaks across Arch’s face, like he’s hoping she might be seeing a future with us. It makes my chest ache, but I’m nervous. Afraid she’s playing us again.
And maybe we deserve it. We’re not tellingherthe full truth. I collapse in on myself, leaning back in my chair.
Theo and Arch jump into a conversation about brewing wine, as Fern excitedly explains some of the science behind it. My mind races, guilt threatening to choke me.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Theodore
Our time at the fire was exactly what we needed, as I had suspected. I look at our bride from the corners of my eyes, her face light from within as she explains her livelihood: brewing.
I see Arch watching her closely, a tiny smile playing at his lips. Ben, however, is once again, sucked into his own head. I let my tail slide over to stroke at his thigh.
He jumps, not paying attention to the outside world.My intellectual mate.I smile at him and as I look away, I catch our bride watching us.
I give her a crooked grin, my tail playing higher on Ben’s thigh. She quickly averts her gaze.
An omega. Unreal.Just the mere suggestion makes me want her more, though I don’t know how that is possible.
“More chili, anyone?” I ask, standing.
When everyone shakes their heads, I gather bowls and place them on our outdoor table. After filling everyone’s wine glasses, I resettle in my chair.
