Nobody says what we are all clearly thinking.
I look down at the berries in my hand. “You think he came here forme?” I ask, trying for humor and not quite gettingthere. “Because apparently my life wasn’t complicated enough already.”
“It’s not impossible,” Piper says and spits a seed into her palm. “We know dragons can be attracted to Earth women to the point where they forget their gold addiction. Or he was here for a different purpose altogether. Maybe he was curious about the Red Rock or the village itself.”
The words hang in the air. None of them believe it. Even I don’t. But if Vyrathion was here for me, why did he just leave? He seemed more surprised than anything else.
I nod towards the saucer. “Think I can get Myron to fly me back to Earth?”
The girls exchange glances. They have clearly discussed this possibility before, probably when I am not around.
“It would be dangerous,” Cora says carefully. “That saucer crashed once already, then spent years abandoned and then a week half-frozen in a glacier. We still don’t really know what shape it’s in.”
“And we don’t know if Myron listens to anyone except me,” Riley adds. “That becomes a serious issue if you’re halfway to Earth.”
I fold my arms. “I’d still rather take my chances than sit up here waiting for Korr’ax to assign me a husband.”
Nobody answers immediately. That tells me enough.
“Morgan,” Riley says quietly, “I get it. Seriously. A few weeks ago, I wanted to go home so badly it physically hurt.”
“We all did,” Theodora says gently. “Nobody thinks you’re wrong for feeling this way. We just want to make sure you survive- oh, jeez.”
A caveman comes up to the plateau, looking very serious as he checks for dactyls and dragons. He notices me and straightens up as he poses against the view of the jungle, pretending to scan the sky for dangers.
We all look at him in silence, with me glaring daggers, and finally he senses the awkwardness and calmly walks back down the stairs.
“They have to try,” Riley sighs. “They all want a wife.”
“And I don’t want a husband,” I say as I brush nut crumbs from my hands. “So I guess we’re at a stalemate until Korr’ax decides to hold a raffle and hand me out as the grand prize.”
Nobody laughs.
I swallow. “Or maybe I become a traveling trophy,” I continue, hearing my own voice start to shake. “One week each. Have to be fair. Wasn’t that basically what the ice tribe wanted with you, Riley? The Borok can’t be all that different.”
“Morgan,” Cora begins carefully.
“Nobody needs to say it,” I tell them. “I’m having every man in the tribe paraded in front of me. That tells me everything I need to know.” I force a smile that feels brittle. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin lunch. I think I need a nap.” I leave before anyone can stop me.
Nobody calls after me, and somehow that makes everything feel worse.
Maybe they are trying to give me space. Maybe the moment I disappear down the stairs, they all exchange worried looks and start discussing me like I am some kind of emotional emergency. Riley probably defends me. Cora probably says I am under pressure, which is true enough. Someone probably points out that Korr’ax really is trying to solve a problem for the tribe, and that makes heat creep up my neck all over again.
Wonderful.Now I have managed to embarrass myself in front of the only people who actually understand what being stranded on this planet feels like.
I descend the stairs from the plateau more quickly than usual, one hand trailing against the rough stone wall as I go. I pass two layers of posted guards on the way, and I feel their stares at my back.
When I reach my cave, I sigh. “Shit.” I’ve forgotten to pull the leather hanging across the opening, so the sun has heated the cave up so much it’s like a baker’s oven in there.
But I know another place, so I pull the leather curtain across the cave opening and keep walking down the stairs.
The air is warm, and it presses against my skin as if the village is aware of me again and quietly deciding what I am supposed to do next.
I walk without picking a direction at first. My feet take the familiar paths between huts and fires and half-finished structures, past men who pause just long enough to look at me before returning to what they were doing.
Heat creeps back into my face as I replay what just happened on the plateau. My own voice comes back in fragments I wish Icould drop.Traveling trophy. Raffle.I had heard myself saying it, even while another part of me was still trying to stop it.
A guard near a fire straightens as I pass, smiling too quickly, too hopefully, like my presence is a signal rather than just movement. I nod once and keep going.
