“She’s hired.” I forced the words past my lips before I could start telling him how much of a dumbass he was being.
He seemed surprised at my quick response for a moment, then wiped the expression from his face with a hand. “ThanksTheo, I really appreciate it. If you don’t mind just putting us on the same shifts for convenience—”
“Absolutely not,” I cut him off.
A muscle in his jaw twitched, his fingers snapping in agitation against his thigh. “Why not?”
“I don’t see you being nice to my patrons when your mate has to deal with them.”
“I didn’t say she was my—” he couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. As if it would betray her to imply there was any world where they weren’t bonded. “I’ll be nice.”
“Like hell you will.” I would’ve laughed at the blatant lie if the topic weren’t so serious.
“Theo.” A clawed hand slapped down on the bar top next to me, Graysen’s bronze eyes were glowing. The thought of not being there to watch over her infuriated him enough to shift into his predatory features. He was proving my point.
“If you can’t talk about this without slipping feral, how would you handle a shift with her? Drunk males flirting with her?” I tapped a finger on the back of his claw.
“Feral” features, the unmasked version of some Trebianna species, were a sign they were losing control. Usually over their temper. Why else would they suddenly need claws and fangs, if not to maim?
He withdrew his blackened hand, gripping the back of his neck with it. “Sorry. Just… think about it, okay? It would really help me.”
I’d see how he adjusted to her working at all, thenmaybereconsider what his temper could manage. I figured this wouldn’t be a sustainable restriction, but hopefully some common sense would kick in and he’d take her back to her fieldbefore things got too complicated. I had until the end of winter to decide how to handle this best. Then I’d leave for Cyciciah and they’d have to manage themselves.
“Can she start tomorrow?” More time with me would be better. I could keep an eye on things.
He blinked his eyes, their color cooling from feral Pyran bronze to their original gray. “I’m sure she’d like to.” Anxiety audibly caught in his throat, the reality of his request was setting in.
“Great. With Bren gone, I’m short-handed. Better to start her as soon as possible.” I hadn’t intended to replace my previous employee. We were fully staffed since Mitus started. But, it made for an easy excuse.
“Of course,” he said quietly.
I looked at the fear in Graysen’s eyes. He didn’t want to do this. I’d give him one more opportunity to back out. It wasn’t too late. “I’ll be gone next summer. Do you think she has enough bartending experience to hold things down without me around? Maybe I should hire someone who’s worked a pub before?”
All he had to do was suggest she couldn’t handle it, and I could call this whole lousy plan off. He’d have a convenient excuse to give her.
His brows pinched together, the muscles of his neck twitching as he swallowed. “I think she’ll do well.” The words grated through his clenched teeth.
Fine. I’d given him a chance to make the right decision for his mate. I’d do what I could to support them, then return to Cyciciah to help the goddess I’d found. No, who had foundme. And saved me. Who didn’t have a support network to guard heraround the clock and worry about her secret getting out. She needed a hand. I’d lend four.
Vivian
I wassoaked.
The towering trees of the forest were shit at shielding me from the relentless, non-stop rain that’d been pouring down since the season changed from winter to summer. I’d been informed the “Western Continent” skipped spring and fall—those were only found in the “Eastern Continent”—so my new home would be alternating between monsoons and blizzards every fifty days indefinitely.Lucky me. I was nearly one hundred days into living on Trebianna, and already experiencing my second sweaty slosh season.
At least there wasn’t any thunder or lightning at the moment. When the trees in these woods were struck and fell, it sounded like a damn explosion—frightening enough that I didn’t leave my field during the bad storms. Getting crushed by a freakishly large blue pine tree wasn’t how I wanted to go.
I wouldn’t say the situation wasideal, but overall, I was happy with where I’d ended up. Once you got past the crazy weather and wild animals, these woods were beautifully and magnificently haunting. The navy-blue trunks of the evergreens—everblues—peeled with birch-like bark. It reminded me of the chipping paint of my old front door. Everything was cool-toned.The green and purple planets in the sky providedsomevariety to the shades of blue surrounding me, but still, the spectrum of colors didn’t vary much beyond seafoam and indigo.
Most branches werewayabove my reach, but the water sloshing off their evergreen slopes in distinct streams was a constant reminder of their existence—towering over my head. I weaved around another pine-scented cascade falling from the sky. Droplets breaking between the trees were one thing, it was an entirely different experience to carelessly walk through a miniature waterfall.
Despite the height of the branches, the path through the forest wasn’t entirely clear. Massive root systems grew out of the ground, creating tripping hazards and small refuges to hide in when the rain got a little too obnoxious. The local animals—although they were giving “ghost” more than “animal”—also took advantage of these shelters. Several of them were doing that today.
An eerie feeling crept over me as I walked past the empty eye sockets monitoring me from the burrows. None of the creatures here looked alive. They were bone shrouded in mist.
The critter currently watching me had black bones and white mist, the opposite of most. It was hunkered within a root system, its head twisting unnaturally on its neck like a curious Jack Russell Terrier—“Scary little fucker want a… tasty human treat?”
As much as the thing may like sinking its teeth into me, its narrow beak trilled in protest when I got too close.
