Page 16 of The Hunter

Be silent, little thorn.

Was that really how he thought of her? Just as a thorn in his side, a tiny irritation?

Tears stung her eyes, and a quiet cry escaped her.

Lacey knew what it felt like to be abandoned, to be discarded and disdained. Her own parents hadn’t even wanted her. Telok didn’t owe her anything, but the way he’d been treating her had reopened those old wounds.

During the short time she’d known him, he’d burrowed his way into her heart, and he’d dug out a much larger hole than she’d realized.

When had things gone so wrong between them? What had she said or done to make him so cold?

Was she that unlovable?

What’s wrong with me?

CHAPTER 5

Lacey plopped down on Cole’s hand-crafted chaise lounge, which sat on the far edge of his deck, overlooking part of Kaldarak and the jungle beyond. The frame was sturdy, the wood smooth, and the thick cushion, stuffed with fluffed silk, was extraordinarily soft. It even had an attached head cushion. Overhead, a tall umbrella made of large, thick leaves provided shade from the bright sunshine breaking through the jungle canopy.

Reclining, she stretched her legs, crossed them at the ankles, and settled her bowl of sweetseeds on her lap. The breeze caressed the bare skin of her belly, arms, and legs with cooling mist and fluttered the long, white, slitted skirt tied around her waist.

Plucking a blue sweetseed—which resembled a pomegranate seed—from the bowl, Lacey smirked. “People back on Earth would spend a fortune to vacation in a place like this. And here I am, enjoying it for free.”

After seven days of suffering, she was finally over her period. Today, she was going to relax and enjoy doing absolutely nothing.

She tossed the seed into her mouth and chewed. It burst between her teeth, flooding her tongue with sweet juice.

Lacey looked down from her high perch as she ate. Trees far larger and thicker than any sequoia held Kaldarak far above the ground. Wood platforms ringed the trunks and rested on the boughs, serving as foundations to the leaf-roofed buildings. Silk rope bridges linked it all together, running in patterns that looked just a little like a spiderweb from below.

Thornskulls of varied colors, male and female both, went about their daily routines, working, eating, playing, sunbathing, chatting. Somewhere on a lower level, someone plucked the strings of an instrument, sending melodic notes to drift through the air above the waterfall’s constant drone.

Lacey turned her gaze outward, away from Kaldarak, to look between the trees. What else was out there? She’d only seen a teeny, tiny sliver of this world. How much of it was jungle? Were there deserts, snowy mountains, vast oceans? Had any thornskulls ventured far enough to see any of those sights and returned with stories of their adventures?

“Stealing my throne, I see.”

Lacey started, turning her head to see Cole grab one of the smaller wooden chairs and drag it toward her, his boots thumping upon the wooden planks. He wore a pair of dark blue shorts, leaving his tanned upper body on display. And for the first time in months, his face was clean shaven.

She grinned. “Never learned the golden rule? You move your feet, you lose your seat.”

Cole chuckled as he positioned the chair beside her and dropped onto it. He leaned back, spreading his legs wide, and rested his folded hands on his belly. “We didn’t have that rule in my house. Probably because I was home alone most of the time. I sat wherever I damn well pleased.”

“Awww, does Cole still need to learn how to share?”

He waved a hand, his blue eyes glinting with mirth. “Today I am a generous king.”

“Well, thank you, your majesty. Because I am not giving up this seat without a fight.” She wiggled, settling deeper into the cushion. “This has seriously got to be the best chair in the world.”

“I know! Comfortable as hell, right? Told you guys I know what I’m doing.”

“Unless you shoot butt silk from your ass, you can’t take all the credit.”

Cole laughed. “I’ll humbly admit the butt silk makes a huge difference, but a chair is nothing without good bones.”

“True.” Lacey tilted her head. “Got tired of the beard?”

Cole rubbed his smooth jaw. “Yeah. It was getting long enough for me to realize just how much food falls out of my mouth when I eat.”

“Gross.”