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My cheeks heated.
This man had touched me, and I hadn’t been aware.
That bothered me.
Worried me.
It shouldn’t.
His skill and attention were the reasons I was still alive.
Swaying a little, wishing my legs were stronger, I bowed my head again. “I am most thankful.”
Olish wafted his hand through the fire-lit air. “No need for that. I was just doing my duty.”
“And I’m alive because of it.” I licked my dry lips. “If there’s anything I can do to repay you, I’ll do it.”
He froze as if I’d said something wrong.
I panicked and glanced at Niya, who chewed on her bottom lip with a small smile.
“D-Did I say something wrong?” My eyes shot to Solin, only for my question to be answered by a woman moving toward us from the small group she’d been standing with by the fire. “Not at all.” She rested both hands on her protruding belly, her ample breasts spilling over the strip of fur strapped around her chest. The fur covering her lower half was longer than mine, hanging down her thighs and swaying with every step.
“You merely offered to do whatever Olish desires, and that isn’t taken lightly.” Her soft, stern voice pierced the crackling of the flames, her dark eyes locking onto the healer. “She’s new, Olish, and unaware of our customs. Whatever task you request of her must be small.”
Olish pressed a fist to his chest. “I would never think to take advantage of her, Tiptu.”
“See that you don’t.” The woman smiled, but her words still nettled. As she stroked her rounded belly, her forearm gleamed in the fire, revealing a swirling design: a spirit mark of a scorpion with a sharp, stinging tail.
She inhaled and stared at me.
I shivered but held my ground.
Her gaze stripped me bare, and I drowned in the night sky-darkness of her beautiful skin. Her eyes were the warmest brown, as if embers from the flames smouldered deep within her, and threads of silver lined her black hair, spreading out from her temples, weaving like faint frost through the two braids draped over her slender shoulders.
Unlike Solin with his adornment of feathers, beads, and shells, her hair was simple. Just a simple reed tying the ends and a sprig of pink flowers at the tip.
My eyes drifted to her belly and the obvious way she touched and protected it.
“I’m carrying a youngling.” She spoke just to me. “My third and most likely my last.” She glanced at Solin, and an unspoken message flowed between them. “My Fire Reader informs me that you still can’t remember who you are.”
I shifted with nervousness. “No, I can’t. I’m so sorry—”
“Enough apologies.” She held up her hand. “It’s not your fault, and you’re not expected to remember just because we’re all curious.”
My heart thudded as she added, “I’m Tiptu, chiefess of my people, mate to Chief Tral, mother to Aktor and Naben, and graced with the duty of devotion to my clan.”
I bowed.
I didn’t just tip my head or bend my neck. I folded at the waist and swayed with sudden light-headedness.
She held my life in her hands. She could cast me out and banish me.
“Rise, please.” She stepped forward, cupping my chin and bringing my head up.
For the longest heartbeat, she studied me. Her eyes dove into mine, her quest to know me ripping me apart. Her fingers tightened on my chin before letting go. With a soft sigh, she stepped back and glanced at Solin. “You’ve given our guest shelter under your roof while she healed, Solin. But do you still wish to, now that she’s awake?” Nodding at Niya, she added, “She could move into another lupic—perhaps the one shared with my daughter, Naben, and Niya—if you need your own space returned to you.”
I stiffened.
I would be grateful for any furs to sleep in, but a piece of me felt safe with Solin. He was familiar and had proven himself trustworthy.
Solin rubbed his clean-shaven jaw, the ashy swirls of his spirit guardian catching the firelight.
What animal does he carry?
“You’re right that it’s best I have my own space for my trances. However...” He dropped his hand, scowling a little. “There’s something I want to do before she leaves my roof. Something I’ve wanted to discuss with you but have not yet found the right moment.”
“And now is the right moment?” Tiptu asked.
Solin shrugged. “It’s as good as any.”
“Oh?” Tiptu turned to face him fully. “What is it?”
“She cannot remain with us and not have a name.” He looked me up and down as if searching for my past hidden on my scarred and bruised skin. His wise, calm demeanour faded, leaving behind a stark and almost frightening Spirit Master. “The flames want to guide me in naming her, so she might become Nhil if she chooses.”
I flinched at the odd coldness in his tone.
