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These clothes he made better be fucking warm.
Chapter Eleven
VITRI
With the furs, I had fashioned Tori a tunic that wrapped around her body and tied at the side and a pair of boots she could slip on to protect her delicate feet and calves.Although I hadn’t heard her complain on our journey here, her feet shouldn’t be bare.She was too fragile and needed to be protected.I also made her a cloak to keep her warm, but I don’t think she’d need it yet.Despite the winds at night, this was the warmer of the seasons, pleasant and sunny during the day.
I had been playful with her this morning.A small smile had played on her lips, but it would vanish the moment I stopped joking around, and she would disappear again into her thoughts.We’d dressed, and Tori clung to my neck as we descended from my home—tree house, she called it, and I liked that.The heat of her body against my back was soothing, and again, my instinct stirred.I wanted to carry her somewhere where I could lay her down and penetrate her.
She was quiet as my feet landed on the ground, and she slid off my back with a muttered “Thank you” and stood for a moment, twisting her hands together as if unsure what to do.
“Go,” I prompted, pointing into the forest.“Have your think.You’ll be safe, and I won’t be far away.”
She looked at me, her eyes wide and calculating.There was a hint of fear there, and I wasn’t sure if my presence was a comfort to her or not.I hoped it was.I wouldn’t hurt her.
As we walked, I slowly fell behind, allowing Tori to get as far ahead as possible while still being in my sight.If she had noticed this, she said nothing and remained locked within her mind.My chest ached for her, and I tried my best to understand.I had left my home by choice, but Tori had been taken and abandoned on a new planet, left to survive for herself.She was at risk of being taken again the second her feet had touched the ground, and now, thanks to me, that fear danced in her mind too.But Ihadto tell her.She needed to know why she was here and that she must be cautious.I couldn’t allow her to be taken by the Ghaal.
Iwouldn’tlet it happen.
Every few moments, I would let her slip from my sight, wanting to give her the privacy she needed, but the panic would overwhelm me, and I would take a few rushed steps to make sure she was okay.Not once did she turn around to face me, but simply kept her head bowed as she ducked and weaved amongst the vines and roots.So, I slowly let her get further ahead until I was relying only on the sound of her walking.Feeling emboldened and sympathetic to her needs, I allowed even that to drown out.But it was too much—I needed to at least hear her.My desire for her still stirred within me, and deep down, I wondered if I had enough control to keep myself in line without some physical connection to her.
Tori needed this time alone, and the least I could do would be to offer it to her.
Her footsteps stopped, and I assumed she had sat down, taking a moment to compose herself.I ached because she was hurting, but there wasn’t anything I could do to make that go away.She needed to mentally work her way through her situation, and then I could help her build a life here.
Because there was no going back to her planet.
I was drawn to full alert when I heard a scuffle and gripped my spear as Tori cried out, “Vitri!”
She was calling for me.
My female called for me.
I was already on my way before the word had completely left her lips, having not let her get too far from me.She was safe with me, and I would never let her stray even this far again.
When I burst between two trees, Tori was on the ground, pinned down by a being twice her size.A roar of rage escaped me as I launched at the being, shouldered him in the ribs, and knocked him off Tori.She screamed and rolled out from under us as we struggled, and when he grabbed my wrists, my vines snaked out from my back and wrapped around his arms, ready to throw him.
“Vitri, it’s me, Ilk.”
I recognized him but, in that moment, the anger was still burning strong in me.No one was to touch Tori except me, and no one was to hurt her.Period.This had gone beyond my duty to protect the displaced species.Tori had awakened the long-dormant part of me designed for breeding, connection to my brothers, and seeking a mate.
Ilk.
Reaching deep inside myself for whatever small iota of willpower I could find, I drew on it, controlling my anger.
My brother.
I didn’t want to kill him.I knew that.
I held my breath, at least for a moment, so I couldn’t smell the scent of Tori’s fear, a scent that drove me crazy with the need to protect.Stopping my vines from progressing as they snaked around Ilk’s torso, I looked into my brother’s eyes—another Synth I had not seen in many years.I’d forgotten exactly how long it had been.
“Ilk?”
I shook my head slightly, realizing I still had him pinned to the ground, and as I stood, I held out a hand to help my brother up.He was incredibly heavy, and I took a moment to take in his appearance.Ilk had taken up home near the foot of the mountains as close to the Ghaal colony as we dared to get and living in the mountains had changed him as much as living in the forest had changed me.Like the rocks, his skin was dappled gray and purple, and he was hard as stone itself.His features were flat and sharpened around the jaw and nose, but we still shared the same green eyes.
“Rock boy,” I muttered, barely able to contain the smirk that grew on my lips.I gazed at my hands and then at Ilk’s.Bred to adapt, I had never seen it in practice to such an extent.Before this, we lived together and all looked the same.To know what differences our environments could make us, I wondered about our other brothers across the island.Would I even recognize them now?Would the oceans, rivers, and woods have changed them so much they were no more than strangers to me?
Tori came up to my side, jabbing me hard in the ribs with her finger.“What are you doing?This ass attacked me.I thought you wanted to protect me, and you’re just letting him go?”
