Raven's Return - Ruby Dixon Page 0,21

the males from the stars put a pebble in my head and gave it magic, and that is how I can understand her."

"A pebble in your head?" Juth is openly skeptical. "In your ear?"

A snort distracts me. I look over at R'ven, who has a hand pressed to her mouth, her shoulders shaking. At first, I worry she is weeping, but a snicker escapes her and I realize she is laughing at us. I mock-kick sand on her feet, because we are friends. "What is so funny?"

"A pebble?" She giggles. "Did you really think Mardok put rocks in your head?" Her eyes shine with tears of laughter.

I do not know if I am pleased that she is comfortable enough to laugh, or I am wounded that she is laughing at me. "What was it, then?"

"A chip! A translation chip!"

I frown. I do not understand her laughter. "What is a chip if not a pebble that comes off a rock?"

"It's not a rock! Why would a rock make you understand languages?"

"Because it is magic?"

R'ven giggles again, shaking her head. "It's technology. The chip is a tiny computer that is programmed to take in what you're hearing and translate it for you."

I do not understand most of the words she is saying. I still think it is magic, but I do not push it further. I do not want her laughing at me again just because I am not smart. I turn to Juth. "You say she is yours. What do you want in exchange for her?"

"You wish to trade for her? To keep her for yourself?"

R'ven's chuckles of laughter stop and she looks over at me, wide-eyed. "What—"

"Yes," I say flatly. I will not keep her for myself, no matter how badly I might want R'ven as my mate. I am not a “true” hunter so I cannot take a mate. But Juth does not need to know such things. "Speak and tell me what you want in exchange for her."

The look on his face becomes canny, like that of a scavenger used to living off the fringes. "A mate is a priceless thing. If I give her to you, then there is no mate for me."

"Perhaps there are other things that are more important to you and your son," I say, gesturing at the small boy. "Food. Warm furs to wrap yourselves in. Shelter." This time, I give him my most calculating look. "Rocks to spark a fire."

"Only the elders are allowed to spark fire," he says warily, but I see that I have his attention.

"The elders of your clan are gone," I point out. "Does this not make you the elder?"

Juth rubs his chin thoughtfully and I can tell he is listening. "If this is true…how do you know I will not just grab rocks and make fire for myself, then?"

I gesture at the beach. "Go on. Take rocks and see if you can figure out how to make fire. I suspect your elders never showed you? Did they teach you what to use as fuel? How to keep it going throughout a long night?" I lean forward, my hands on my knees. "Perhaps you have noticed that this land is not much like our home. It is cold and wet, and fire is essential. How long do you think you and your boy will last without warmth?"

"We have lasted this long." Juth gives me a proud, defiant look.

"Yes, and you are miserable for it. Your boy enjoys the fire. Look at him." I flick my hand toward Pak, who has the cup of hot tea to his lips, his small body swaddled in fur. "He needs more than you can give him. I can help with that."

The outcast looks furious at me. I know I have hurt his pride by suggesting that he cannot care for his son, but right now, he needs to realize that R'ven is coming with me one way or another. He can help himself, or he can let her go, but she is not staying with him.

R'ven gets up and moves to my side, clutching the furs close to her body. She sits next to me and leans in as if we are sharing a secret. "Tell him he can come back to the camp with us."

"What? Why?" I frown.

"Because there's plenty of food and places to sleep," R'ven says, her expression earnest. "He's got a kid with him."

"He stole you and even now bargains to keep you, and you would bring him