Mari's Mistake - Ruby Dixon Page 0,2

sometimes exchange information about quarry…but he is not Tall Horn. Tall Horn's needs must come first. "Your secret is safe."

M'tok rubs his jaw, a strange expression on his face. "No horns. No tail. No fangs. I am going to come out and say it, brother." He glances at R'jaal. "She is rather ugly."

S'bren chuckles and elbows M'tok. "Does it matter? Right now she is the prettiest female on the island."

R'jaal snorts.

Their words irritate me. I look down at the unconscious female, her prominent teats heaving with her even breaths. Her skin is such an odd shade, her face so…delicate. She is made very differently from us, but…I do not find her ugly. There is a beauty in her small features, in the full mouth that is such a deep shade of pink that does not match the rest of her camouflage. There is beauty in the elegant lines of her body and even her small hands and their many fingers.

She might be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, but I will not say this aloud. She is to be R'jaal's mate. I am happy for my friend and clansmate. I am. I am. "You are very lucky," I manage to say, and the words feel thick coming from my mouth. I know S'bren and M'tok must feel the same as I do. That we would give anything to be in R'jaal's place right now, claiming a female.

S'bren leans forward. "How long before she wakes up now that she has hatched?"

R'jaal shrugs. He taps the unconscious female's hand. "Perhaps she is tired."

Or thirsty, I want to point out, because her full lips are dry and cracked and she wears hot layers of leather coverings that look unpleasantly warm. Part of me does not want to help R'jaal win her, though. Let him figure it out. But that is the jealous side of me speaking, and the only one that suffers is the fragile female, who does not deserve such pettiness. "I will get fresh water for her to drink."

My friend gives me a grateful look, and truly, I feel like the worst clansmate ever for being so jealous of him. He would be glad for me if I resonated to a female. I should be glad for him, even as I stalk back to my hut and pull a dipper out of my fresh water bucket. I fill my waterskin and sling it over my shoulder, and take off the cord around my waist that holds my caught fish. That mouthful can wait a little bit longer. R'jaal's catch is far more interesting than mine.

"Hurry," R'jaal calls as I emerge from the hut. He looks over at me, lowering his voice to a hiss. "She is stirring! Quick!"

I trot back to his side and offer the waterskin to him, kneeling down next to the female. M'tok and S'bren have not moved, and I do not blame them. We all wish to see the female open her eyes, to hear her talk. Will she tell us which clan she comes from? Is she from a distant island like the Ancestors were? She has no horns like they did…but she does not have four arms or a tail.

I do not know what she is, other than a mystery.

The female's eyes flutter and she lets out a soft moan. She coughs, then turns on her side, spitting up seawater. She curls up, vomiting, and R'jaal pats her arm awkwardly.

M'tok rubs his chin. "Are you certain it was an egg? She acts as if she has swallowed the ocean."

"It looked like an egg," R'jaal tells us, equally confused. "Perhaps the egg came from a distant shore and water got inside?"

I nudge him. "Give her fresh water when she sits up. At least let her rinse her mouth." She is hunched over on the sand, miserable, and I feel protective of her. There is something about her helplessness that calls to me, that makes me ache to help her. And when R'jaal touches her shoulder and she opens her eyes and looks at him, I feel another bolt of pure envy.

I want her to look at me. Not him.

I clench my hands, willing them to resonate and get it over with. To let him claim her already so my foolish envy can dissipate. Resonance is final. I tell myself this is why my foolish heart leaps when she looks away from R'jaal and over to me. Her eyes are beautiful, blue with a bright,