Mari's Mistake - Ruby Dixon Page 0,63

"You do not mind that we wish to see the other healer?"

V'ronca shakes her head. "Maylak knows a lot more than I do. She's had her powers for a lot longer. I'm a little upset I couldn't fix things, but if she can help out and I can learn what she does, I'm fine with that." Her expression grows uneasy. "I just…don't know if she'll have an answer for you. There might not be anything that can be done."

It is something I have considered. "It will still be good for Mari to get away from the others, I think. They watch both of us very closely."

V'ronca makes a sympathetic sound in her throat. "I know how that is. Everyone watched Ashtar and I like hawks when we first resonated, wondering when we were going to 'do it.' It's damn awkward."

"If we leave tomorrow at dawn," Ashtar says to me, "will you be ready?"

I nod. "We will be packed and waiting."

"Bring furs," he says. "Twice as many as you think you will need. The air is twice as cold when you are up high, and it rips through blankets easily."

His mate rubs her belly. "I'll talk to Tia, too, make sure she's ready." She hesitates and then adds, "And I'll talk to Harlow and Liz, to make sure that Tia actually is ready." The female grimaces. "Tia's not taking it so well. She feels like she is being exiled."

I shrug. Is she not? She is being taken away from those she knows because she causes too much trouble. "We could always send Shadow Cat away instead."

"And Sessah? And R'jaal?" V'ronca raises her eyebrows. "I'll be the first to say we shouldn't blame the victim, but there's one common denominator here, and it's not I'rec, much as I dislike the guy." She shrugs and sidles a little closer to her mate, leaning against his bare chest. "You know what they say, though—not my circus, not my monkeys. We're the local transportation, that's all. It's Raahosh's call."

A'tar casually loops an arm around his mate's shoulders as he watches me. "With Tia gone, the games will probably start again. You might miss your chance to win one of knives. Will that upset you?"

"No, I—" I break off as the male, B'ek, comes running up, a fierce scowl on his face. "What is it? What is wrong?"

"Ash-tar is needed," Bek says. "Another rock has been dropped from the sky by Mar-dock's people."

18

T'CHAI

There is great excitement amongst the tribe as A'tar, B'ek and I bring the new “rock” back to the beach camp. The dragon man flew us in his claws to the location provided, and we secured it with straps so he could fly it back. Bek is not thrilled with the arrival of the new package from the skies.

"The last one has caused enough trouble," he grumbled as we tied strong leather thongs to secure the lid. "Do we truly need these knives so much?"

I say nothing, but secretly, I am worried. This “rock” does not look the same as the last one. The color is dark and opaque, and the edges are rounded instead of squared. I am reminded of R'jaal's excited voice when he exclaimed that he found my Mari in an “egg” that washed up on shore.

This rock looks very much like an egg, and I worry it does not contain knives at all.

A'tar sets it down amidst the growing crowd, and I search the gathered faces on the sands for my mate. She is there, near the back of the group as always, a cup of hot beverage in her hands. I push through the group, heading toward her, because nothing is as important to me as seeing her smile and breathing in her scent. I do not care if this new rock carries a hundred knives. All that matters is my mate, and knowing that I have good news for her.

She smiles up at me, her cheeks flushed with the chill in the air, and I fight the urge to grab her and hold her against my chest possessively. Mine. All mine. It does not matter what my khui thinks in this moment. I know in my heart that this is the only female for me. "Did you sleep well?" I want to caress her face but reach for a lock of her mane instead, twisting it around my fingers.

"Very well." She nudges my leg with her foot. "Where are your boots?"

"I did not want to wake you up