porch when the others march into the front yard. They call goodbye to me again, but I stay silent as I watch them with watery eyes. It’s taking everything in me not to break down. If Maalik’s gentle hand wasn’t touching my shoulder, keeping me grounded, I think I might actually collapse from the pain of having to say goodbye to my mates.
Caelan, Audun, and Reule shift, shake their gorgeous, silver feathers out, and leap swiftly into the air. I lose sight of them within seconds, and my heart shatters into a million pieces.
A sobbing gasp finally escapes my throat, and I feel myself falling. Maalik catches me against his broad chest and holds me up, shushing me and whispering words that sound comforting. I turn so I can lean against him, gripping his shirt between my fingers while I cry into his shoulder.
He strokes his hands through my hair and down my back, whispering the same words over and over again. When I manage to calm down enough to look up at him, still sniffling pitifully, he frowns and pulls away a bit.
Of all the guys, I’m the least comfortable with Mal. He’s fucking beautiful, and I want to know him better. Every time I look at him, I can’t help remembering the way his hands felt on me when we had sex during the three full moons. I know he cares about me to an extent. He’s kind and polite, and he’s been working almost nonstop to build my dream closet.
But he never seeks me out, never talks to me unless I approach him first or end up alone with him. He never sits next to me at dinner, never shows me affection, and he seems so uncomfortable whenever I try to talk to him.
I blink up at him, whimpering quietly when he pulls even further away. He grunts and turns away, walking back into the house. My throat closes up in shock as I stare after him. Before I can break down again at the thought of him leaving me totally alone, he comes back with a steaming mug in his hands. The same one he had before that he set down in the living room.
He presses the mug into my hands and mumbles, “Pro tebe.”
“Oh,” I say stupidly. The mug is warm in my hands, and I bring it closer to my lips for a sip. I go still when the scent hits me, and I widen my eyes in momentary excitement. “Is this hot chocolate?”
One of the biggest disappointments I’ve experienced since ending up here in Briya is realizing they don’t have coffee. The guys drink a lot of tea, which isn’t necessarily bad. The food here is good too, and mostly familiar to me. But not having coffee has been a secret sore spot I’ve kept to myself.
Taking a sip of the drink in my hands, I literally moan out loud when I taste the hot chocolate. This almost makes up for the fact there’s no coffee to be found in this realm.
Maalik’s mouth twitches in a hesitant smile, and he wraps me more securely in the blankets I took from Audun’s bed. It’s still mostly dark outside, the sun just starting to peek over the tops of the trees. Mal leads me down to the first step of the porch, and we sit down together. He even puts his arm around me when I snuggle close to his side. I’d rather sit in his lap, but I don’t want to freak him out too much.
Even though it’s freezing outside, there’s something nice and peaceful about sitting here like this with a fluffy blanket, hot chocolate, and my hunky red-headed mate. The slowly rising sun brings out Maalik’s freckles and the fiery color of his hair, and I dart side glances at him as I sip my drink.
Did he volunteer to stay home with me first? Or is their weird, rotating schedule something out of their control? It drives me crazy that I still don’t know anything. All I can do is guess at what’s being said and happening around me. Until I’m totally fluent in Briyan, I’m going to stay in the dark about so much.
Seeing the guys wearing military uniforms has only given me a million more questions, and my mind is racing. Are they going to war? What if they get hurt? What if they don’t come back? They told me they’re immortal, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be killed.