I shrugged.
“Well, doyouremember any of their names?” Rath asked Xae as he sat on my right.
Xae grunted.
“I did once,” Jath said as he sat down across from us. “But it's been so long that I've forgotten.” He looked over at me and then down at his plate.
“I don't know all of their names, just the ones I see out here every day,” I said. “They're nice. I like them.”
Xae looked over at me. “You like them because they feed you.”
“As I said, they're nice.” I took a bite and groaned. “Very nice.”
Even Jath laughed a little at that.
After a few minutes of companionable silence, Jath said, “Ember, I have a hard question to ask.”
I set down my fork. “Go on then.”
“Did you recognize any of the . . . uh, dead?”
My face fell. As I thought back to that horrible mission, my heart raced, and my stomach protested the food I'd just given it. Beside me, my lovers stiffened.
“Stop,” Rath said as he drew me into a hug. “Put it from your mind this instant. It doesn't matter.”
Rath's masculine spice filled my nose, calming me. I breathed in deeply and closed my eyes, shuddering within his arms. Xae pressed in against my back, his head bending over me, the two of them forming a shield between me and the world. As the feel and smell of them sank in, my heartbeat slowed, and my stomach settled.
“I'm all right,” I whispered and eased back. “Thanks.”
Rath let me go, and Xae straightened, but they both kept a hand on my back.
“I am.” I looked from Rath to Xae. “Truly. His question just took me by surprise. I'm good now.”
“I'm sorry I upset you,” Jath said. “But I do think your answer matters. If those were the bodies from Fress, it tells us that the Corrupter hasn't raided any other graves yet.”
“Fuck,” Xae muttered.
“Give me a second,” I whispered, then thought about it again, this time better prepared. I shook my head. “I can't be certain. Those bodies were so decomposed. But I didn't see anyone I recognized.”
“He's right,” Rath said. “I wouldn't recognize any of my family members in that state, much less my neighbors.”
“Shit,” Jath muttered. “Thank you for trying, Ember.”
I nodded.
Suddenly, Xae grabbed Jath's hand.
Jath's wings flared open as he jerked back, but Xae held on tight.
“We haven't thanked you,” Xae said gruffly. “Thank you for saving Ember when we couldn't.”
“Yes, thank you, Jathalion,” Rath said.
Jath looked from man to man as he resettled on the bench, then shook Xae's hand. “I was just doing my job, but you're welcome.”
I stared down at my plate and pushed my food around. He was only doing his job. Yeah, he'd made that clear. Despite my determination not to care about Jath, my interest in him had only intensified, while he kept pulling away. No, it was worse than that. He got close to me, then freaked out, and bolted. Hold on. He was afraid. Jath was afraid of me, and there could only be one reason for that. He felt something.
I'd been looking at this all wrong, getting upset over the way Jath treated me because all I could see was the offense. But he had gone flying with me. And he had kissed me. He kissed me! Fuck, why didn't that make a bigger impression on me? Why did I focus on him jerking away after the kiss instead of the kiss itself? Jath wanted me. He wanted me despite blaming me for the death of his trainees. Shit, he'd flat-out said that to me. Jath had saved my life today out of more than duty. He just didn't want to admit it.
