Thepyrokiblew out a harsh breath through its slitted nostrils, blowing snot to the ground.
“Gross,” I whispered without malice, my hand still trembling as I scrubbed the brush across its scales.
So, because it seemed to help, I continued to talk quietly to the beast as I brushed off the evidence of a battle. I told him about my village, about how cold the temperature was that day, about Arokan being almost as grumpy as thepyrokiwas, about Mirari and Lavi.
Hell, it helpedme. It kept my mind off the fact that this beast towered over me, could easily crush me with its weight or kill me with a single snap of his powerful jaws. Talking to thepyrokisomehow made the task at hand easier.
When I was finished scrubbing at the scales, I stepped back, dropping the reins. My feet carried me until there was a healthy distance between us and thepyrokieyed me before tossing its neck and then sauntering over to the trough of meat.
I squealed when I felt a cold nose brush the back of my neck and I wheeled around to see anotherpyrokihad snuck up behind me. A curious one, apyrokinot claimed by a horde warrior, considering it had no golden paint flanking its hide.
I brought up my hands to him as I backed away again, this time going all the way to the fence of the enclosure. Thepyrokifollowed and every step it took ricocheted my heartbeat.
“Alright,” I said to it. “That is close enough.”
“He will not harm you,kalles,” came Arokan’s voice, right behind me.
I whipped my head around, to see that he’d come up to the fence, was draping his arms over the metal, his tail flicking behind him.
“You don’t know that,” I said. “They are unpredictable.”
“Nik, they are not.”
I bit my tongue, turning my face to the side when it nudged against me, sniffing my cheek.
“Arokan,” I hissed, sliding closer towards him.
He caught me through the fence, holding me in place, even though I struggled to escape.
In my ear, he rasped, “You just groomed apyroki, Luna. You can handle this one. Just stay still and let him explore your scent.”
“Why is he doing this?” I hissed again.
“He is curious.”
I pushed further back into Arokan, just moments from climbing over the fence, but he held me still. It took me a moment to realize that I’d turned to him for safety. It took me a moment to realize that he must truly think I was safe, or else he would never let thepyrokinear me.
That knowledge made me blow out a breath, made me try to relax as I kept still and let the beast sniff me.
Something cold and wet and slimy touched my cheek and I realized it was the snot from his nose. Gross.
But after a few long moments, thepyrokifinally lost interest and slowly backed away, trotting over to anotherpyroki, who it smelled too.
A deep sigh of relief left me, but it didn’t last for long. Soon, Kailon came over, sensing that his master was near. Unlike the otherpyroki, Kailon didn’t take an interest in me, only had eyes for Arokan and seemed to marginally tolerate my presence.
“Why do you fear them so much?” Arokan asked softly, reaching out his hand to stroke Kailon’s neck.
I looked into thepyroki’sred eyes, remembering that red peering at me in the ice forest on that cold night—
“Apyrokikilled my mother,” I told him, the words tumbling out of me and I couldn’t look away from Kailon.
Arokan’s arms tensed around me.
Or, rather, I killed my mother because apyrokihad mauled her in such a viscous way that there was no hope left for her.
“So, you see, I will always fear them,” I told him softly, “because I know what they are capable of. I’ve seen it.”
“Kalles—”
