Avery sank deeper into the chair, and Savine gave her some space. “Not exactly, but I can see a bison is the closest thing to a cow that you’ve got. Now, back to the cheeseburger." Avery rambled on about the inner workings of a cheeseburger before she said, "They’re delicious. I always crave a cheeseburger after a long backpacking trip or a big hike. My sister and I would have...” Avery cut herself off. Regardless of whether they were being friendly, she wasn’t interested in talking about Morgan to him. Not right now.
Avery had enough. She was tired and wanted to be alone again, despite her growling stomach and her strong desire for a cheeseburger. This friendliness was worse than his ignoring her. It made her realize that there was some sort of connection between them. Especially when he kept looking at her like he wanted to talk with her, even if it was about cheeseburgers.
“Look, I don’t understand why you want to know all about cheeseburgers, but I’m exhausted. I’m going to sleep,” Avery said as she stood and made her way to the bedroom and crawled into her small tent.
As she crawled into the tent, Avery heard Savine curse to himself.
Chapter twenty
Savine
Savine told Kyla, Garnel, and Jay of his plans to surprise Avery with a cheeseburger for dinner, and they all laughed at him.
“Yesterday, I told you to be nice, and this is how you’re doing it? By feeding her meat? Savine, you really are terrible with women,” said Kyla.
Jay laughed at the meal idea, too. “You must suspect the way to befriend this woman is through her stomach. Although, I am also intrigued by the idea of a cheeseburger, so I give you permission to proceed.”
“I didn’t realize I asked your permission, Jay. Have a warrior dispatch a stock animal and procure the meat. I’ve already provided details on how to bake the bun to Cook. I don’t believe we have the same type of cheese. We’ll have to make it work. And the tomatoes are a challenge. I wish we were already in Bayberry.”
Kyla’s mouth opened and closed like she was at a loss for words. “You’re excited about making human food? Is this your way of being nice? Savine, do you actually like Avery?” Kyla’s eyes widened, and everyone grinned at Savine.
“She is attractive in her own human way,” Garnel said with a shrug. Savine caught a glimpse of a mischievous smile on Kyla’s faceat Garnel’s words.
Savine’s body went rigid. “Look, I’m trying to do something nice for the girl. She’s lonely and mourning the loss of her world. Kyla, you were the one who suggested I try being kinder to her.”
Garnel looked at him like he may have lost his mind. “Butchering an animal and having the cook change the menu just so Avery can eat a meal from home seems above and beyond doing something nice for her. Haven’t you been trying to ignore her these last few days, anyway? What’s changed?”
Savine didn’t have an answer for this. To be honest, he wasn’t sure what changed for him. Only that her loneliness was rubbing on him. He thought back to the years he spent alone in a cell. If only someone had reached out to him then. So yes, the close proximity to someone who was struggling wore on him. After all, he wasn’t a completely heartless bastard. Only when someone deserved it. And Avery didn’t deserve his coldness.
Savine huffed as Garnel continued to stare at him. “I am trying to be nice, like Kyla insisted. That keeps her out of my tent and away from Avery’s naturally occurring emotions.”
Kyla’s sad, sweet smile made him want to walk away. She hadn’t reacted to his jab at her essence. He hated these soulmates’ pity. “But you know, Savine, it is okay if you do like her. Or if you’re attracted to her. Lilith was so long ago, and you’ve been—”
Savine raised his hands in protest, and Kyla stopped speaking immediately. “Don’t even start. All I am doing is trying to give her a familiar meal. Something to comfort her. Make sure it happens,” Savine said as he turned from the others and walked toward his tent.
Copper wings and hair flashed through his mind. Their bodies tangled as the early morning light streamed from the open balcony. Then iron manacles, slicing through the delicate skin of Lilith’s wrists as her own family dragged her away.
Savine pushed the image from his mind. He never deserved Lilith, and after what he endured in the Tower of Teeth for causing her death, he didn’t think he was capable of feeling anything beyond attraction for another woman. Not because he still loved Lilith, but because that part of his soul had been extracted by a black-winged demon. He would never deserve the love his sister and Garnel shared, or Jay and Raikin had.
As he walked into his tent, Savine heard soft whimpers coming from the bedroom. Avery was crying again. Previously, when he heard her, he’d left her alone in the tent. It had always felt unnatural and cruel for him to leave her, but he’d resisted because he didn’t think she’d want his comfort.
“Avery?” he asked. He unzipped the small tent in the corner of his room. Avery’s tear-stained face met his, and something in his heart clenched. Her puffy eyes and disheveled hair, trapped in a cage of her own making, made him crack. It was like looking into a mirror of his own former grief.
Before he thought of what he was doing, he climbed into the tiny space, wedging himself beside her. Avery leaned into his chest, and she let out a sad, low wail.
Avery
Avery hadn’t heard Savine come into his bedroom. When he had opened the flap to her tent, she didn’t have any fight in her to stop him from squeezing his broad body beside her. The scent of a rainy forest enveloped her, reminding her so much of home that she’d leaned her head on his strong, hard chest before she could think. Savine’s largehand stroked her hair in gentle, comforting movements. The lump in her throat was wedged so tightly that she was beyond words. He held her without speaking for such a long time that the shadows of late afternoon danced across the exterior of her little blue tent.
Finally, she shifted herself up to look at Savine. “It's all been too much too quickly. Today was a hard day. But I trained. I did what you asked.”
Savine brushed a tear from her cheek. “Don’t worry about that right now. You have every right to mourn. But remember the parts of you that don’t have to change here. From what little I know, you’re a woman who would rather be outside than trapped in a cage of your own making. Let me show you a place I go when I want to be alone.”
The earnest expression on Savine’s face caught Avery off guard. He was right, though. Hiding in the tent wasn’t her. And it would never be what Morgan would want her to do.
As they walked into the late afternoon light, Savine turned away from the mountains that jutted out over the horizon. Instead, they walked into the swaying golden stalks of late summer prairie grass. Avery picked a stalk of it. The grass was so similar to home, but with an extra sheen that enhanced the soft golden color.
“Do the plants here carry the essence, too?” Avery asked.
