“It’s ok. I was talking to S’samph.”
“What happened to your arms?” He asked as she got close enough for him to see her properly even in the sunlight. Cassie blanched and tried to pull down her sleeves, but Örim had already grabbed one of her arms. They had happened last night, the most recent scratches. She’d woken up sweating with the Aviarist’s face behind her eyes. Örim had been in the other room, and she hadn’t wanted to bother him, so she just dragged herself back from the fog.
It’s nothing,Cassie signed away from her box, so she didn’t have to hear the words aloud.I fell during practice.
“Some of these injuries are old. Do you often fall during practice?”
It happens. I’m clumsy.
“You do occasionally fall in our home as well. Be careful, Cassie. I don’t want to see you hurt.”
I’ll be more careful.She didn’t want him to see her hurt either. Once he released her arm, she pulled down her sleeves.She would have to be more careful. She didn’t want him to ask more questions about it. She didn’t want him to know. If he knew what she did to herself when he was in the other room or when she was in the shower stall, he would panic. If he knew her memories sometimes made her scratch herself until she bled, things would change between them. Cassie couldn’t bear losing the only thing she had left to ground her when everything felt too hard.
CHAPTER 30
Örim
He was just about to finish his lessons and leave to collect Cassie from the training grounds when S’samph made an appearance in the back of his classroom. The normally lively younglings all went silent at his presence. Örim started to worry something was terribly wrong.
The long moments it took for the class to finish the last calculations in the sequence began to drive frustration through his core. He didn’t want to wait and be pleasant while the younglings worked through their equations. He wanted to know what had happened to bring S’samph to his classroom. Finally, with the last one completed, incorrectly, Örim steeled himself for whatever news the latil’e brought to his door.
“Let’s finish there today, class. Your assigned exercises should already be preloaded to your datapads. I’ll see you tomorrow.” The normal level of chatter resumed as the younglings were dismissed. S’samph stood clear of the doorway while the students exited. Some of them glanced upward at his flattened frill while others rushed past, avoiding him.
“K’kaen is with Cassie,” S’samph said by way of introduction.
“If K’kaen is with Cassie, then why are you here?” Örim asked. “I was on my way to collect her. Was she injured during training again?”
“Injured during training?” His tail stilled behind him. “When has Cassie been injured during training? Is that what she told you? She is running in a circle, gossiping with Wreeta. There is no opportunity for injury.”
Örim’s grip on his wrist nodes tightened. The explanation hadn’t made sense when she’d said it, but now he had confirmation. “That is what she told me.”
“Then you should have that conversation with her.” S’samph’s frill was pressed flat against his spine. “But I’m here to discuss something else. I have news from the IA.”
“What kind of news?”
“Two passeri have been found dead. I just finished a holocall with Agent Yina.”
Silence settled between them before Örim finally spoke. “Do you remember the names?”
“Sparrow and Myna. I don’t believe they were Cassie’s friends.”
The names weren’t familiar, but it didn’t mean Cassie hadn’t known them anyway. “What does this mean for Cassie?”
“It means we increase our security protocols.” S’samph’s tail swished. “Unless she’s in your home, she should be with someone with combat training.”
“Not me then.”
“Correct. You can’t protect her against an assailant. I’ve assigned K’kaen to shadow her for the time being. I’ll alternate with him.”
“No.” Örim tapped his elbow nodes together. “It’s obviously not safe here for Cassie anymore. I’ve been offered a position on Brasnia Prime. I’ll simply take her with me.”
“Is that what Cassie wants?”
“I haven’t talked to her about it yet.” It might be the fundamental flaw in his plan. He couldn’t leave Cassie, but if she refused to go with him, he would be stuck here.
“It seems like there are many conversations you’re neglecting to have with Cassie.”
“I don’t think that’s true. I will obviously talk to her about this as soon as I can.”
