Ok.
“Do you want to watch something? I can load up one of your cooking holos.”
She nodded and waited for him to find her program before handing her datapad back to her. Cassie kept space between them on the bed as she watched her holo. It wasn’t long before she fell asleep. Quietly, Örim turned off her device and tucked her closer to him as he covered her in a blanket.
CHAPTER 36
Cassie
“Again,” S’samph called from the other end of the field. The targets were moving now. He carried them himself, much to Wreeta’s amusement. But Wreeta wasn’t here today. She’d been called away to deal with a ravik sighting on the border between Laurus and Indras. So, it was just Cassie and S’samph. The latil’e lumbered slowly with the target on his back while she missed every shot she took. They’d argued about it. She wanted to keep practicing on a stationary target while he insisted no one was going to stand still while she shot at them, so she had better get used to a moving one.
Cassie gritted her teeth as she aimed her weapon and fired another round. She glanced at the bucket of null pods. There were only two left, so she loaded them, fixed her stance, and pulled the trigger. This one at least glanced off S’samph’s leg, which was closer, even if it still didn’t hit the target. He grunted but didn’t stop moving. Cassie took her final shot. It went wide,of course. Defeated, she set the pulsar down on the ground and raised her hands in surrender.
S’samph returned at a jog to collect and store the null. She watched him watching her. It was unusual behavior for him. Usually, he would grumble something and tell her to be on her way and to practice her stance before their next lesson. But today was different. It made the hair on the back of Cassie’s neck stand at attention the way he was eyeing her. Something was wrong. He was giving her the same treatment everyone did when they were worried about breaking her. And S’samph usually was one of the few people who didn’t worry about that.
His frill was flat against his spine as he approached. Cassie’s breath caught in anticipation of whatever crushing thing was coming. “I have news.”
“What kind of news?”
“Sit.” His tail lashed three times.
“I don’t need to sit.”
“Sit, Cassie.” His tone allowed no space for argument. She sat in the dust.
S’samph stared directly at her to deliver the blow. “Your compatriot, Rhea. The Aviarist has her.”
“Could you please repeat that?” Cassie said, realizing she’d fallen into one of her programmed voicelock phrases. Dread twisted in her chest. Those weren’t her words.
“Rhea has been taken.”
‘Taken’ wasn’t true. Rhea was dead. Rhea had been killed by the Aviarist. Something dark, something bitter boiled up inside her until she was screaming.
Cassie punched S’samph. Skin against scales. Pain ripped through her knuckles as the coarse texture of his exterior tore open her hand. S’samph didn’t even flinch.
“You’re lying!”
“The IA will do their best to find Rhea.”
“There won’t be anything to find!” She screamed soundlessly. The Aviarist didn’t leave evidence. He didn’t take pichari and return them alive. Anger. That’s what it was. Long forgotten. Long suppressed. Cassie’s vision went crimson. She kicked the sturdy wooden post holding up the awning over the supply table. Her hands found her arms, and she ripped her nails down them, still screaming. It wasn’t enough. She dug harder. S’samph grabbed her, his expression softer than she’d ever seen it.
“Cassie, enough.”
Don’t touch me!
She jerked away from him, tears and snot streaming down her face.
“I can’t let you go if you’re going to hurt yourself.”
It’s not up to you.She ran. She ran hard. The months of training paying off in speed and agility. S’samph cursed behind her. He was faster than her, but she was smaller. They rounded the bend up to the magtracks, and Cassie squeezed into the space under his domicile, the stilt lifts installed for the flooding season leaving just enough room for her to disappear. By the time S’samph appeared, she was gone. His tail thrashed as he searched around for her. After a long moment, he disappeared, and she heard the rumble of a levibike. Once he was out of sight, Cassie struggled out from under the gap and ran again.
Under the dock. Next to the canal. She wanted to hear the water.
CHAPTER 37
Örim
Örim returned home after the day’s lesson and saw S’samph leaving as he arrived. S’samph’s tail thrashed from side to side as he advanced with purposeful haste.
