“Accident.” She showed him her first finger, the tiny pinprick where she’d poked herself with the wire.
“You need to be careful, aöseria.” Örim tapped his wrist nodes together and then went to get the medical kit. He changed out her bandages and applied a thick layer of anti-itch cream. While he sat in front of her, quietly attentive, Cassie frowned.
The scratches aren’t deep. I’ve never bandaged them before.
“Just humor me. I don’t want them to get infected.”
Cassie sighed. She knew this was how he would react if he found out, which was why she’d tried so hard to keep it hidden.
“Do you need anything?”
I’m fine.
“Let me know if you do.” Örim finished tying off the last of her bandages and then went back to scouring their home for dangers.
Cassie dropped her flowers, interest gone. He didn’t trust her to stay alive anymore. She wasn’t sure she trusted herself to stay alive anymore, but his distrust cut much deeper than her own.
Hunger pangs sent her to the kitchen area, where she rummaged in the cold storage. Cassie found a ressi fruit and searched for the peeler she’d need to remove the thick rind. It was gone. Örim had hidden not only the knives but also anything with a vaguely sharp or pointed edge. But then he’d left the autoslicer on the counter, which was arguably just as sharp. Cassie puffed out with frustration and tried to find something else to eat. She wasn’t about to go beg him for her peeler back.
She settled instead for a processed protein bar. It was tasteless and joyless, but at least her stomach stopped complaining. She also didn’t need anything fancy to open it. Örim would probably argue it wasn’t a full meal, but how was she supposed to make anything more complicated if all her kitchen tools were gone?
Cassie retreated to the lavatory, wanting an inventory of what else had disappeared from her things. Her nail clippers were gone, so she couldn’t even trim her nails if she wanted to. Then the tweezers too. The hair pins Eleri had given her. All the pills were gone too. Long locked away. Cassie slammed the storage drawer shut. She couldn’t even say anything in her own defense. He wasn’t wrong to be afraid of what she might do to herself.
She exited the lavatory and found Örim waiting for her outside the door. They’d argued about that too. He wanted to put cameras in the lavatory. She told him on no uncertain terms that she’d go to Eleri if he did, which made him agree to drop the issue. But she knew he was uncomfortable.
“Are you alright? Did you have your afternoon meal?”
I’m fine.She was not fine. She was trapped again. The cage had well-meaning bars this time, but it was a cage all the same.
CHAPTER 40
Örim
Örim was on his way home from the schoolhouse. Pyo had suggested having someone keep Cassie company, so he didn’t have to give up his teaching duties. He’d reluctantly agreed after Cassie insisted she wanted to return to caring for her group of pups and visiting the pichari. As much as he hated to admit it, Örim struggled to withstand the sunlight for that long. Wreeta or K’kaen made for better companions if she wanted to be outdoors during the day. She was safe. He reminded himself of this as he walked down the main dusty path in the center of Laurus, past the clinic, past the Eon, and past the general good store.
It wasn’t until he saw a stranger moving toward him down the thoroughfare that he paused. He should mind his own business and get to Cassie as quickly as possible. But he didn’t. He stared awkwardly, which in turn served as a tacit invitation for the stranger to move closer. Örim squinted through his eyestones to get a better sense of the male approaching.
He seemed to be human. His skin color read paler than Cassie’s, but his eyes and hair bordered on black. His suit and long overcoat were neatly tailored, although in a style unfamiliar to Örim. However, it was painfully obvious that he was not someone who belonged in Laurus. This oddness set Örim on edge. He was used to being an oddity in town, but someone stranger than him rang warning bells. Örim covertly ran a thumb over his wrist node as he braced himself for contact with the grinning stranger.
“Hello there, sorry to interrupt your afternoon. Would you happen to know where I can find the town enforcer? S’samph, I believe his name is. Latil’e.”
“Are you an acquaintance of S’samph’s?” Örim asked because it seemed unnerving that a human male would come asking after their small town’s latil’e head of security.
“No, nothing like that. I’ve never met him, but I have business with him. Can you tell me where I can find him?”
Örim pondered the best response. If this person was here to cause trouble, taking him to S’samph was probably the best course of action anyway. Late afternoon usually found the latil’e in his office before he came to the clinic to escort his mate to their home.
“I suppose I can take you to his office to see if he’s there.”
“Excellent.” The grin widened. Örim would have read it as a threat from any other species. Cassie never smiled like that. True, her smiles were seldom, but they were sweet and gentle, not like this ferocious gnashing of teeth. The impression was rather alarming. Rather than engage, Örim averted his gaze and gestured for the stranger to follow him a few buildings down to the security office.
Örim was about to enter first, but the stranger blew past him, strutting into the room like a pichari during mating season.Instead, Örim straggled behind, feeling he at least owed S’samph an apology for springing this on him at the end of his work day.
Both of them stood in front of S’samph’s desk, Örim immediately regretting his decision as soon as he realized how cramped the room felt with the three of them inside.
S’samph also seemed perturbed by the sudden incursion into his space. His frill lifted, and his tail started to lash side to side. He chose to ignore Örim, focusing his attention on the stranger first.
“Well?” S’samph asked. “Why are you here?”
