“All right, let us begin,” Diablos says. “The first thing you need to know about humans is that they are extremely breakable. You can kill them with just a blow to the wrong part of the body. And yet, they can sometimes live with horrendous injuries. They lack the strength we have, their ability to smell is much less than optimal, their sight, reflexes, all of it is less.”
“Inferior,” Canto mutters.
“No, not inferior!” Diablos says like a whip crack. “Just different. Their strength lies in their community, in their empathy. All of our species lack those features. They don’t glory in power, they glory in progress. Like ants or bees. It’s all about the hive.”
I cock my head to the side. I don’t know what bees or ants are, but eh. They sound like a school of fish. I eat fish.
“This planet is dying, I wouldn’t call that progress,” Brio says in disgust.
“Progress doesn’t mean they aren’t making terrible mistakes, but they are young. How many wars did the Fae wage over who would sit in a fancy seat?”
I glance at the Sirens and find that it’s Ronit who briefly closes his eyes as if that truth hurts him deeply. Ironically, all I want to do is wrap him in my coils until he’s no longer looking so pained, but that would start a battle that might last years.
“In Nightmare, it’s kill or be killed. You survive by being stronger, tougher, faster, and more scary than what is trying to eat you,” Mei explains from her hiding spot.
I think about my poor Mei having to fight and run all her life. Blind.
She is the most worthy mate.
I let out a chirping purr that startles Lirin into falling off his log.
“What the fuck is that, you creepy shithead!”
I narrow my eyes at him but keep making the sound. Soothing my mate, telling her I think she’s wonderful.
Reed throws a pine cone at my head, but I snatch it out of mid-air, sniff it all over, and then peg it back. Except he wasn’t watching.
It hits him so hard in the forehead that he simply keels over, unconscious.
Oops.
Pain explodes in my head, but I cackle through it.
Ronit and Canto leap up; the latter charges me, while the former goes to check on Reed. I try to stay out of Canto’s way, but he pulls out that gloriously black-bladed sword that he loves so much and starts flicking it at me, attempting to cut me into a ribbon.
“I can see I am wasting my breath!” Diablos says and sits down, glaring at the ground.
“We’ll figure it out, Di. They just need…look, I don’t know what they need. Probably monster Valium, but we will get there. It was a good idea, and if anyone can do it, it’s you.”
My blood rushes as I fight to stay one step ahead of Canto.
“He threw it first!” I giggle.
“I liked it better when you couldn’t speak.” His glare is dark and his teeth bared at me. All those pretty muscles flex and shift as he chases me with such skill.
“No, you didn’t. You love me.”
Canto stops dead, his eyes bulging. “Do you even know what love is?”
I hesitate, losing my smile. No, I don’t, but I heard Diablos and Hartley talking about it last night.
“You want to mate me.” I say finally, with triumph, slapping myself on the back for making a wonderful deduction.
Canto’s face turns puce, and I think, perhaps, I've made the most fascinating mistake ever.
“I do not ever, ever, in this world or any others, want to mate with you.”
My disappointment surprises me. Before I can think on it, he leaps at me. I don’t know how I lived without them. When they entered my ocean, it was like something inside me came alive.
