He turns to me and grips my hand, placing the cheeseburger in my hands where I can find the food. Then he returns to the fight.
“How can you eat so much? You are so tiny.”
I chew and shrug. “Food is scarce, eat where you can, it might be moons before I eat again.”
“Oh, Di, go get some more for her.”
“Don’t let them hurt, Hartley,” Diablos says.
If he’s getting me more food, I will protect his mate with my life. He disappears, and I feel the lack of his presence in the air.It’s an absence of sulfur, of heat, and a dangerous aura. He might seem jolly, but Diablos is really powerful.
I take my guarding very seriously, but when they come towards us and don’t stop, I throw up a rune. Which blasts them all with a noxious-smelling liquid that is common in my world.
“What is wrong with you?” Reed hisses.
I crouch in front of Hartley and wait.
Diablos appears and looks around. “I don’t approve of the method, but I can’t fault the results.”
I sit down and wait while Diablos hands me a burger. Again, Leaf intervenes, and the burger is handed to me via the dragon. Strange behaviour.
“Peel off the top layer.”
I do as he instructs and let out a happy sound and start eating with single-minded intensity.
When Leaf comes close, I pause in my eating and growl in warning. No one comes between me and my food. No one.
And especially not these luxurious and juicy cheeseburgers.
Only when he moves away again do I resume eating, murmuring in pure pleasure. They are all silent. But I ignore them, focusing only on the offerings Diablos and Leaf give me. At last, I hand half a cheeseburger back. Leaf snatches it and gulps it down. I walk to the nearest tree and climb up into it. Within five minutes, I’m asleep.
***
Something slams into my tree; I wake up with my heart pounding, sure he’s found me at last. My head throbs, and my heart beats hard enough that I’m sure anyone can hear it. I throw my hands up with my talons in front of me, ready to defend myself.
“You stupid fish, why did you do that?” Canto snarls.
I slump back in the tree, trying to get my body under control. It’s just them, fighting again.
I jump down, and when a Siren reaches for me, I dive in and bring my knee up sharply, dropping Lirin to the ground. He wheezes.
When Canto comes at me, I stab two stiffened fingers into his throat, and he falls away, choking.
Ronit and Reed come at me at the same time, but I flip Ronit on his back and kick Reed’s legs out from under him.
Brio doesn’t move, but he also doesn’t try to attack me. He just hums as I approach.
“Enough!” I snarl. “We are supposed to be learning how to survive here. All you are doing is telling every predator on this side of the planet where we are. I’m tired of it.”
“You are just a monster. What are you going to do about it?”
My rage ignites as I turn on Brio.
“I can mute you. Hide your voice. Make you silent and still. You will have no music, no song.”
Brio’s whole calm aura turns spiky and sharp.
“If you do that to me ever, I will slice your throat open and bathe in your blood.”
