It doesn’t smell too bad either.
“You should eat,” Canto says.
She growls low and threatening at him. I watch their interactions carefully. She’s mad, she’s mad at all of us, but I don’t understand why.
She sits down near the fire, drawn by the heat, but ignores everyone who tries to talk to her, including the miserable dragon, who brings her a beautiful, soft, downy blanket he stole.
His constant circling of her and attempts to get close are pitiful. But then I see how she listens for his footfalls and how she notes his absence.
“So, you’re just going to ignore everyone?” I snarl at her, thoroughly fed up with her behaviour.
She refuses to answer.
I stalk back towards her, shoving off Ronit, who tries to grab my arm. It just makes me so furious. Unreasonably enraged that she is just going to sit there and pretend like we don’t exist when all that stuff happened.
“Do not ignore me, Strega,” I hiss, leaning over her.
She reaches out and touches the mask hiding her lack of eyes. I wait and then shove her back, pinning her to the sand. She doesn’t fight me, just lies there completely pliant, but I know she is anything but compliant.
“Fight back.”
“Why? Does it get you excited?” she whispers, and for one long second, I think she’s talking about arousal.
But then, no, she wants to fight, and she thinks I want to fight. I hang my head, frustrated and floored by this strange creature.
Fine.
“Beating you is not exciting at all, Strega. I just find the dragon’s incessant whining disgusting.”
Her lip curls, and she reaches up and takes hold of my wrist, squeezing in warning.
“I think it makes you excited. I think it’s probably the most exciting thing that’s happened to you in a long time. And I think you hate how much you want to fight me.”
How is she this innocent? How does she not feel this?
I bend over her so that my lips are almost touching her ear. “Fighting is not what I want to do to you,” I confess.
For a long moment, she doesn’t respond, and then she gasps, and this warm sugar scent rises with the blackberries, turning the air thick and delicious.
“Um, um, um! Stop that!” Lirin shouts, and suddenly, we’re both doused in cold water.
I jump up, furious. “Lirin, what the hell?”
“You were, um, don’t do that!” he says and averts his eyes.
“She doesn’t have any other clothes; she’s going to freeze,” I snarl and shove my idiot Siren shiver mate.
He looks up with wide-open eyes. “I didn’t think of that.”
“You’re supposed to be the smart one,” I snap.
“Can’t be smart with that scent,” Lirin whispers.
I growl, and he jumps back, putting several feet between us.
“Mei,” Leaf says softly, and I look and see the dragon gently offering her a blanket with the most downtrodden expression I’ve ever seen.
Canto is gutting and preparing the fish we’ve caught, while Ronit is checking the inside of the cave for dangers.
