Page 12 of Tempting Fate

“Garrison! We missed you!”

They both ran past me to engulf my kin-brother in a tangle of limbs.

He wrapped his arms around them and squeezed tight. “It’s good to see you too. How have you been? Is it okay here?”

“We’re good.” The nrixia bloom’s attention moved to me. “You must be Airida,” she said, stepping forward and looking me up and down. “You look just like Captain Shohari.”

I did not. But I tried not to flinch or refute her happy words.

Then she was surrounding me with her small arms, reaching around my ribcage, head pressed to my chest.

Her body was soft and warm against mine, and I awkwardly arranged my arms around her in a reciprocal fashion as Garrison had done. The rich scent of moonlit jasmine filled my senses. The organ between my legs filled too, and I swallowed a groan.

It is because of kalidi. I will react to some people now. It doesn't mean anything.

As she drew away, I shivered in the chill of her absence and could only take refuge in the warmth of her smile.

“Sorry. I’m a hugger. And you looked like you needed one,” she said.

One what? “Hello, Ahugga. I am Airida,” I said solemnly.

She broke into laughter, clapping a small hand to her pretty mouth. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to laugh. My name is Imani. When I say I’m a hugger, I mean I’m a person who likes to hug.”

“I see.” I did not, entirely, but I did not need to tell her this. This arms around a person, this was a hug? It was not a word I knew, not a gesture I knew.

Her name, though, was. So close to aimanei. Fate. The pronunciation was ever so slightly different. I caught my lip with my tusks. There were no etiquette classes on how to deal with wordplay—or impromptu hugs. Orithians did not hug.

Aside from kalidi and the ride here, when had I last been touched?

As the humans spoke together, I surveyed the village—so different to my family’s estate. Old stone dwellings spanned a curve around an open space, within which lay the central fire and a large building of metal construction, lit from within by electric lighting. A wave of fatigue rocked me, and I staggered.

Shohari caught me. She held me steady while I summoned strength to my legs, willing my body to cooperate. A month. I could survive a month of this. Please, not two.

Imani laid a small hand on my forearm, sharing her gentle warmth. “Sorry you’re not feeling so good. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. Anything at all.”

A jolt of sensation speared through my core.

Would she do that?

I cursed myself for a wicked male and leaned harder on my sister, dismissing the unsettling thought.

Imani, in a very firm voice, said, “Let’s get you to bed.”

Painful throbbing in my breeches was all I could feel, and to lie down and get relief would be most welcome.

Shohari and Garrison supported me as I shuffled towards one of the low stone buildings that made up the shaa’ith village. Though the stonework looked old, the windows and door were modern, the metalwork much like that of the Dorimisa or city buildings I’d seen in pictures.

The first thing that struck me about the room was the scent. Moonbeams and jasmine. Aimanei. Had she been in here?

The room was basic, but I only had eyes for the bed, and sank heavily to the steel grey sheets.

“We’ll come and see you before we leave, brother.” Shohari placed Kri’s shrine next to a potted plant, then left, leaving Tokki, Daiytak, and another female shaa’ith.

Daiytak put a hand on my shoulder. “You’re home now. Let’s get you comfortable.”

When kalidi came on, there was nothing I could do but let my body take the relief it craved, no matter how painful it was, and I shuffled onto my back.

“This is Orukem,” Daiytak said. “She has been assigned as your kalidi attendant and will take care of your needs until it passes.”