Page 5 of The Goddesses' Gifts

“How long are you planning to wait to tell me what that scarf around your neck means?”

I scoffed, “You already know what it means. It would be smarter to poke a hungry bear than try to tell you something you already know and hate. Why goad you, little brother?”

Lhoris’ fidgeting came to a halt at that. His body tension was suddenly tight, controlled, and his weight shifted slightly forward. Then the only movement was the clench and release of his fists and jaw. But his eyes … there I saw confusion. His thoughts hesitated though his body was ready to strike.

I needed to distract him.

If my little brother had any weakness, aside from his woman, it was curiosity. “Mating looked different in the woodlands, didn’t it?”

Lhoris’ lip twitched and twisted into a scowl. “Yes,” he seethed.

“This’s one of Irnon’s gifts, little brother. Like our fire and shadows. Unlike our woodland cousins, we might go insane if we don’t rush to the rescue of a threatened mate.” I snorted. “I guess Irnon figures we’d be willing to sacrifice our offspring to rid ourselves of the vicious cunt carrying it.” And it was probably the only thing Irnon was right about. It would have been a kindness if my father had ended this life before I’d been cursed to live it.

“It’s not much of a gift,” Lhoris grumbled.

“It’s not a gift for you and me,” I snorted. “Another gift for her daughters.”

Lhoris’ scowl deepened, but he didn’t relax. I watched him and caught myself absently toying with the ends of the kerchief, twirling the soft, gauzy fabric around my index finger, stirring the scent on it. His eyes locked on the movement and his scowl turned into a toothy sneer. I dropped my hand and sighed.

“Why aren’t you like this then?” he demanded with a harsh gesture in my direction and shifted all his weight onto one hip, leaning closer.

“Because I only have the scent,” I explained, pointing at the scarf. “A bond won’t fall into place until we are much closer. You, on the other hand, will be an unbearable asshole for the time being.”

That’s when Lhoris lunged at me. It was clumsy, coming from his half-seated position, and it wasn’t like I hadn’t seen it coming.

I fisted my hands in the front of his jacket, planted my foot in his belly, and rolled backward, allowing his momentum to carry us over my shoulder. Lhoris landed on his back and choked on a breathless curse when I settled my weight on his middle. I shook him by the jacket. “Lhoris, stop!” I warned, but he bellowed unintelligibly while his hands darted for my throat—a mindless animalistic reaction to tear it out. I knew he could do better if he were thinking. I batted his clutching hands aside and punched him in the face. Once. Twice. Three times before I saw his eyes roll in his head.

“… mushroom licking child,” I muttered and undid the scarf while I got to my feet, all the while watching to make sure he wasn’t faking.

He blinked, eyes aimlessly wandering over our surroundings. They slowly found me but didn’t quite focus. He tried to sit up.

“Stay down, Lhoris,” I drawled.

I held the kerchief in both hands and tore it into two rough triangles. Lhoris frowned and blinked at me in confusion. I dropped one triangle on his chest and took a few steps back. “Do this,” I held up my half, thread it through the top buttonhole of my jacket and shrugged. “I don’t think it will help, but it’s worth a try.”

His brows pinched together, pained one way or another. “I hate this,” he said.

“Same,” I grunted. “You done being dumb for now?”

“I think you gave me a concussion,” he grumbled then picked the fabric up off his chest and pressed it over his nose and mouth.

I snorted. “You fuckin needed it.”

He glared at me. I shrugged. It was the truth. He might have ripped my throat out with his bare hands if I hadn’t.

Lhoris sat up, swayed, and blinked a few times before following my example with the fabric. I was sure at this point that his bell was well and truly rung, but now that we were almost talking, there were things to discuss, especially since he probably wouldn’t attack me again right now.

Probably.

“We need to figure out what to do once we get there,” I said, sitting back down on my bedroll. We knew all the hidden tunnels, trap locations, and even weaknesses in the patrols. But there was only a single entry-point behind all that, and the operation there could hold off an army. We had nothing to bargain with other than our lives. But if we died, Ozanna, the baby, and my sons would be trapped in that hell.

Lhoris showed me his teeth but didn’t move to attack.

I bared my teeth in return.

His eyes wobbled again, a well-timed reminder that I’d just knocked the dust off his gray matter. He frowned and scooted back to his bedroll.

“Let's just focus on our shared goal of getting Oz and the children,” I said, and relaxed a little. “That might keep this from getting worse.”

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