Page 10 of Romancing Rem'eb

“I am Rem’eb the Fist,” I tell her by way of introduction. “And I will protect you. You may trust me.”

Even as I say the words aloud, I realize I am a liar. I said to myself before that I would take her back to the surface and do my best to hide the monstrous problem my father has created. Looking at this gorgeous, strange creature before me, I realize I am weak because I am going to do no such thing. This stranger is mine. My khui might be silent now, but it feels heavy in my breast. Burgeoning. It is simply a matter of time.

And I cannot let her go. Not yet.

She speaks again, taking a cautious step forward, and her gaze meets mine again. Her words are nothing but mumbled, slick-sounding nonsense, but she reaches for the glow-moss lamp I hold in my hands.

She likes the light.

Of course she does. She is a creature of above. The darkness likely frightens her. It takes a moment, but I realize that she has been left alone in the dark. The storage huts are some of the few buildings in our village that have a roof to keep out intruders or the stray lizard, and that means she has been blocked from all of the light that emits faintly through the main cavern.

I hand the lamp to her and she cradles it in her arms, saying more nonsense words. I eye her surroundings, and as I do, a growing anger builds in my belly.

There are no blankets here, no soft pallet for her to rest upon. There is no food, no drink, no necessity pot. She has sat in the darkness, abandoned.

It is an awful way to treat my mate, and I have to bite back a growl so I do not frighten her.

“I will take care of you,” I tell her again, my voice low and fervent.

“Wrntgettin anywareharwee.” She purses her lips and juggles the lamp in her arms, freeing one hand. Then she taps it against her breast, drawing my gaze to the bouncy teats covered with a strip of strange thick material. “Tia. Haahm Tia.”

“Haam’tia? Is that your name?”

She shakes her head and taps again. “Tia. Juuss Tia. Tia.”

“Tia,” I try, since she seems focused on that word.

A smile breaks across her face, showing strange square white teeth. I did not realize it was possible for her to look more radiantly beautiful, but I am wrong. Her name is interesting, if short, as delicate and perfect as she herself is. One of my hands goes to my chest, pressing there. Now, I think. Now.

Still silent. Grr.

I gesture at myself. “I am Rem’eb the Fist, the son of the chief.”

She recoils slightly at my name, as if she does not approve. Does she not like that I am the chief’s son? Or is it something else? Tia spouts another round of nonsense words, her expression troubled.

I shake my head, frustrated. “I do not understand your words.”

She purses her lips, nodding, and thinks.

Somehow…she understands me? Or am I simply reading too much into it?

“Will you hold your hand out?” I ask, testing my theory.

Tia hesitates, and then puts her hand out, palm up. She has a strange number of fingers, but they are long and perfectly shaped, and her palm looks soft and inviting. Everything she does dazzles me, and I find it difficult to concentrate. With a free hand, I reach out and close her outstretched hand into a fist, nudging it back toward her.

She’s warm. Soft, as I knew she would be. She smells incredible, too. The fur on my lower arms prickles in response. “So you can understand everything I say.”

She nods again, blurting another wave of her strange words.

“How is it I cannot understand you?”

“Haim ooman,” she says, and then points at her extra finger. “Ooman.”

“Ooman,” I agree. Is she teaching me her language? Does she want me to repeat after her in my language so she can learn it? “That is a finger.”

She snorts, the sound full of amusement. “Hoboy.”

“Hoboy,” I agree, just pleased to hear the sound of her voice.

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