Page 5 of The Knotty Clause

She took a cautious sip of the hot liquid and sighed with pleasure. It reminded her of hot chocolate, creamy and rich, but it was spiced with an additional flavor that made her think of evergreens and snow. It warmed her from the inside and she felt better with each sip. A soft moan of appreciation escaped as she drank, and his silver eyes flashed before he turned back to the window.

“Thank you for helping us,” she said after a moment.

“It would have been irresponsible not to assist.”

His voice was flat, but there was something beneath it—something that sounded like pain.

“Neither you nor the child are suffering from frostbite,” he added after another pause. “I checked your extremities.”

She wiggled her toes and realized her feet were bare, although the rest of her layers of clothing seemed to be intact.

“That’s a relief. I’m Gemma, by the way. My son’s name is Liam.”

Another long pause.

“You may call me Yede.”

“I’m pleased to meet you, Yede.” She gave him a speculative look as she put the empty mug back on the table. “Do your people live here in the mountains?”

No one had ever mentioned encountering someone like him before, but the human population was quite small. It was possible their paths had never crossed, especially if his people kept to the high mountains.

Those broad shoulders stiffened before he shook his head.

“I am the only one.”

This time the pain in his voice was so clear that her heart ached for him. But if he were the only one…

“I suppose that means you come from another planet?”

That brought his head around as he gave her a surprised look.

“You know of such things?”

“There are stories, although I’m not sure how much truth they contain. The most common is that we—humans—came to this planet on a ship from beyond the stars many years ago. Most of the stories agree on that point, but the reason we are here varies—an accident, a punishment from God, fate.” She shrugged. “As I said, stories. And there are those who do not believe any part of them.”

“I believe there is an…anomaly in this part of the galaxy which affects ships that pass through it.”

“It happened to you too?”

Before he could answer, Liam stirred and she bent over him. He rubbed his eyes and stretched, then gave her a sleepy smile.

“Hi Mama. Where—” He saw Yede and his eyes widened with excitement. “Wow, you’re huge! And fuzzy!” He scrambled to sit up, furs falling around him. “Mama, look at his horns! They’re so cool!”

Heat crept up her cheeks. “Liam?—”

But Yede’s reaction stopped her protest. His big body relaxed, his face softening. The change transformed his entire bearing from intimidating to almost gentle.

“You don’t find them frightening?” he asked, his deep voice less gruff than before.

“Nuh-uh. They’re awesome.”

Liam started to say something else but then his stomach growled loud enough to echo through the room. He clutched his middle as the corner of Yede’s mouth twitched.

“There is a drink waiting for you. After that there is food in the kitchen, if you’re hungry. Soup and bread.”

Liam started to agree, then bit his lip and gave her a hopeful look. When she nodded, his face split into a wide grin.

“But drink this first,” she said firmly, handing him the other mug.

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