Page 63 of Crucible

Khalil reaches across the short distance from his spot at the head of the table and grips her jaw. He squeezes until Aurelia whimpers and turns her head back toward Thorin. The two share a look that ends with Aurelia opening her mouth the tiniest bit.

Thorin feeds her the venison.

Aurelia makes a face at the awful taste as she chews. The next portion is even larger. Having already made his point, Thorin takes one for the team and eats it.

Bite after bite, he feeds them both—with his portions considerably larger—until the plate is empty and Aurelia looks ready to hurl.

“The winters can be brutal, so we don’t waste food,” Thorin tells her as he hands her his water glass. Aurelia takes it from him and guzzles half of it down to wash the taste of dinner from her mouth. “There are some cookbooks on the bookshelves. It helped us; it can help you.”

Aurelia pauses her slow slips to ask, “So, why didn’t one of you make dinner?”

“Because we have you to take care of us now.”

“Cabin rule number five,” I say casually, and she glares at me. “Have our dinner on the table every night, or we’ll haveyouinstead.”

“Oh, so you’re cannibals too?” she says, purposely misunderstanding my meaning. “Wow, I’m so surprised.”

None of us bother to correct her. Our grins just grow sharper as if we might truly devour her.

“And it’s not just dinner,” Khalil amends. “There’s breakfast and lunch too. We’re gone most of the day, so you don’t need to go overboard for lunch. We won’t always make it back before the sun sets.”

Aurelia looks surprised at that. “You really trust me to stay here alone?”

Khalil shrugs. “Whether you live or die is entirely your choice, Goldilocks.”

“And make no mistake, if you try to leave this mountain on your own, you won’t survive,” Thorin adds. “We don’t care about you, Aurelia. Run, and wewilllet you die. Feel free to consider that cabin rule number six.”

“But take it as a warning above all because we’re not fucking around,” I say gravely. “It’s cleaner for us to let you perish from exposure or the impact of falling from a cliff because you can’t see more than five feet in front of you.”

“It looked pretty clear outside to me,” Aurelia retorts.

“Wait a while,” Khalil tells her.

“Today was the first time we’ve seen the sky since we found you,” Thorin informs. “The weather here can turn in an instant.”

“I can still be rescued,” she argues. “I found this cabin. Search and rescue will, too.”

“That’s true,” I say with a sniff while stretching my legs under the table. Thorin and Khalil glare daggers at me, but I ignore them.

I mean, goddamn.

This girl is clinging to the tiniest scrap of hope that her old life isn’t lost. Why not let her have it? Why not give her something to fight for? The three of us being willingly stuck on this mountain is depressing enough without her adding to it.

“They’re looking for you, you know. The Canadian Armed Forces is all over it, coordinating with the local authorities and search and rescue team. It’s been dicey with the storms, but they’re out there day and night. You didn’t leave a lot of tracks when you fled the crash sight on account of the storms, but the men leading the teams, telling themexactlywhere to look, know these mountains better than anyone. They’ll find you no matter where you go.”

Aurelia’s gaze brightens as she leans forward, completely unaware that she’s flashing us her gorgeous tits. “Really? How do you know this?”

She’s practically panting for the answer, so I give it to her.

“Oh, because we are search and rescue.”

I get the sense that I fucked up monumentally.

Khalil leaves no room for doubt when he hits me with a mean right hook that has me tasting my own blood and stumbling to stay on my feet. Laughing, I spit the blood into the snow before wiping my mouth as I face them. Khalil and Thorin stood shoulder to shoulder, armed with twin glowers.

I should be used to it by now. The two of them standing against me instead of with me. Thorin and Khalil are Zeke’sfriends. I’m just the freak show with a high threshold for pain and no memories that exist outside of it.

Oh, boo-hoo.

---