Page 64 of Aria's Ascension

“What the hell are you talking about?Gentling?” Before he could say something that made even less sense, she held her hands up. Realizing suddenly they were being overprotective after Rellik told her this guy might be prone to attack first and ask questions later, she gave them a reassuring smile and spoke placatingly, “Listen, this guy might be a hermit, but Rellik said he’s not completely unreasonable. We give him some food, lay it all out, and bam! Honestly, why would he refuse?”

“Gods’ tears! Him, too?” he all but yelled.

Her barbarian looked damn near apoplectic. Even Kix was staring at her slack-jawed.

“What is going on with you two? That’s the whole reason we’re talking to everyone down here!”

“Everyone?” Kix gasped.

She gave him an astonished look. “Of course, everyone!”

“Moons above,” Tirox groaned faintly and stumbled back to lean against the wall like he was lightheaded.

Darting forward, she tried to brace him so he didn’t collapse to the floor. Whipping a wide-eyed look back at Kix, standing frozen and staring blankly into the distance, she snapped, “Help me, would you? He’s sick or something!”

Kix blinked and turned to look at her distractedly. His gaze flicked to Tirox, but he didn’t appear at all alarmed. Instead, he focused back on her and approached her hesitantly, like you would a wild animal.

“Aessa, you know I am not… opposed to your gathering more males. It is wise to have a select number to protect you, in any environment, and most especially in this place. Even so, perhaps you might at leastmeetthem before deciding they suit you,” he suggested a little desperately.

Aria stared at him, hard, before realization hit her like a fucking sledgehammer. Letting go of Tirox, she turned to face Kix fully only to whip back around when Tirox slid to the ground with a thud and a low yelp.

Giving her barbarian an impatient look, she bent and helped him to his feet then moved so she could see them both.

“Have you two lost your damn minds? I’m not going to mate everyone down here! I meant I’m considering all of them for our little army! Jesus Christ! You honestly thought I was, what? Shopping for husbands?” she scoffed.

In perfect sync, they both blew out relieved breaths and relaxed, but Kix’s expression very quickly changed to confusion.

“So you donotwant to mate Rellik?”

Her heart skipped a beat, but she quickly stammered, “What? No! No. Definitely not. Nope. Three—”

She cut short. It stung like a sonofabitch, but the dragon obviously wasn’t nearly as interested in her as she was in him so he wasn’t her’s, not really. She hadn’t seen him once since they left his cave. Nor had she found any evidence that he’d been following them covertly. And she’d looked.

Swallowing hard, she corrected, “Twomates is plenty. Besides, if I was planning to, er, consider him, wouldn’t you be able to pick that up?”

He got a dry look on his face. “Not ifyoudo not know.”

“I know!” she insisted.

“Uh-uh,” he voiced, shaking his head. “You are confused. I feel interest, concern, denial, fascination,” he ticked off, eyeing her challengingly.

“Pfft, that’s just because he’s pretty. And interesting. And… you know what? Never mind. We have a hostile alien to recruit.”

“Mmm,” he hummed skeptically.

Tirox cut in, “Hush, fool. You will talk her into choosing him when she might not otherwise!”

“Hey!” she sputtered.

Turning to her, he gave her a pacifying smile, pulled her into him with an arm around her waist, and coaxed gently, “My tiny, caring, sweet-hearted, deadly little female. Perhaps, in the coming times, unless you truly wish to consider one of them, you might… resist the temptation to flash your teeth at and then nuzzle any more of the warriors, hmm?”

“Flash my… wait, I didn’tnuzzle—”

“Of course,” he interrupted, nodding agreeably. “You did notmeanto flash your teeth in a clear invitation and then nuzzle him, bared, in what no male anywhere could resist. But, these are love-starved beings, myrwy’n la. And, we cannot know their ways. We must be cautious.”

Aria tipped her head back to give him a cross look, but relented after a second and sighed.

He wasn’t wrong.

---