Page 45 of I Married Amreth

“It’s not really surprising,” I said pensively. “Without the scanner, I likely wouldn’t have noticed their existence. They were not visible from above, and even after I landed, I had to lift a few leaves to expose them.”

Ciara pursed her lips and slowly nodded as she reflected on my words. “That’s pretty common for wild strawberries. This explains a few things. Ideally, we would have a field lab directly in that area. Maybe we could set something up using your shuttle?”

I quieted my instinctive desire to say yes and glanced questioningly at Vala. My heart sank when she stared at us with a closed off expression.

“I will discuss the matter with the other Kalds,” she said in a non-committal fashion. “Anyway, the hour is drawing too late for you to return to Bryst. You must be tired and hungry. Come, rest and eat. You will all sleep here tonight. In the morning, we will have a decision.”

Chapter 11

Amreth

As much as I understood their reluctance, I hated feeling shackled. By now, I felt as if we had proven ourselves enough to be given even more freedom to move around and do what was needed to solve this crisis. Seeing no point in making waves, I went along with it.

They led us to a small house. Surprisingly, it wasn’t in the inner courtyard but in the village proper. All the ones in the courtyard were already full with the infected pilgrims. Two males were walking out as we approached. Only once inside did I realize that they had brought food for me. To my utter embarrassment, my stomach loudly expressed its approval, making everyone chuckle.

“Enjoy your meal. We will see you in the morning,” Vala said.

We thanked her and watched her leave. As soon as the door closed behind her, I removed from my belt the weapons that I thankfully didn’t have to use today and glanced at the right wall where the door to the guest bedroom had been located in Bryst. Finding none, I jerked my head around to look at the oppositewall. Only then did I notice that this dwelling didn’t have a guest room.

“Tharmok’s blood. It seems there’s only one bedroom. I can go ask if they have a bigger dwelling,” I said, scratching my nape. “Or I could sleep on the couch.”

“Absolutely not!” Ciara said, looking at me as if I’d gotten hit once too many on the head. “Have you looked at the size of you compared to that couch? Are you itching to sleep with your knees pressed to your forehead?”

I snorted and shook my head, almost feeling like a child being scolded by his mother.

“We’re grown adults, not rabid animals. I’m sure we can share a bed and behave like civilized people. But if it makes you uncomfortable, I will let you have the bed, and I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“Absolutely not!” I said, echoing her previous words but with total outrage. “I will not sleep comfortably in a bed while my mate is cramped up on a couch.”

“Exactly!” she said with an exaggerated air of relief that I was finally seeing the light. “See how outrageous that felt to you? Why would you assume I would be fine doing that to you?”

I scrunched my face at her, failing to find an appropriate answer.

“We both need proper rest. So this matter is settled. Now let’s feed you,” Ciara said in a tone that brooked no argument as she waved for me to take a seat at the table.

As a noble Lord and Warden of my own Sector, I couldn’t remember the last time anyone ordered me around. The only person that had me jumping to attention with a single word was my father. Then again, Kronos’s sire had a way of making your insides liquify with a mere look. And yet, behind his stern and intimidating exterior, Lord Aramon was the sweetest of males with the dryest sense of humor. You never knew if he waschastising or teasing you until you caught his very discreet smug smirk.

I smiled, amused by her take charge attitude, and settled at the table. She didn’t sit but immediately started digging in the three serving trays they had brought us, piling on all the meat she could find onto a plate, which she then settled in front of me.

“I told them you weren’t into bird food,” Ciara said teasingly.

I burst out laughing, my chest warming with affection as she grabbed only a couple of vegetables with a piece of roasted white meat before settling across the table from me.

“That’s all you’re eating?” I asked, frowning at the tiny amount on her plate.

She shrugged. “I already ate. I’m just joining you because it sucks to eat on your own while your companion is staring at you. Now dig in. You’re not starving on my watch.”

I nodded again, grateful for yet another thoughtful gesture from her, and complied. To say I was famished couldn’t begin to describe the hollowness in my stomach. Flying required a lot of energy. As grateful as I was for the food—which was actually quite delicious—I hungered for a much different type of sustenance. My mouth watered at the thought of how her emotions would taste. She couldn’t begin to imagine how much more filling and satisfying feeding from her would be.

Attentive as ever, Ciara didn’t strike a conversation right away, allowing me to get a few bites in to appease the most brutal pangs. I all but inhaled the first few chunks of meat. Although she tried to hide it, I didn’t miss the amusement in her eyes as she discreetly peered at me.

“I was worried about you,” I said at last after swallowing another mouthful. “Everything went well in my absence?”

She nodded. “Thanks for the concern, but there was no need. Everyone was very kind to me. Anyway, Enre and Vala totallywent into Mama bear protective mode over me. Keeping me safe was truly a matter of pride and honor for them.”

“I’m glad to hear there were no incidents,” I said while cutting a piece of meat.

“Actually, there was some partially good news and a minor incident,” Ciara amended. “The semi-good news is that I was able to put Muti’s wife in a semi-stasis. It keeps the disease from progressing. I’ve injected her with some nanobots that are targeting the prions killing her and eradicating them. It’s a very slow process. But it seems to be working.”

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