Page 65 of Corvak's Challenge

"What if nothing. We're sticking to the plan." He's lost his patience with me.

"For how long?" I ask. "I need numbers. At what point do we realize that something's gone wrong with our plan and we go after him?" Because I'm ready to go now. The thought of a two-day trek through the snow back to the cave doesn't scare me nearly as much as the thought of Corvak injured and unable to get to me. We can return, I reason, as I pace near the entrance. Fake his death some other time. We can try again?—

There's a crunch of snow outside the cave.

My eyes widen and I look at Valmir. Did I hear that right? The cat-alien is grabbing a spear, trying to haul himself off the cave floor. His reach for a weapon makes me realize that this might not be Corvak. It might be one of the snow-people, who's noticed our scent underneath the herbs and has followed us all this way?—

A tall humanoid figure in a puffy hat pulled down to the high collar of their fur cloak appears. A mittened hand waves and steps into the cave.

Immediately, Valmir begins to vibrate, the song in his chest insistent, heavy, and angry.

"Corvak?" I ask, confused. Why is Valmir suddenly resonating to him?

The hood is pulled off, revealing long, dark hair on a human woman with sharp, high cheekbones, bright khui-blue eyes, and a searching gaze. She sees Valmir first, and her lips form a snarl. "Where the fuck have you been, pussycat?"

"Greetings to you, too, April," he says in a bored tone. "Come on in."

The human woman notices me, and I instantly stiffen. Instead of accusation, though, a broad, relieved smile creases her wind-chapped face. She's tall, this woman, and built more strongly than I am. She steps into the cave, shaking off the snow and unloading layers of furs. "Did I take a wrong turn in Duluth? Hi stranger! You must be one of the missing people."

I'm a little thrown by her cheerful tone and the ease with which she greets me. "You…know who I am?"

"Well, given that there's not a lot of strangers running around on this planet, I assumed. You know what they say about assuming, though." She pulls the heavy fur cloak off her shoulders and reveals more leathers underneath, all of them seemingly buttery soft and well-put together. I'm suddenly embarrassed at my tunic of crude skins pieced together with a few knots and cords. "And you, motherfucker. Not cool to disappear like that for two weeks. Not fucking cool at all."

I turn to Valmir, expecting him to make some snotty comment like he always does. Instead, he just rubs his chest as if the song there pains him with its intensity. "Ran into a snag."

"So did you get it?" she asks, tugging off her mittens. Her expression is as casual as she can make it, but I sense an urgency to her words…or maybe it's just the angry song of her khui influencing that thought.

I look between the both of them, utterly confused. "Get what?"

The woman sniffs. "Do I smell intisar?"

"Yeah, we had to rub ourselves down with it and the smell is lingering." Valmir volunteers the information. "Don't ask."

She looks over at me, her gaze bright and curious. "Did I not introduce myself? Hi, I'm April. Me and a few of the others were out looking for Valmir, because he's been missing for a while now. You okay, buddy?" She leans over and puts her hands on her knees to address Valmir. "Did you get lost?"

He scowls at her, even as he devours her with his gaze. "Not that you care, but I was injured."

April tilts her head. "Aw, does he have a boo-boo?"

He gestures at his ankle indignantly.

I purse my lips, trying not to laugh. All this time Valmir's been making me nuts with his casual sarcasm and this woman comes in and immediately starts busting his balls. I kind of love her for that.

Her gaze flicks over him and then back to me as she straightens. "I guess I should thank you for bringing him back."

"I walked! I was the one bringinghersomewhere!" Valmir retorts.

"Yeah, yeah, you're amazing." She makes a talking gesture with her hand and rolls her eyes. "We're all so impressed."

He hisses at her like a feral cat.

I can't ignore the fact that they're both thrumming—resonating, Valmir called it—very loudly. My khui was that loud once upon a time, when Corvak and I were first getting to know each other. It only calmed down after we started having sex regularly, and I remember what Valmir had told us. That the khui decides who your mate is so you can procreate. "Can I ask?" I begin, indicating the two of them. "Are you guys…you know…"

"Resonating?" April looks annoyed. "We're not acknowledging that at the moment."

Valmir just seems irritated at her answer. "Have her tell you all about the tasks she is making me perform before I am worthy of her."

"I like to think of it as a honey-do list," April says cheerily.

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