Page 62 of Tharn's Hunt
Jus-teen makes a strangled sound. "Please stop talking about going down on my sister while I'm trying to help her recover from nearly dying."
"Going down?" I repeat. This is also a strange phrase. “Another odd term.”
“I prefer 'water sharing,’”Rok adds in. “It is accurate and... reverent."
Jus-teen’s face flushes bright red. "Oh my God, I can't with you two," she vocalizes loudly, throwing her hands up in frustration.
Jah-kee’s gaze flicks between the three of us, her confusion growing.
"Wait... wait, wait, wait," she stammers, her voice hoarse but gaining strength. "You’re communicating with them? Like...how? They’re not even talking!" Her brow furrows. "What’s going on?"
Jus-teen hesitates, her gaze darting to me, to Rok, then back to her sister. She presses her lips together like she’s debating whether or not to explain.
"I…" Her words trail off as she glances at Rok, who rises and takes a step closer, giving his silent support. "Okay, fine. Yeah. They’re talking. To me. In my head. Telepathically." She waves her hand around. "Consider it alien brain magic or something."
Jacqui blinks, her mouth falling open. "What." Her gaze shifts to me. “Tharn too?”
"Yes," Jus-teen continues. "He’s probably been projecting at you this whole time. But since you’re not in the mindspace, it just looks like he’s staring at you like a creep."
Jacqui’s jaw drops further, her gaze snapping to me. "Wait. WAIT. He’s been—so when he just stares at me like that, he’s actually?—?"
"Talking," Jus-teen confirms. "Yup. Like, full-on sentences. It’s a good thing I’m here to play translator, or you’d assume he’s just zoning out and plotting your demise."
Jah-kee’s cheeks flush, her hands gripping the edge of the stone beneath her. "And... what exactly has he been saying?"
Jus-teen pauses, her lips twitching. It’s not hard to catch the flow of conversation from what she’s projected back into the mindspace. She glances at Rok, her expression clearly asking, ‘Do I tell her?’
I stiffen, my claws flexing against the stone floor. "Her recovery," I project firmly, my voice directed at Jus-teen in the mindspace. "Tell her I was speaking of her recovery."
Jus-teen arches a brow. "Her recovery?"
"Yes."
"Not, for example, water sharing?" she vocalizes out loud.
Jah-kee brightens suddenly, her expression softening. "What about water sharing?" she says, glancing between Jus-teen and me. "Oh no, he’s been the one sharing his water with me thiswhole time.” Her expression crumples. “Is he saying I’ve been drinking too much?"
She groans, her cheeks coloring as she meets my gaze in earnest. "I’m sorry, Tharn, I really tried not to. Once I’m on my feet, I’ll share my water with you anytime if you need it."
Jus-teen freezes mid-breath. Her eyes widen, and then she claps a hand over her face with a loud groan. "Oh God," she mutters, her voice muffled behind her fingers.
Jah-kee’s brow crumples. "What? What did I say?"
"I was speaking of her recovery," I project sharply, my projection tight and strained.
Jus-teen lowers her hand, her face now bright red, too. "That's not—Jacqui, that is not what he meant by water-sharing."
"What?" Jah-kee asks, her gaze darting between us. Her confusion only deepens when she notices Jus-teen’s flushed face. "Seriously, what did I say? I meant it! Tharn kept me alive, didn’t he? I’d share my water with him anytime!"
Jus-teen groans louder, burying her face in both hands now. "Oh my God, Jacqui, stop talking."
But the echo of her words moves through Jus-teen and into the mindspace. The tension in the cave seems to expand, pressing heavily against my chest, and my dra-kir stumbles painfully. Her words echo relentlessly, vivid and impossible to escape.
She would share her water with me.
My claws scrape against the stone. My breathing quickens. The implications flood my thoughts, and I can barely contain the surge of emotions crashing through me.
A sudden sense of warmth touches my mind, as if sensing my rising panic. It is Jus-teen. "Tharn."
