Page 29 of Did It Have To Be Gnomes?!
“Oh. Sure.” The second I opened the door, I realized my mistake and winced.
I’d let him in out of habit without thinking about the firebird in my living room. Crapola on toast.
Winter froze, then blew out a breath and turned to me. “You have a firebird as a pet.” It wasn’t exactly accusatory, but it was close enough that I felt my hackles go up.
“She’s not a pet, and she’s not mine.”
“She’s in your house on a perch that you obviously bought for her. How is she not yours?”
I sighed, closing the front door and walking farther into the house. The firebird chirped at me, clearly wanting my attention, so I walked over and gave her some pets before she climbed onto my shoulder again. She really liked that spot.
Then I faced Winter with another sigh. “I found her in a house the other day, and when I took her to the sanctuary, she freaked out. I…” I rubbed a hand over my face. Was I really going to do this? Was I really going to tell him what happened?
One glance at the expression on Winter’s face, and I knew I had to. After he saved me earlier, he deserved to know everything.
“So… you know I’m an empath. Obviously.” I cleared my throat and decided to get on with it. It’d be fine. He already knew about the empath thing from my earlier freak-out, so this was nothing. He’d be… fine. Hopefully. “Sometimes I hear people’s thoughts when they touch me. It’s not just their emotions, you know? I hear… all kinds of things. But when I put my finger on her, I couldseethings too. I’ve never seen things like that before.”
Winter stared at me for a moment, then glanced at the firebird before refocusing on me. “What did you see?”
“Images and little… clips of her life.”
“And that’s never happened to you before?”
“Nope. Never.”
“Huh.” He sighed and ran a hand through his blond hair. “That still doesn’t explain how she ended up in your house and”—he gestured to where she sat on my shoulder—“hanging on you like that.”
“She… she escaped that same sanctuary I was trying to take her too, so I couldn’t take her back there.”
“Escaped? That makes it sound like it was a prison.”
I winced. “From what I saw, it kind of was.”
He blanched, but then he shook it off. “What?”
“It’s not a good place. I wasn’t about to take her back there. They… they hurt her, and the whole point of a sanctuary is to help her and keep her safe. I’m not letting them hurt her again.”
He gave me a nod. “That’s fair, and I’m glad you didn’t take her there if they’re a threat to her safety. I wouldn’t want someone hurting her either. But why didn’t you just drop her off at a different sanctuary?”
“I can’t find one that’ll take a firebird. A lot of places won’t risk their trees and foliage being burned up. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s possible for her wings to catch a tree on fire, and once one goes up, they all do.”
He pursed his lips. “And you can’t just let her go in a park or something?”
“She’ll wind up being hunted by humans who’re stupid enough to think she’ll bring them good luck. Or she’ll wind up flying into someone’s home again, and if anyone else gets the job, they’ll kill her.”
“Firebirds are endangered. They’re not allowed to kill her. They have to do catch and release.”
I gave him a look. “You and I both know that most of the other companies, including the one you work for, don’t abide by that rule.”
He winced and nodded, putting his hands on his hips as he slowly paced my living room. “Okay, fair. I just… isn’t it dangerous having her in here?”
“Honestly, she’s been a little angel. I even feel like I could leave her out while I’m not home, and she’d be fine. But we haven’t known each other long enough for that yet, and I don’t want to risk her or Odin getting hurt.”
“So you’re planning on keeping her?”
With a sigh, I shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. I want to find her a good home where she can be free, but I don’t want her getting taken advantage of or hurt.”
The firebird in question rubbed her head along my cheek, making me smile at the sweet affection.
