Page 46 of Theirs to Crave

Svixa’s fathers were Arlan and Tonkal, and Orange Boy—who only grunted when I politely greeted him—was Arvel. We introduced ourselves, and I held very still as a succession of furry foreheads brushed against mine.

I felt eyes on me as I blew out a breath full of tension and looked up into a neon stare. Self-conscious under the weight of Revik’s attention, I rubbed my feet together.Yes, I know I’m a great big chicken. Don’t rub it in.

“Sethital. Rai chal nais eh a’sharalaytuh. Va teteraila sy zhai liyetal.” Kurz said with an expansive gesture, inviting us into the jungle.

My panicked gaze shot back to Revik, then bounced to Litha and Zafett. The only word I’d understood had been “sethital”, or “come”. I didn’t want to go with the murderous golden retriever, not without them. Especially not with Orange Boy Arvel breathing down my back.

Revik grunted a few words to the newcomers, who settled into the easy squats I was beginning to recognize as the Teterayuh equivalent of leaning against a table. They watched avidly as Zafett moved to kneel before us.

“Teterayuh,” he said, waving his hand to indicate the newcomers, “shev itsyk.” He pointed in the direction Kurz and the others had come from.

Between his hand motions and the pieced-together Teterayuh that probably sounded like he was talking to a two-year-old, I got the picture. They wanted to take us to their...village? City? I didn’t know what to expect from the place the rest of the Teterayuh lived.

Zafett and the others would come with us. The amount of relief I felt at that news was overwhelming.

“Time to go to town, y’all. Better be on our best behavior.” Ria smiled, big, and happy, and just a little dangerous.

“No.” Yin stepped forward, back straight. “Ix.”

I watched xyr tail lash and prayed fervently.Please, Abuele. Don’t melt anybody.

Yin walked to Svixa and her dads, who stiffened briefly but watched her with curiosity. Yin reached out and took the hand Svixa offered. “Child,” xe said in Teterayuh. With xyr other hand, Yin lightly touched the arm of the nearest man. “Arlan child.”

Yin wrapped both arms around xyrself, shrinking inward, and my heart broke all over again. I curled an arm around her shoulder, glancing over when my hand met Therry’s. The family had all moved forward as one, and now stood united around Yin.

“Yin child Ilya,” Yin rasped out, xyr voice breaking on Ilya’s name. “Ilya—” Xyr mouth snapped shut, and xe pointed shakily in the direction of the crashed ship. “Yin go.”

The Teterayuh’s eyes widened.

Tonkal hissed and let out a rapid stream of angry sounding Teterayuh until Litha cut him off. Her eyes were mournful as she knelt before Yin, placing her hand on my Abuele’s chest and leaning down until their foreheads touched. I didn’t need to understand the words she spoke to know their meaning. “I’m so sorry for your loss,” sounds the same regardless of language.

I watched understanding replace the anger and fear in the eyes of the others until it became too much, and I let my lids slip shut.

“Aral eh Ilya.” Revik stated, his commanding tone leaving no room for discussion. “Ka, tetezha’a naisaer eh va ralaytuh.Arit. Jipit va teteraila.”

We were going back to bury Ilya. Finally.

Chapter 14

Estrella

We left fifteen minutes later. Kurz, Kaloi, and Arvel went one way, escorting Svixa and her dads, and we went the other. I wasn’t sure what all Revik had said to them, but I thought the plan was to go to the village after Ilya’s funeral.

Being at the mercy of people you couldn’t understand—all the while crossing your fingers that they had your best interests at heart—sucked. I’d have let some nasty worm crawl into my ear if it meant I’d understand what the fuck the Teterayuh were saying.

Litha, Zafett, and Revik had been unbelievably wonderful. In the day and a half we’d been here—wait, surely it had been longer than that? But no. We’d crashed in the middle of the night and been here one night since then. The days felt so long, and not only because they were full ofnew. Were there more hours in a day here?Of course, there are,I mocked myself silently.It’s not as if Earth was the blueprint for some planet galaxies away. We’re just lucky we can breathe the air and eat the food.

I frowned, ducking under a magenta fern frond that I’d learned to avoid—its edges were jagged and sharp. What had I been thinking about? Mi mente empezaba a divagar. Not even my thoughts wanted to get where we were going.

I slapped my forehead, then winced and shook my head at the questioning glances that drew. The Teterayuh! I’d been thinking about how wonderful they were.

When they’d appeared out of the storm that first night and saved us from the bugs, they’d seemed like giant furry superheroes. Slightly terrifying superheroes, but then, most superheroes were, if you thought about it.

Everything they’d done since had reinforced those feelings of awe and gratitude. Secretly, I hoped to discover a tiny little flaw or two as I got to know them better. I wasn’t a nice enough person to hang out with living saints. I could be snarky, petty, and selfish. None of which I personally considered flaws, but I was willing to admit they weren’tnice.

Zafett paused ahead, ears flicking as he listened. A beam of sunlight broke through the trees, illuminating him in a shimmering halo.

Please be a fallen angel, I thought, sacrilegiously. Notevil, but a little...tarnished. Enough that my messed-up ass—and my family—could find a place here. Not that I had any intention of judging the rest of the Teterayuh based off of the few I’d met. I was inclined to think positively of them, but Arvel’s glaring encouraged me to be wary.

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