Page 8 of Dark & Dreadful Brutes

“Mates?” Gora looked over his shoulder at me.

“The handprint thing.” I didn’t bother looking down at it.

Seeing it glow on my arm kind of freaked me out, honestly.

When I looked over Gora’s shoulder again, I saw Ravv with his eyes narrowed at Gleam, who remained where she was without budging an inch. Something told me they were arguing mentally.

Ravv finally dropped his bag beside the idorr and then stormed into the forest, disappearing from our view.

I stared after him.

“Maybe we’ll get lucky, and he won’t come back,” Jern muttered.

Clearly, he was uneducated as far as my bad luck went.

“He’s coming back,” Gleam said pleasantly. “There’s food in the bag. When Ravv returns, he’ll bring more.”

None of us hesitated to open the bag, or to scarf down half the contents like the starving, wild animals we may as well have been.

My upper arm ached for some reason while he was gone—where the handprint was, actually—but I ignored the pain in favor of a full belly.

Chapter 3

Laeli

When Ravv returned a few hours later, there was another idorr at his side. The newcomer was even bigger than Gleam, and his face was twisted in an angry scowl.

Us humans were snacking on fresh berries we’d picked from a bush near the river, our bellies full as we leaned up against a tree. Gora and Jern were holding hands, their shoulders pressed together, and Jern had been fighting a smile for hours.

“Stop being so damn adorable,” I grumbled at them, the same way I always did.

Except when they were having sex.

Then I just tried to ignore the sounds and the way the bed shook beneath me.

Ignoring it usually failed, and ended up contributing to my sex aversion.

At least they had enjoyed our time in the cellar as much as possible.

I stood up and dusted dirt off my ass. My undergarment was still the extent of my clothing, though it was significantly cleaner after my dip in the river.

The angry idorr growled as he stormed over to Gleam. He prodded her with his nose, sniffing, grumbling, and making frustrated noises. She rubbed the side of her face against his fur as he moved, her own noises resembling amusement.

Though I itched to ask what was going on, I didn’t want to make either of the grouchy males any angrier, so I stayed quiet.

Gleam said, “Gora and Jern, you’ll go with Coarse. He’ll protect you until you get to our city, Loire, and then he’ll make sure you’re fed and clothed.”

She pronounced the city’s name lore.

My friends stood behind me, murmuring their thanks and eyeing the angry idorr with a bit of worry.

I was kind of nervous he’d eat them, but it seemed unlikely after how kind Gleam had been. Then again, being eaten by an idorr was probably better than spending another decade in the cellar.

Or at least it was for me. The couple would probably disagree.

“Where are you going?” Gora asked Ravv.

“Jirev,” Ravv said flatly, pronouncing the word, jeer-ev.

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