Page 111 of Cruel Tides

“So, you take turns visiting your friends?” I asked, petting Sprout’s silky ears while I glanced out the window. “I hear Barren’s a traveler, too. I get the impression he’s always busy with something.”

Despite telling us to rest, Barren hadn’t sat down once. Even now, he was outside on his patio, tending to his plants.

Apparently, a neighbor came by to care for them while he was away, but that hadn’t stopped him from going out there with a watering can to check on them himself.

“Does he talk to the plants?” I asked, noticing the slight movement of Barren’s lips as he moved between planters.

“Sometimes he sings.”

My eyes narrowed. “Hesings… Are you sure?”

Sprout offered no more elaboration than a soft, rolling purr. Barren, singing? I couldn’t imagine it. But with such a deep voice, I was definitely curious how it might sound.

The window flap rustled, and Sprout’s ears twitched.

“Spraut eve,” Barren called from the window, and my face heated. Had he noticed me staring? “Dhurah dhaasheve,” he continued, and Sprout’s ears shifted sideways, clearly choosing to ignore whatever it was Barren was saying to him.

Barren released a heavy sigh. “He’s keeping you awake. I apologize,” he said, and I shivered. His accent was thicker than usual when slipping back from his native tongue.

“Spraut?Is that how you say his name in your language?” I asked, wondering for the first time the intricacies of our power to send thoughts and feelings to certain animals. The fact that we could communicate seamlessly across languages meant our magic had to have some kind of built-in translator, right?

Barren hunched over the window. “Spraut, yes. OrSpraut evewhen I really need his attention.” As he spoke, the corner of his mouth curved.

“Seems to work well. You’ve got his full attention.” I gestured to Sprout, who was looking in the exact opposite direction, doing everything in his kitty-cat power to ignore him. Barren’s grin grew.

The way he was holding the watering can and the window flap open at the same time looked so uncomfortable.

“I left the door unlocked,” I said, glancing over at the patio doors. “You should come inside.” I gave Sprout’s head another pat. “You told us we should get rest, but I notice you haven’t sat down once since you got home.”

Barren’s body rocked against the window, a sudden tension forming in the air that even Sprout seemed to sense. His striped tail thrashed, beating side to side against the comforter as if he didnotlike the direction this conversation was heading.

Which was understandable. I’d practically given Barren permission to join me in bed, hadn’t I? A thrill shot through me.

“Better not.” Barren’s carefully spoken words caused my heart to ache.

Right—of course. I mean, I had just had a threesome on his couch. What the heck was I thinking, inviting him to rest in his room with me?

My hand curled over Sprout’s head, and he headbutted it just as numbness began spreading through my chest.

The window ledge creaked, but I kept my eyes on Sprout.Such a cute kitty.The bed wouldn’t feel lonely since he was here with me, purring.

“I’m… nervous,” Barren said suddenly, and there was a strange, hard emotion in his voice that gave me pause.

Nervous?I tossed a look over at him in question, but he was staring down at the patio.

He sat the watering can down at his feet, then opened the flap again to say, “I’m nervous about tonight.”

“About meeting your queen?”

When he nodded, it was like my heart had started beating again.

“Trust me when I say that I won’t let anything happen to you. But I cannot promise that my queen doesn’t wish you harm.”

That… sounded ominous. But despite feeling unsettled, I believed Barren when he said he wouldn’t let anything happen to me.

Barren cleared his throat. “After our meeting, I will be much more relaxed.” He sank down, looking up at me through the open flap from under his dark fringe of curls. “May I come to you then?”

“Barren,” I said, my throat nearly catching on his name. The hopeful way his dark eyes searched my face for an answer made me feel like I hadn’t had water in days. “Are you propositioning me through a cat flap?”

---