Chapter 13 #4
“Turn around before you impale yourself on something.” Luca caught Tavian by the shoulder and redirected him around a hanging vine.
“The capuchins were very invested.” I couldn’t keep the humor from creeping into my voice as I glanced briefly toward Malek. “They thought Malek was strong, a good hunter, and had excellent teeth.”
Tavian immediately looked past me at Malek.
“Good teeth?” Tavian studied Malek with exaggerated seriousness, even leaning slightly to get a better look.
“Keep walking.” Malek’s warning came from behind me, low enough that Luca immediately started laughing.
“They aren’t wrong.” Tavian gave Malek an approving nod before finally facing forward again.
That was enough to make me laugh too.
After the afternoon I’d had, a group of capuchins judging Malek’s teeth was somehow what finally broke through the last of my tension.
A quiet vibration started beside me.
I turned toward Luca.
His purr was softer than Malek’s, a warm rumble I noticed more than heard as he stepped carefully around a slick root beside me. It didn’t hit me with the same immediate weight as Malek’s had. It simply made me want to remain close enough to feel it a little longer.
“You too.” I stared at Luca as recognition settled in.
“The purring?” Luca’s eyebrows lifted, though the vibration continued faintly beneath his voice.
“Yes.” I waved one hand toward his very human body. “Still getting used to that coming from a person.”
“Does it bother you?” Luca slowed slightly without crowding me, watching my face for the answer.
“No.” I answered before I could reconsider how much that admitted. “That’s part of the problem.”
Tavian looked back over his shoulder.
“Interesting.” Tavian’s grin reappeared immediately as he glanced between Luca and me.
“Nobody asked you.” I jerked my chin toward the trail ahead, making it clear exactly where I wanted Tavian looking.
Tavian laughed and kept walking. The rest of the hike passed quickly.
Tavian’s scouting loops shortened as the light began thinning beneath the canopy, Luca kept our pace steady over the wet ground, and Malek occasionally checked the sky through breaks in the leaves.
The humidity had settled heavily against my skin by the time the first familiar section of camp came into view between the trees.
The field platform appeared with enough time left that I didn’t need to hurry.
Seeing it brought a different kind of relief after hours of impossible information.
My damp shirt still hung beneath the shelter where I’d left it.
The water container sat beside the steps, and my equipment remained arranged across the worktable beneath the roof.
After hidden ruins, magic, and three men who had spent most of the week covered in fur, the ordinary clutter of my temporary camp felt almost comforting.
“See? Alive, early, all limbs attached.” Tavian spread one hand toward the platform as though he’d personally delivered me safely to it.
“You’re setting a remarkably low standard for yourself.” I climbed the steps and slipped the camera strap from my shoulder.
“Still met it.” Tavian stopped near the edge of the platform, looking entirely too pleased with himself.
I secured my camera and memory card, checked the lens for moisture, and set everything where it belonged while the men settled around the edges of camp.
Tavian claimed one of the shelter posts, leaning his shoulder against the wood.
Luca sat on the lowest step and watched the forest beyond the clearing.
Malek remained near the outer edge, close to the same place his leopard body had stretched out each night.
When I reached for my notebook, Malek glanced toward the camera.
“What are you going to tell Mara about the ruins?” Malek asked, the guarded set of his shoulders making it clear what he was really worried about.
“Enough to keep my field records honest.” I rested the notebook against the table. “I found old stonework. I’m not going to mention shifters or give anyone directions to your home.”
“And the location?” Malek’s jaw tightened slightly as he looked toward the forest beyond camp.
“She already has my general route from this morning.” I met his eyes. “I’m not falsifying where I worked today, but I’m also not mapping your sanctuary for her. If there’s something I need to understand about the protections before I talk to her tomorrow, tell me.”
“Fair.” Malek gave a small nod after considering the answer, and some of the tension left his shoulders.
By the time six approached, I’d changed a battery, washed the mud from my hands, and confirmed the radio signal.
The forest beyond the shelter had already begun moving toward evening, insects growing louder as the brighter patches between the trees faded.
Something small rustled through the damp leaves beyond the clearing but never came close enough for me to see it.
I lifted the handset.
“Mara, this is Evie. Evening check-in.” I pressed the transmit button while three Alpha leopard shifters listened from around the platform.
Static washed briefly through the speaker.
“Evie, I have you. Back at camp?” Mara’s familiar voice cut through the interference, practical as ever.
“Back at camp. Everything’s fine.” I leaned one hip against the worktable and glanced toward the fading light beyond the shelter.
“Good. Eastern ridge worth it?” Mara shifted immediately toward work now that she knew I was safe.