Chapter 23
CASSIE
They got to the kitchen at the same time and Cassie was startled to see the big Beast Kindred stark naked, while something in a pot on the stove was burning. Acrid smoke was filling the kitchen and Ravik was bent over, clutching himself between his legs and howling.
“Ravik, what the fuck?” Severin rushed into the room, squeezed past his friend, and hurried to the stove. Little black things were flying out of the pot and he got hit in the cheek and his bare chest in his quest to grab the pot.
“Be careful! The handle gets really—” Cassie started, but it was too late—Severin had already gripped it without using any kind of potholder.
“Fuck!” he swore again, sounding very unscientific as he dumped it in the sink and looked at his palm—which was already beginning to blister.
Meanwhile, Ravik was still doubled over, making mournful sounds.
“What in the Seven Hells were you doing?” Severin demanded, stalking over to his friend. “What is this stuff you were cooking, anyway?”
Cassie reached down and picked up one of the little black things…and just as quickly dumped it back on the floor.
“Fikka beetles,” she said and shuddered. The tiny, crunchy insects were considered a delicacy by the Visskous, but she couldn’t bear the idea of eating bugs, so she always passed on them.
“Beetles?” Severin echoed. “But why did they explode?”
“They must still have some moisture inside them,” Cassie offered. “So when he heated them up, they popped—kind of like kernels of popcorn.”
“That makes sense but what is popcorn, anyway?” he asked, sounding exasperated.
“It’s a snack from Earth—and it tastes a hell of a lot better than fikka beetles, I can tell you that,” Cassie said.
She was going to explain further, but Ravik started moaning again and she felt awful. Here they were standing and talking while the Beast Kindred had clearly hurt himself.
“Hey, Ravik?” She walked over and began rubbing between his shoulder blades—which was possible since he was still doubled over and not towering above her at the moment.
More moaning noises came from the big Beast Kindred.
“Hurts,” he said at last. “Hurts bad!”
“Yes, well I know what you mean.” Severin still sounded irritated—possibly because of his burned palm.
“Run some cold water over that,” Cassie ordered. Then she turned back to Ravik. “Come on, baby—tell me where it hurts. What happened?” she asked.
At last the huge Kindred straightened up. His golden eyes were filled with tears, which tugged immediately at Cassie’s heart.
“Hurts,” he rumbled again and she could see red marks all over his bare chest. But those didn’t seem to bother him so much—he was still clutching his groin, cupping himself in one big palm.
“What were you thinking?” Severin asked him from the sink, where he was running water over his burned palm. “Why in the world did you take off your clothes and start cooking fikka beetles naked?”
“Wanted…wanted…” Ravik seemed to be having a hard time getting the words out.
“Severin—look at his eyes,” Cassie murmured, pointing.
The big Beast Kindred’s eyes were milky again—almost as opaque as they had been when he’d first thrown her over his shoulder the other day.
“Gods, he’s regressed!” There was a note of despair in the Blood Kindred’s voice. “He can’t have been away from your scent that long, but look how much ground he’s lost!”
“It’s all right—maybe I can bring him back.” Cassie turned to the big Beast Kindred and held out her arms. “Ravik, come down here and hug me. Or let me hug you,” she amended, since he didn’t seem willing to let go of his groin.
He looked at her with cloudy eyes and it was clear he didn’t understand.
“Down here—come here,” Cassie repeated.
At last she lost patience. Standing on her tiptoes, she reached up and put her arms around his neck. What she wanted was for him to come low enough to smell her hair but he was still plainly distracted by his pain.
But as she pressed against his big, naked body, he finally seemed to get the idea. Stiffly, he bent at the waist and then Cassie was able to press his face against the side of her neck.
“Breathe,” she ordered. “Go ahead—sniff me, I don’t mind.”
After a moment, Ravik did as she said. She heard him inhale deeply several times and then he rumbled,
“Mate smells good.”
Uh-oh—he’s back to sounding like a caveman, she thought. But at least he was speaking in sentences again.
“How could he regress so quickly?” Severin asked, still sounding upset.
“I don’t know,” Cassie told him. “But what I do know is that we all need to get out of this smoky kitchen. It stinks in here!”
“Let’s go to my lab,” Severin said. “I have a medic kit there. I can treat his wounds.”
“Not with that hand, you can’t,” Cassie told him. “I’ll be treating you both. Now come on—march.”
She took Ravik by his free hand—the one that wasn’t cupped around his junk—and the three of them trailed down the long bunker hallway.