Chapter 20 #2
“Oh, poor Tauren,” Akela snickered, pulling the kettle off the hook over the fire and walking it back to the table.
Carefully, she refilled our mugs with steaming hot herbal tea.
“After living in a constant state of sexual frustration for years, it’s no wonder he ruts you to the point of exhaustion each night. ”
“I’m not complaining,” I quickly amended.
“We didn’t think you were.”
“I was just curious.”
Akela took the kettle back to the hearth. “Though I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised. Despite the Fates bringing you together, you’re less than half his size. Perhaps there’s simply a limit to how much your kirre body can physically take.”
“I’m not sure about that,” Calindra said. “I’ve spent a lot of time this week studying the ancient lore surrounding omegas, and our ancestors believed they would be our equals in all areas—mental, spiritual, and physical.”
There it was! The opening I’d been waiting over an hour for.
“Wait,” I said, doing my best to sound skeptical and not thrilled beyond belief. “Does that mean you think I could take an alpha in a fight?”
“Why would you need to?” Deryn said before sipping her tea. “That’s what Tauren is there for.”
“I’m just asking—hypothetically, of course.”
“I don’t know.” Zahrah shook her head. “As much as I honor the lore, you are tiny.”
Maybe in the Wilds, five-foot-five was considered tiny, but back home, I was perfectly average.
“But that might be an advantage,” Akela mused, tapping a long finger against her chin as she thought. “An alpha might not expect her to put up much of a fight. Underestimating an opponent can be dangerous.”
Right.
“Okay, but how could I win?” Unable to hide my interest any longer, I leaned forward in my seat. “Like specifically? What kind of attacks would do the most damage? What kind of weapon is the most effective? Which part of him should I go for first?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” Zahrah said. “The groin. Hit him there, and he’ll drop to his knees.”
“After that, you should attack the eyes.”
“That’s a good idea. Blind him, and you’d double your chances of victory.”
“How?”
“Dirt. Sawdust. Pine needles. Whatever you can grab.”
“You should probably go for his ears while you’re at it. So he can’t hear where you are either.”
“A hard knock to each side of the head should work.”
“After that, your opponent would be at your mercy,” Akela said, finishing up the group brainstorming session by wiping her hands off on a cloth hanging by the hearth. “Hypothetically, of course.”
“Yes…hypothetically.” Calindra’s stare bored into me from across the table.
Shit.
I’d been so focused on the cascade of advice that I hadn’t noticed she was the only one who didn’t join in. Clearly, she hadn’t been fooled by my thought experiment.
Not even a little.
“But like Deryn said, fortunately, I don’t have to worry about defending myself.” I rushed to fix some of the damage. “I have Tauren for that.”
Calindra didn’t blink. Her sharp blue eyes bored into mine, and I could tell she wasn’t buying a word coming out of my mouth.
“Hannah, did I see you come in with your camera?” she asked, her tone as stiff as her neck and shoulders.
“Oh, yes. Please.” Akela beamed. “I’ve been dying to see your pictures all week.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I, uh, left it in the front room. I’ll go get it.”
“I’ll come with you.” Calindra pushed back from the table at the same time I did and followed me out of the room. We were only a few feet out of the kitchen when she gripped my shoulder, stopping me cold. “All right. What was that about?”
Even though Calindra’s voice was the softest whisper, I knew from experience how good ferus ears could be.
Anyone in the kitchen could have heard us loud and clear.
But fortunately, it didn’t sound like they were paying attention.
They were already back to their own conversation, laughing and talking loud enough to drown our voices out.
“Nothing,” I whispered back, shaking my head for emphasis.
“Don’t lie to me, Hannah.” Oh God, she sounded just like my mother. “This is about your dream, isn’t it? Please tell me you’re not planning on fighting off the attacker on your own.”
“I don’t want to.” That much was true.
“Then stay by Tauren’s side, and you won’t have to.”
“I can’t follow him around like a puppy forever.”
“Not forever.” She shook her head. “Just until after the full moon.”
For people who supposedly believed in the Fates, they were a little wishy-washy on how much power those ancient goddesses actually had.
If my dreams were really their doing, then there had to be a reason for them.
And more and more, I was convinced that reason was to warn me.
To give me time to prepare for the fight that was coming my way.
And if the solution was as simple as “stay by Tauren,” then surely they would have shown me that.
But the nightmare always started with me alone.
For whatever reason, that meant this fight was mine. Not his.
“And what if something happens to him?” I asked. “What if he’s busy fighting someone else, or gets knocked out or—“
Nope. I wasn’t going to say that last option. I wasn’t even going to think it.
“Then Kyre will protect you.”
“And if he’s not there?”
“Then…then someone else will. Cenric or Hektor or…” Calindra’s voice petered out as her doubts took over. Her shoulders softened. The hard line of her lips eased into a delicate frown. “I just can’t stand the idea of you having to fight someone twice your size on your own.”
“I don’t like it either,” I admitted. “But I’d rather have the knowledge and not need it than need it and not have it.”
“I suppose I see your point.”
Oh, thank God!
“Will you do me a favor then?” I asked, holding myself back from full-on pleading. “Please don’t tell Tauren what we talked about. He won’t understand. I don’t think he is capable of understanding.”
Calindra let out a long breath before reluctantly nodding. “Fine.”
I finally breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Calindra.”
“Don’t thank me,” she said, shaking her head. “I still think you’re making a mistake not telling him what you’re planning.”
Who knew? Maybe she was right.
But it would still be another week before any of us found out for sure.
“What were you two doing out there?” Akela asked jokingly as Calindra and I walked back into the kitchen. “I was starting to think that you two had left and weren’t coming back.”
“Just talking about omega stuff,” I answered before Calindra had a chance.
I was getting pretty good at these technically-not-a-lie answers. Whether or not that was a good thing, I didn’t want to think about.
But Akela accepted the vague answer without question, moving on the second she spotted the camera in my hands.
“Is that it?” she asked, rushing over.
“Yep.” I turned on the power and showed her how to toggle through the pictures on the view screen before handing it over.
I let the ladies ooh and ahh over the photos for a second before I gave them the bad news.
“I’m afraid we can’t keep it on for long.
The battery is dying, and I don’t have a way to charge it. ”
“Oh.” Akela lifted her head from the screen. “Would you like me to ask Hektor to get you something to help with that next time he makes a trip over the Wall?”
My jaw dropped. I hadn’t thought of that.
Here I’d been silently dreading the day that the battery inevitably ran out of power, knowing once it did, that was it. The camera would be forever useless, and I’d never be able to take another picture again.
But if Hektor could trade for a large battery and charger adapter, I could keep working while I was here in the Wilds. I could keep my passions alive, documenting daily ferus life. I might even be able to send the SIM cards back to my friends back home so they could share them with the world.
It was an exciting possibility. For the first time, I had a chance to have my work mean something. To have my art make an actual impact in the world.
My pulse started to race at the thought.
“Do you really think he could do that?” I asked.
“Sure,” Akela said with a smile. “He’d be happy to. Like he said, he makes about two trips a month. I think the next one is scheduled for the day after the full moon.”
The full moon.
I looked over at Calindra. She flashed me a tight smile, but didn’t say a word.
She didn’t have to. We were clearly thinking the same thing—that would be a wonderful thing…as long as I was still alive.