Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
He caught me staring at it and shook the stick, making it rattle. “The head of an infant lynx. We found the den by accident a few moons ago. Two pups were already dead, and a third was ice cold with barely a heart murmur.” He sighed and stroked the skull. “The mother had died from fevers. The third cub would die if we did nothing. So...we helped it, just like we helped you.”
Niya suddenly whistled, piercing the falling night.
I jolted and almost tripped over my frail and wobbly legs.
Solin’s hand lashed out and caught my elbow, waiting for me to find my balance. “I wonder if it’s wise for you to be out of your furs so soon.” His fingers bit into my flesh, fighting my sway to keep me standing.
“I-I’m fine.” I smiled thinly, cringing as Niya whistled again.
Solin lowered his voice. “Whatever you’re afraid of, it cannot find you here.” His voice was as rich as the darkness surrounding us. “It’s okay to trust in us. You’re safe.” He continued to hold me, and I swallowed against the strange discomfort.
Solin studied me as if I’d lost my mind at the river.
Exhaling heavily, I forced myself to give him a faint smile. “I am...” I frowned, repeating a word that I’d used a lot. “Sorry.” I shrugged. “I don’t mean to be so...”
“Jumpy?” He arched an eyebrow.
“Yes.” I nodded. “Jumpy.” I threw a look at Niya, who paced away a little, pursing her lips into another piercing whistle.
“You’re permitted to be on edge,” Solin said gently. “We don’t know what you endured before we found you. Has any of your past returned to you?”
I tensed and shook my head. The words to apologise once again clung to my tongue.
“That’s okay,” Solin said, clutching his lynx-skull staff. “The flames will tell me soon enough. Either you will remember or the fire will gift a vision. One day, you will know.”
My heart beat thickly with hope. “Thank you.” I lowered my chin, brushing the furs covering my nakedness. The furs that Hyath had made me. The sensation of being covered and warm felt so different after stumbling in the rain and being cold with nothing for so long.
Pulling the chest piece a little higher, I blushed, hoping he didn’t think I fussed with what he’d given me because I was ungrateful. It wasn’t his fault the two pieces were slightly too big for my malnourished frame.
I caught his eyes, rushing with words, “Thank you...for the dressings.”
“Clothing,” he corrected with a gentle grin. “And you’re welcome. Hyath has become very proficient at curing skins so they’re incredibly soft to wear. Her mother had the honour of making the matrimonial gown for Tiptu when she wed Tral twenty years ago. Hyath has picked up the same gift her mother had.”
“Matri...moneeeal?” I stumbled over the new word.
“Marriage,” Niya said, returning to us with a scowl. “That stubborn cub is ignoring me.” Glancing into the darkness and peering impatiently around the fire, she finally shrugged and dragged her attention back to Solin and me. “Marriage or matehood is a ceremony to declare love and commitment. They did it to commit to each other but also to assure the clan that they will watch over us as one.”
“They are our chief and chiefess,” Solin added.
“You will meet them tonight,” Niya said. “Just like I hope you’ll meet Syn. It’s the full moon, and we always celebrate the full moon to bring luck for the next month.”
Something golden and spotted galloped toward us, white fangs gleaming with firelight and glistening yellow eyes that saw straight through the dark. With a roar, it leaped the final distance. Paws spread, claws sharp, its body twisting with graceful strength.
My knees buckled.
Solin caught me.
And Niya wrapped her arms around the animal, burying her face into its gold and black pelt. Stub-like antlers sprouted from its head while its tail split into two, whipping in all directions as the air came alive with loud vibrations.
“Are you purring, you baby beast?” Niya laughed. “You look so terrifying, yet you act like a cuddly mouse.” Standing upright, she kept her hand on the cat’s spotted shoulders as it twined around her thighs.
“This is Syn.” Niya patted the cat’s head, tugging on a tiny antler. “She’s still a youngling but is already bigger than most of the lynxes around the plains.” Her smile deepened as the cat headbutted her thigh. “I think it’s because she gets fed by everyone and has her choice of any lupic to sleep in.”
I couldn’t stop looking at the predator. At her knowing yellow eyes and wicked-sharp fangs.
“She won’t hurt you,” Solin murmured. “She’s tame. Our intention was to save her like we saved you and give her the choice to return to her family, or at least find her own kind, but...” He shrugged. “She decided to stay.” He grinned as the cat rubbed herself against him, grabbing his staff in her sharp-toothed mouth, grumbling a little growl when he tapped her on the head to release it. “She knows that mortals are not food. We are her pack. She also knows that she’s not the leader of this pack. Don’t you, Syn?”