“My, you are so strong,” she says—not to me, though her feminine voice caresses my ear. She grins up at Niht, her hands on his biceps as he helps her off aglacialmara.
My fingers twitch as Niht leans in to say something to her, sliding his hand to her shoulder.
Before I know it, I walk toward them.
When I get close enough, Niht stops what he was saying, and they both turn to look at me.
The woman’s smile fades, and I feel her reaction like a blow to my stomach. I am not a friendly person. I do not smile as the other men do.
“Niht,” I say, still looking at the woman. “I think Teo was looking for you.”
The smile returns to her face tenfold, and it’s like my heart has turned into a flint. Something strikes against it, sparking glowing embers to warm my chest.
“But I—” Niht starts.
The mysterious woman in red brushes her hand over Niht’s arm again, clearly still looking at me, and says, “Thank you so much for your help, Niht. I’m sure I’ll see you later.”
More satisfaction floods my body. The cavernous hole inside of me has only grown wider with each death of my people, but now, standing here, it shrinks.
Just a little.
Niht lets out a sigh and walks away.
Alone with the beauty, I get a closer look at the way her hair complements her pretty, oval face. The cold air makes her high cheekbones turn a rich, rosy color. A few jewels hang from her ears and around her neck.My eyes drop to her full red lips,which are still pulled back into a smile around her white, straight teeth.
I wait.
My back tenses.
No song.
I resist the urge to turn and walk away.
“My name is Melisa,” she says, breaking the silence.“Thank you for carrying me last night.”
Excellent, now I have to speak to her. I grimace.
“Ra’Salore,” I say back.
She raises one perfectly arched eyebrow. “Your name is longer than the others.”
My lips press together, and my fists tighten.
“We all used to have longer names like mine,” I say, annoyed at yet another reminder how far my people have fallen.
Her head tilts to the side, and deep brown eyes, the color of dark mead, gleam in the firelight. The flecks of golden sparks near her irises are a world within themselves.
“And why are you the only one now?” she asks casually.
“I find the old ways appealing.”
“Does that include eating humans?” she says with a laugh.
Her mirth makes heat spread up my neck. Though she may be beautiful—again,for a human—she’s rude. She’d turn me down just like the others.
“That was never true. We don’t eat other races.”
The pretty laughter stops, and some of her easy kindness fades. Good.