Dawn gasps, leaning in close to me. “How did you do that?”
“I-I have a memory of this,” I whisper. Well, not exactly of this. But I feel comfortable with this, and my head is full of half-baked images of cozy nights around campfires and family vacations in the wilderness.
“Thank god.” Dawn squeezes my shoulder. “If we needed fire to survive and it was down to me, we’d be fucking goners. You’re a lifesaver, Vivian.”
I don’t feel like a lifesaver. I’d give all of my fire memories for just one syllable of my name.
Chapter Five
SKARR
This day does not allow me to properly show off my talents. Frustrating.
We do not get to pleasure the women when they wake up. We are told we must wait for permission. Bah.
First, we’re told no one is to fight despite the females getting khuis. I want to go hunt with the others to demonstrate my prowess, but I’rec insists I help him around camp, and he watches me closely. Perhaps I have been pretending a little too hard at being feeble in the cold. I go with him to retrieve supplies from the main encampment, all so I can get a look at things.
It’s not that I don’t trust the male…well, actually I don’t.
He’s not exactly mesakkah, either. His coloring seemed off to me but I dismissed it as my head full of chemicals. But his horns are different and his chin and arms are hairy. He does not have the plating that the mesakkah do, either, and I’m pretty sure I see his color ripple when he is surprised.
So that is something I need to keep an eye on.
The village is as crude as I feared, with stone huts and leather roofs. The encampment is on a hostile-looking beach, the waters crusted with icebergs. Everywhere, it is cold. It is not just here in the mountains, but the shore, too. I have a khui now thanks to I’rec, but my limbs stiffen abominably when I ride atop the drakoni’s back and the wind bites into my scales.
No more dragon rides for me.
When we return, no one seems to pay attention to the fact that we have brought food and clothing. No gratitude is lauded upon us. We are not adored by the females for bringing things. They expect it. Hmph. And now I have wasted all day at I’rec’s side instead of picking out my prospective female. Already I see the praxiian is talking to a female with darker skin, and I narrow my eyes at him, my competitive streak prickling.
I have to pick out the best female before they are all taken, or before this “resonance” strikes. I need to remind it that I am the best, and therefore I need the best female. If I’rec says we can influence it, I need to be around my chosen female constantly, to lurk nearby so my chest can call to her.
Unfortunately I have to be near the fire first, to unthaw my limbs.
The other splice is there, seated near the warmth. His furry face is a mockery of the refined human features, and he is clearly the ugliest creature here. Even the moden looks normal, for a moden. He just looks…well, like a lot of random bits were thrown together and made into a gladiator. I’m always jarred by the sight of the splices. There’s always something vaguely wrong about them. Still, they are good warriors. I move opposite the fire and immediately the last remaining female by the flame gets up and leaves. I grunt with amusement.
“They are not excited about resonance,” the splice says, a smirk on his face. “They have been avoiding me all day.”
They have? Good. I had worried that the males would be having to fend off the pleasure-hungry females at all times and I would return to find them all resonating to one another. I want to be the first, and it sounds like there is still opportunity for it. “Do all have their khui?”
“Most. Kyth needs a new one. He killed his.”
“Kyth?”
“Moden.”
“Ah.” They are rather large. Even the moden here is a splice and the breadth of him is still twice as large as the human male. I eye the splice. “You?”
He taps his chest. “Silence.”
I nod. “Anyone at all?”
“Not yet. Perhaps the resonance is waiting for something.” He shrugs. “They say it is best that way, to give the females time to accustom themselves to the idea. I say, best for who?”
I step closer to the fire, my hands now warm, and turn sideways so my heavy tail can benefit from the heat of the flame. As I do so, I think. I eye the splice. “You are…Chath?”
“Chalath,” he corrects. “Skarr, yes?” He studies me. “Ssethri and mesakkah?”
I nod. It’s a mix that allows me to excel…unless the entire keffing planet is ice, that is. “Did you spar with anyone today, Chalath?”
He shakes his head. “I hunted some, but we have been told over and over not to spar. Not to battle one another. That it is not wanted here.”
“And we have been told it is good that the females do not resonate yet, yes?” I stroke my chin, the puzzle pieces of the day teasing themselves together. “What if the two are tied? What if a good, fierce battle to show our skills will cause us to resonate?”
Chalath perks, his triangular ears flicking. “What’s that now?”
“I am simply thinking.” I prowl around the fire, circling to make sure that the bossy human female Flor and her strange not-mesakkah mate are not around, since they seem to be in charge. “How will the females’ khuis know if we are excellent warriors if we do not display our skills?”
He frowns suspiciously. “You have a point. They told us not to battle one another, and we have not. And at the same time, no one has resonated.”
“Exactly my thought. If the two are connected, perhaps they are telling us to wait because they want what is best for the females…but I am interested in what is best for Skarr. Just as you are wanting what is best for Chalath, mm?”
The splice gets to his feet and crosses his arms. “I want what is best for my female, too—”
“Hsst!” I cut him off before he can argue more. “You think this is not good for the females? Were we not told resonance is good? That we will all enjoy it? Why would we deprive them of such a thing?”
“You…may have a point.”
“I know I do.” I tap the side of my temple viciously. “They think they can outsmart me, but I am smart. I am clever. I hear what they are not saying to me, and I tell you this. I want a female of my own. I want this resonance.” I cut a hand through the air. “I do not want to wait until it is right for them. I want it to be right for me.”
Chalath’s newly blue eyes flare with excitement. “And you think if we spar this will be the answer?”
I spread my arms wide. “How else do you show a female you are the strongest? The best? By sitting here by the fire with your claw up your keffing rear?”
His expression darkens and I can see his jaw clench with anger. Good.
I pound my chest again. “Fight me. Let us test our new khuis that should help with healing. Let our blood heat with battle. Let us show these females what strong, fierce mates we will make.” I give him a determined look. “They will all resonate to us.”
Chalath grins with excitement, showing wickedly sharp teeth. “Pick the place, then. Let us fight.”
I cast a look around the encampment, trying to determine the best place to have our battle. Not near the fire— much as I enjoy its warmth, I have suffered burns in the past—I think—and it is a painful recovery. I would prefer to avoid that. Too far away from the camp, though, and no one will get to see our display. As I watch, two females start to set up another one of the strange tents a short distance away. There is a clear spot next to them, large enough that we can brawl.