I tap my nostril, determined to make this lie stick. “Must be my pregnancy nose thinking it smells good.”
“Ah.” He gives Vektal an odd look but claps him on the shoulder. “Glad you are back, my chief.”
“We are glad to be back,” Vektal says easily, and puts a hand at the small of my back to lead me inside the cavern that is now my home.
Immediately, the temperature grows warm and slightly humid. I look at the busy cavern, smiling at the sight of familiar sa-khui faces and human faces, too. Over by the fire, Hemalo is stirring something thick and sludgy, all right, and Josie’s at his side, helping him. In the center of the cave, Ariana is in the water with her mate Zolaya, and Nora wrings her hair out and sits on the edge, buck-ass naked while her mate Dagesh rubs her shoulders. I see Kira carrying a basket and doing her best to ignore Aehako, who trails behind her. And off in a corner, I see Claire hanging on Bek’s arm, blinking big eyes as he tells her a story.
No one’s falling apart. No one’s a mess. Everyone looks…happy.
I’m so relieved.
“Well well,” calls a familiar voice. “Look what the cat dragged in.”
Vektal immediately looks around behind us, no doubt searching for a snow cat of some kind. I just laugh and open my arms to hug Liz. “Hey, you!”
She gives me a hug in response, but her expression is a little guarded. Our friendship suffered a bit of a break when Raahosh went into exile and I sided with Vektal. I had to. I can only imagine how dreadful things would have gotten if we’d allowed Raahosh to just cart away Liz with no repercussions. Bek would have stolen Claire away next, and Aehako Kira, and then it would be a nightmare. These people think differently than we do and even if it’s not meant maliciously, it’s also not fair to the girls.
I think Liz gets it. Or pretends to get it. Either way, she’s firmly on Team Raahosh, which I suppose I get. Sure enough, when I pull back from our hug, he’s there nearby, arms crossed and scarred face glowering at me and Vektal.
Liz gives my shoulder a punch. “Where ya been, fearless leaders? Someone said you were on a mooning trip but I thought that couldn’t be right.”
“Oh. Did you guys just get in?” I brush my hair back off my face, since the humidity in the cave is making my curls stick to my skin. “We went on a honeymoon to get away just the two of us. A little bonding time.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Really.”
Liz is sharp. I don’t know if she’s going to believe me or want to know more details. I think of the graves we left up the mountain, and how I left a lot of my own grief and doubt up there with them. I asked Vektal not to mention it, but it’s not entirely for the others. I want to leave that part of the past behind myself, and rehashing the fate of our three dead friends and their grave for each person in the tribe will be difficult.
“Honeymoon? Where?” Liz asks.
“The cave we first met,” Vektal says, his hand sliding to my waist and he pulls me close. “It was a good trip. Fine weather. Great company.” And he grins at me, fangs flashing.
Liz frowns at me again, and I wait for her to ask. Wait for her to pry into why we needed to get away so quickly after resonating. But then she just sighs. “Well, now I want a romantic honeymoon, too.”
“Eh?” Raahosh moves to her side, his grip tight on her arm. For a moment, he looks as if he wants to snatch her away from all of us and hoard her to himself. “You want to travel out into the mountains just to mate? Do we not do that right now, female? It is called exile.”
She rolls her eyes. “Where’s your sense of romance, Raahosh! This is a trip specifically for sexytimes. We could play ‘wampa that discovers a helpless Luke in a cave’ but this time you’d get to eat me.” She wiggles her eyebrows at her mate. “Or we could play ‘Gollum finds his precious’. Really, the possibilities are endless.”
He just frowns at her.
Liz sighs and looks back at me. “Clearly I need to get him on board with such an idea.”
Raahosh’s mouth flattens and he looks at Vektal accusingly, as if this is somehow my man’s fault, and lets Liz lead him away.
I watch them go, biting back a smile. I would say Liz runs roughshod over Raahosh, but I think he’s the only one that tolerates her crap and gives her back just as much. It’s a surprisingly good pairing, because Liz is definitely a bit acerbic and headstrong.