Nirrin (Forestfolk, Book 3)

Chapter 16b

My heart hammered as a hundred possible excuses flitted through my head to explain what I was doing in the woods at night. "Um."

Not a single one of them materialized on my tongue.

Tessia remained rooted, staring at him.

I resisted the impulse to run, and reminded myself I was lucky it was Fen, and not one of the others. I stood a chance with him, even if he wasn't supposed to speak to me anymore.

"Are you ready?" His voice was a low whisper.

I blinked at him, not sure what he was talking about. "Uh, ready for what?" I whispered back, feigning innocence.

He turned to Tessia, and they stared at each other for several strange moments. I finally realized they were probably talking in his head.

"What's going on here?" I said, infusing annoyance into my whisper.

I thought you might change your mind about taking me if you knew I told Fenrook.

My mouth fell open. "You told him?"

Fen lunged forward and clapped a hand over my mouth. "Keep it quiet," he growled.

I nodded, and he dropped his hand.

"I'm not here to stop you," he said close to my ear. "I'm making sure the path is clear."

A warmth washed through me at the thought that he might actually care what happened to me.

"Tessia is special. I'm keeping her safe."

That warmth evaporated. It was ridiculous of me to think he might have actually cared about me. Still, it was sweet that he cared about her.

Tessia elbowed him, and he cleared his throat. "I, uh, also want to keep you safe."

"You do?" The glee I felt was irrationally huge, making my voice squeaky. I had to force myself to focus on the task at hand. "First, we need food and—" I stopped when he reached behind a tree and pulled out an enormous pack, laden with supplies. "Oh. All right. Good. Then we need to get Kibi. Do you know where—"

Fen turned his head and emitted a series of clicking noises, similar to that of a night insect. My eyebrows rose even higher when Kibi emerged from a cluster of bushes, the antennae on her head twitching with excitement.

This was turning out to be much easier than I had anticipated.

Before I could make a single suggestion, Fen shouldered the giant pack and led the way.

I caught up with him. "Do you know where you're going?"

"When Niralessa and Corin appeared with Kibi, it was from this direction. It's probably the best place to start." He and Tessia drooped noticeably at the mention of Corin's name, and the sadness of the day fell on us like a corpse.

I followed Fen as we plodded onward, lost in our own thoughts. Tessia trailed behind us, with Kibi gripping the hem of Tessia's dress.

When we were a safe distance away, I finally unshackled my tongue. "Fen, are you going to get in trouble?"

He didn't look at me. "I don't know."

"You're going back after this?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

He rubbed the back of his head. "They're my family."

"But do you agree with what she's doing?"

His eyes dropped to the barely visible ground. "It doesn't matter."

"Your opinion does matter, Fen. She might listen to you."

He shook his head. "She still sees me as the ugly little child, abandoned and helpless."

"They don't see you as ugly. You should know that. And helpless? How is that even possible?" I shoved at him for emphasis. He didn't sway the slightest bit. "See? You're a walking boulder."

A low sound rumbled in his chest that could have been a laugh.

When it became evident he wasn't going to reply, I said, "And for the record, I highly doubt you were ever ugly."

He glanced at me. "Most people don't think as you do."

"Well, most people can go suck a toad."

He smiled. "I can see why Tessia likes you."

A gasp, followed by the sounds of stumbling feet caused both of us to whirl around, arms outstretched.

I reached Kibi first, catching her by the arm before her hands touched the ground. Tessia had jumped aside, startled.

"You're pretty fast," Fen said as he straightened.

"Years of looking after kids." I made sure the girl was steady on her feet before letting go. "I have finely tuned babysitter reflexes."

He chuckled. "Most admirable."

"You seem to be a caretaker yourself," I observed. "During the attack, you never left the kids alone."

He shrugged. "This one got away from me." He inclined his head toward Kibi.

I turned and found her wide eyes fixed on him, alarmed. Then her attention diverted to Tessia. A moment later her face relaxed.

It made me wonder what Tessia had just told her.

I said Fenrook has always been a protector. Kind. That I've never seen him be mean to anyone.

I glanced back to Fen's profile. Yes, I could definitely believe that. My gentle giant.

I tore my eyes away and berated myself. He wasn't my anything. He was here to keep us safe, and once that was done, he was going back to his family.

Which was technically my family too?

I blew out a sardonic breath and almost laughed.

I'd wished for my life to be different, and now look at it.

Her life sure is different now. All vote-worthy and everything!