Page 74

I hold back, noting the suspicious looks they are sending me. Aidy is welcome, but they are not so certain about me. I do not look like them. I understand it. I will not look like anyone, because I have no people. I am a mix of many people and belong to none.

"Well, well, well," calls a female voice. "Look what the cat dragged in. Literally."

Another yellow-haired human female strides forward, this one slightly older than the others if I had to guess. She is followed closely by an ugly, battle-scarred mesakkah male with a tall, rangy form and a scowl on his face. The female crosses her arms over her chest and eyes me speculatively.

This is the leader, I suspect. She has that air about her.

"I am Corvak." I gesture at Aidy, who is being surrounded by human females and pulled farther away. "Valmir has convinced us to join you."

"Valmir did?" Her brows go up. "That's…impressive."

I look around at the crowd, trying to count heads, but there are so many. I see all kinds—a moden splice, another a'ani with vivid red skin, and others I do not recognize. "I did not expect it to be so…crowded. How many of you are here?"

"Too many," the yellow-haired leader says.

I freeze at that.

The ugly male behind the female nudges her.

"Oh, shit. I was kidding!" She puts her hands up in the air. "I figured if you were used to Valmir, you could take a bit of ribbing." She thinks for a moment, counting on her fingers. "Well, there's those of us from Croatoan, and then there's the islanders?—"

"Exiles," the scarred male adds.

"Yup, there's exiles, too. And the Ancestors. Not the real ancestors, but I'm not calling them Those Who Remain because that's too much of a mouthful. And the splices. And the human clones. Oh, and the dragon. Can't skip him." She rolls her eyes. "He'll never let us forget it if we do."

"Visitors," her mate says, interrupting again.

"Yeah, them too, but they don't really count as part of the tribe since they're just hanging out for a while, right?" She tilts her head, gazing up at him thoughtfully. "Though do we count Bek and Elly's kid? She was born here but they're Croatoan…though they're not in a hurry to go back?—"

Her listing of all the different peoples makes my gut clench. If there are so many, how can they all possibly be fed? Are two more going to be seen as a burden? "Are we welcome here?" I ask, voice flat. "Or should we leave?"

They both turn and glare at me, as if I am annoying them. "Everyone is welcome."

Aidy returns to my side, her hands on my arm. There's a look of concern on her face. "Everything okay?"

I nod. What else can I say?

"Do you want to see my baby girl?" Nadine asks Aidy, all smiles. "I swear you won't see a cuter kid on this beach."

"Lies," the blonde female in front of me says, her tone practically a snarl. "You know my kids are the fucking cutest, you monster."

But Nadine just laughs at her, waving away her words. "You are far too competitive, Liz. Come on, Aidy. Corvak can manage without you for a moment, right?"

"Actually I'll stay with him," Aidy says, ever loyal, and holds me even tighter. "Until we get settled, at least."

The female leader, the Liz, points a finger at Aidy and Nadine. "Do we need to have a cute-off? Because I'm game. Wait until you see my little Ahsoka. She's got a gap between her front teeth that would make the Gerber baby shit a brick in jealousy. It's the fucking best."

"It is pretty cute," chimes in another female, who moves forward and puts a fat, enormous infant into my mate's arms. "But not as cute as this baby!"

"Oh my goodness," Aidy breathes, juggling the heft of the child and giggling. "So big! Just look at you!"

I swallow hard, remembering the conversation about babies and how they emerge when the stomach is distended. I cannot picture it, and the thought terrifies me. The creature in Aidy's arms is so much bigger than I envisioned, and the realization makes me dizzy. "Is…is the size of that thing normal?"

Aidy laughs, jiggling the child in her arms as it puts a fat hand on her chin. "What a big, perfect girl you are. Or boy. Or whatever."

“Boy,” the mother says shyly. "His name is Varukhal.”

"Come on," Nadine says to Aidy again. "Liz is probably rounding up all her girls so you can ooh and aww over them."