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“You must take care.” His growl reached my stomach and spawned flutters.

“Well, you disappeared,” I snapped, trying to mask my pleasure at seeing him concerned about me. “A heads-up would have been nice.”

“Why would you desire a head? If this is a necessity, I will get?—”

“No!” I gasped, gripping his wing before he went on a killing spree. “It’s an expression.”

He continued to stare at me, head cocked.

A loud, rumbling horn echoed from nearby, and I whirled toward it.

“What is that?” It sounded like a tornado warning but with a deeper vibration.

“The villagers are testing the horns for Novareth.”

I walked toward the sound, pushing through the thick foliage. Leaves crunched underfoot, and I avoided tripping over a vine.

After trekking a few more yards, I stopped at the break in the trees, peering out at the people shuffling to and fro. There were stations of sorts, and some had set up items on surfaces.

This was like a ‘swap meet’ back home.

“Why are there sirens?”

“The energy the day exudes is of rebirth, strength, and fertility, but to channel it, Novians need to know it is beginning. That is what the signal is for.”

“So, there is no specific day or time to indicate Novareth?” My heart jumped at that because this entire time I’d believedit was a particular time we headed toward, not something that could happen with a moment’s notice.

“The day changes every thirty years.” He curved his wings close to his back. “I will glamour myself; otherwise, they scurry like ants.” He was gone with his last word.

“Do you do this often?”

“Here and there.” The murmur was very close to my ear, wringing a shiver from my body. I stepped out of the break in the tree line and no one turned to look. My shoulders relaxed at the lack of reaction. Novians continued setting up their stations, and my eyes snagged on a human. That was why my presence wasn’t attention-grabbing; humans lived here, too.

I strode down the straw-covered path that branched in two directions with tables being set up on either side.

The familiar sensation of being watched settled over my shoulders. I’d become used to his presence—just another aspect to cause alarm.

“I could never understand the allure of what you humans feed on,” he murmured, wringing a shiver from me. I eyed the meat slices neatly organized on the raised plates on one of the stands as I walked past. His earlier comment about the people here echoed in my memory.

Had he spent countless times observing from the outskirts?

“Fruit, get your fruit,” a female Novian called from the station diagonally from me. Their surface was full of different, odd-looking fruits. Nothing close to what I’d seen in my human world, but there was one that looked like a banana, except it had growths all over the surface like a dragon fruit. Crossing a few other stands, my gaze snagged on a spread of pastries, and I hesitated in front of it.

A slim human woman stood beside a male Novian with hair that fell to his waist. I scanned the sweets. Everything wasdifferent from what I was used to, and in various colors, strange to my human eyes.

“All freshly baked this morning,” she chirped, her bright blue eyes settling on me. She rubbed her pregnant stomach. The male hovered over her, and from the quick glance, I could see he was incredibly protective. He seemed ready to pounce at a moment’s notice.

“No, thank you,” I replied. She just smiled, turning her attention to the Novians stopping at her stall.

The crowd was beginning to grow, and it was neat to see all the different features. A larger building stretched past a few more stalls, and people lounged in front of it in different states of undress.

“Lovely human, enter here, we will make it worth your while,” a Novian male murmured from where he leaned against the brick wall. “The Pleasure Den is here to serve you.” His grin showed extra teeth.

“No thanks,” I mumbled, but he reached toward me. I didn’t have time to react, my entire essence froze, and I widened my eyes,knowingthis wouldn’t be good.

His hand stopped inches from grabbing me. I sighed and clicked my tongue.

“Do not touch,” Corvus hissed, appearing beside me. Everything turned into chaos; screams and shouts rent the air, and then the thundering sound of running.