Page 7 of Spirit Rites

“Another found sister,” Harper says, echoing my thoughts.

“Oh boy.” Farrah wipes her eyes again, and I blink several times to keep from doing the same thing. I’m usually the first one to cry with these kinds of things, but I think I’m still kind of in shock over the whole thing.

I squeeze each of their hands. “Thank you. And you’re right, Harper. I can do this. I will talk to Kaldar like a reasonable adult.”

“Good.” Harper nods approvingly. “Because I really can’t pretend with this guy any longer. I mean, does henotget how very not into him I am? I mean he should be able to pick up on whatever it is you’re giving off.”

“I’m not giving off anything.” I stand and push my chair in and help pick up the table and wash the dishes. When we finish, I dry my hands on the towel. “I’m going to go check on Veyra.”

Farrah joins me. “I’ll go with. I want to check up on Solace.”

“Better make sure they’re done with all that matey business,” Harper calls out behind me.

She makes a good point.Veyra?

Yes.

I smile at her response in my head.I was going to come check on you. Is now a good time?

Yes.

“She said now’s a good time,” I tell the girls.

“I think I’ll stay here. It’s safer,” Harper says from her position at the table.

“How is Solace feeling?” I ask as Farrah as we head outside.

“She seems to be doing well.”

“How long does she have left?” I ask as we make our way to the stables.

“She thinks just a few weeks. Wolf pregnancies are so fast.” She glances at me. “I wonder if jaguar pregnancies are.”

“I have no idea.” We head behind the stables where Solace and Shade have been staying. I'm not sure why they don’t stay in the stable, but maybe it’s a wild animal thing. When I don’t see Veyra and Jespar, I walk into the barn. I wander up and down the main aisle and look into each of the stalls. When I don’t see the jaguars, I head back outside.

“Are they not in there?” Farrah asks when I walk around to the back.

“No.” I reach out to Veyra.Where are you?

She doesn’t take long to respond.In the trees.

I glance towards the forest. “Did she say where they are?” Farrah asks, as she comes to a stop next to me.

“She said in the trees. I’m going to see if I can find them. I won’t be long.”

Farrah falls into step next to me, and we walk over to the trees. “Do you remember when Rysden made us climb these trees?” she asks with a laugh.

“And then made us take ice baths!” I shudder, remembering. “Those were terrible.”

“Yeah, but we survived,” she reminds me.

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure we have Rysden to thank for all of that.”

“And Lox, Jamik, and Hector,” she reminds me.

“Yeah.”

We walk into the trees a little ways. “I don’t see them anywhere,” Farrah says cautiously. “You don’t think they’ll like attack us, right?”