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CHAPTER TWO

IN WHICH THE ADVENTURERS HAVE A MUCH-NEEDED NIGHT OUT

Soap in one hand and fabric in the other, I knelt by the creek to get my washing done.

Modern conveniences were the only things I missed about Earth.

There was something satisfying about doing everything by hand, to be sure, but I’d trade that for electricity and tampons in a heartbeat.

Also, a proper toilet. And a shower. They did have simple machines and rudimentary plumbing in the cities, but here in the middle of nowhere, options were limited.

Boiling your drinking water and burying your shit got old after a while.

The soap was pretty nice. It had a nutty, spicy scent reminiscent of roasted chestnuts and cloves or cinnamon, and it did a good-enough job of getting blood and sweat out of clothing.

We always camped out near towns so that we could find work and get supplies when we needed them, and the soapmaker in this area was one of the better ones.

One of the downsides of traveling so much was that you didn’t always find the best people, but I’d miss this area and the people here when we inevitably decided to move on.

It had begun to feel like home… At least, what I thought a home should feel like.

Leaves and twigs crunched behind me. Shoving my makeshift sanitary pads to the bottom of my laundry basket, I glanced up to see one of the twins approaching.

Years of learning to be observant lent me an edge.

With an extra moment of care, one might notice Vyrain’s slightly slimmer build and how the ends of his hair cupped his ears and cheeks in a way that his brother’s pin-straight locks did not.

Additionally, there was his body language, an open countenance and near-indiscernible swagger in each step.

That said, there was nothing wrong with waiting for the clearest indicator.

“Lifespring of my heart,” Vyrain cooed in greeting.

I got to my feet, squeezing water from the now-clean pants. “They calling for me?”

“Well, the evening meal is prepared. But I figured I’d see how you were feeling about joining me on my mat tonight.” He waggled his eyebrows. “There’s plenty of room, and it’s quite comfortable. We can take it slow—no more than hands and mouths for the time being.”

Irritation sent unkind words climbing up my throat, but I forced them down with a harsh exhale.

If being the bigger person was easy, everyone would be a saint.

I could at least let him down easy. “Look. How about this? You convince Hohem to join us, and it’s on.

But I’m only interested if it’s a package deal, all right? Otherwise, you can stop asking.”

Vyrain began to perk up, but in the next moment, he remembered that his brother was not as keen on jumping into bed with me, and his face fell.

“Cursed hot siblings, ruining everything,” he muttered under his breath. Gears turned. He cast a sidelong glance my way and tried, “His equipment is out of commission?”

Despite myself, a smile tugged at my mouth. I looked past Vyrain to where his brother descended the hill behind him. “Sorry to hear about your equipment. How unfortunate.”

“Could you not bring my dick into this?” Hohem grumbled, making his brother jump. “Come on, you two. Supper’s ready, and Jük’s real pissed off.”

“Don’t take that personally,” I assured him, bending to rinse my pants one last time in the creek before bundling it into the basket with the rest. “Jük’s been in a bad mood since I met him, and that was… oh, about six revolutions ago now. He’s a big grump, but he’s harmless.”

The word the fae used for years translated to dozens , referring to a dozen lunar months, or a little less than one Earth year. But revolutions was close enough.

Hohem wasn’t convinced. “I tried to serve myself, and he almost bit me.”

Sounded about right. Chuckling to myself, I explained. “Vee likes us all to eat together.”

Jük and his mate-slash-wife, Vee, were Ked’s adoptive parents, and they kept an eye on our campsite during outings.

They were Epitgig , resembling creatures humans called goblins.

Shorter than my 157 centimeters (or 5’2” for those who refuse to use the metric system), they had large, triangular ears, big hands and feet, and skin the color of ash.

Vee was as sweet as Jük was grumpy, and although Jük was far from affectionate, she had him wrapped around her finger.

In many ways, they were the quintessential old, married couple—the relationship that every romantic dreamed of having.

“Well, then, I suppose we’d better get a move on.” Vyrain sighed from my left. As he passed, I found myself relieved of my washing basket. Blinking down at empty hands, I realized that he had plucked it from my grip.

“That’s not necessary,” I protested, hurrying to catch up.

“Oh, but it is, my heart’s blood,” Vyrain responded sweetly. When I grabbed for my laundry, he shifted the basket to his opposite hip, out of my reach. “Sit back and let me take care of you,” he ordered, exasperated. “I’m not doing this for anything in return, I promise.”

Unease made my sides prickle. It didn’t feel right to leave my work to someone else, and though he’d never tried to use favors against me, I knew his motives weren’t entirely honest. Nonetheless, I settled for following him with a glower.

I’d begun to learn that it wasn’t worth arguing with him; the man was nothing if not persistent, and he seemed to think that my “no” could be nurtured into open arms if he just kept trying. It was pitiable, really.

When we crested the hill to our camp clearing, the others had already congregated around the fire.

Yrra, whose turn it was to look after our avida , lingered by the tents.

The animal was secured to a gnarled tree bough beside one of the canvas constructions.

Brush in hand, Yrra worked knots and shed out of the animal’s sleek, mint coat as he listened to Daethie, the Tinkerbell-sized Terror, chattering away from her perch on his shoulder.

Daethie was an Aminkinya , a race of small, winged warrior women that lived in earthen structures resembling humongous termite hills.

She was obsessed with money and, despite her cute, pink-tinted skin and diminutive stature, had a temper worse than mine.

She’d only stayed behind because she strained a wing on our last outing; otherwise, she would have been the one shaking that mole-man down for the last twenty vodt .

Since she was currently resting her wing, she didn’t fly much, but she tended to keep to herself. I couldn’t remember the last time she willingly socialized outside of jobs or meals. She and Yrra made an odd pair, what with his quiet, polite demeanor and her… well, lack thereof.

Vyrain ignored my protests and helped me drape my laundry along the clothesline set up for that purpose.

It was only a few pieces, so it didn’t take long.

I did shove him aside when we got to my sanitary cloths; fae might not have the same hangups as humans when it came to bodily fluids, but that part of being raised on Earth stayed with me.

Vee was portioning spoonfuls of cereal grain into clay bowls when we joined the others.

They called it paya here, but for all intents and purposes, it was rice.

A savory gravy with root vegetables and reconstituted meat sat over the fire, waiting to be doled out as a topping.

I took a spot on the log next to Yrra and Daethie.

Vyrain sat on a dirt lump beside his brother .

“Did Ked help today?” Vee asked, giving her son’s knee an affectionate pat. She respected Ked’s autonomy, but she couldn’t resist worrying about him. It was difficult for her to watch us go out every day, not knowing what we were doing or when we’d return.

“Help,” Ked echoed proudly, his eyes fixed on the bubbling pot before him.

“Sure, he did,” Hohem confirmed, ever the gracious one where the mom of the group was concerned. “He held one of them down while I dispatched the other.”

“We disarmed them first,” I interjected, accepting my bowl with a grateful smile.

Jük grunted an indiscernible question through a mouthful of food.

“I’m sure,” Vee responded mildly. “After dinner, dear.”

“Of course we get a job with some action when I’m out of commission,” Daethie grumbled, stabbing a miniature spoon into her bowl.

Her hair, the washed-out gray of birch bark, lay against her scalp in a series of crisscrossing braids.

Without anything worthwhile to pass the time while recuperating, she’d been putting more effort into her hairstyle as of late.

I should ask her to teach me. All I knew was the typical three-strand braid. Of course, there was no reason to be concerned about appearance here. I wore my hair long because I liked the way it looked. If not for that preference, I’d keep it short for practicality’s sake.

Vyrain snickered. “You would have had a blast. The client shorted us twenty?—”

My head snapped up. Too far away to pinch him, I had to settle for a sharp look. His words cut off, his expression turning guilty, but the damage was done. Daethie’s back went ramrod straight, and her eyes narrowed into scathing pinpricks of emerald.

“They what?!”

Well, that cat was out of the bag. Outrage bubbled up again at the memory of the unobliging mole-man, and I slammed my bowl onto the log with more force than was necessary.

“I know. People have no honor anymore. Trust me, I was pissed, too, but it was already getting late, and Ked was hungry. We can always go back for the rest.”

Daethie’s iridescent wings whipped the air, making Yrra flinch as they grazed his long, pointed ear.

“And make a second trip for no reason?” she spat, expression contorted with fury.

“You should have taken your payment in fingers! For Valuen’s sake.

That’s it—you’re taking me to a mender tomorrow. I’m not sitting around any longer.”