Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 242728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1214(@200wpm)___ 971(@250wpm)___ 809(@300wpm)
But with me...she was different.
I quickly put my basket down, so as not to lose the grain I’d already harvested.
Then I held out my arms.
“Oh, here we go.” Hyath rolled her eyes good-naturedly.
I laughed as Syn trotted the short distance between us, then stood on her hind legs and draped her heavy front paws on my shoulders, slipping into my embrace as if she’d always belonged there. Despite her still being a youngling, she vibrated with vitality and power. Burying my face into her scruff, I scratched her back and hugged her close, all while inhaling the sun-golden scent of her. “Hey, Syn.”
The lynx purred loud enough to shiver the seeds off the grasses around us.
Niya giggled. “I don’t think you need a spirit ceremony, girl. Yours is right there.”
I looked up, beaming, still holding Syn close as we wobbled together. “I’d be proud to have a lynx as my spirit guardian.”
“I wonder what your future mate would make of it.” Niya crossed her arms, snickering. “Usually, a man would like to bed his woman without having to snuggle with fangs and claws.”
I blushed as Syn swiped her coarse tongue over my cheek before dropping back to all fours. Her purrs continued as she walked around me, lashing my thighs with her two tails.
The sunburst mark on my upper right leg twinged; I scratched it without thinking. “I’m not Nhil yet. Therefore, I can’t mate anyone.”
Syn nudged my hand away, licking my tingling mark.
I shot her a scowl.
Why did she do that?
“But you want to be...right?” Hyath took off her hat and fanned her sun-pinked face.
The mark stopped burning; my scowl morphed into a perplexed frown.
It often tingled at random times, mostly when I fell into dreams that made my heart burst and tears catch in my throat when I woke, but this felt different.
Urgent.
Insistent.
Hyath wafted her hat in my direction. “The moment Solin helps you remember your name, you can choose to become one of us and pick any of the Nhil men...or women....” She gave me a shy smile, reminding me of a whispered chat we’d shared around the fire a few nights ago. She’d confessed that she and Way—the healer who worked with Olish and had helped nurse me back to health—had finally admitted their feelings for one another. The two girls had grown up together and been friends for years but hadn’t seen what was so obvious to everyone else.
Niya had rolled her eyes and said it was about time. I’d smiled and wondered if I’d had a friend who I’d grown up with—a lover I hadn’t realised was my future before it was too late.
Hyath’s question made two emotions war inside me.
Did I want to become Nhil?
Yes, with all my heart. I loved these people. I loved their generosity, kindness, and the grasslands they called home. I loved the river that ran through the shallow valley, and I loved the knowledge I’d been taught on how to nurse seeds, cultivate plants, and harvest food that fed a clan. I loved the gentle but stern guidance of Chiefess Tiptu and Chief Tral. I loved how Solin would convene with his fire, reporting visions of where the bison had travelled and where the hunters would find the best successes. I even loved the bison-hide lupics and the ever-burning flames that clogged my throat with its ever-watchful smoke.
I didn’t want to leave.
But did I want a mate? A man who wasn’t the faceless, forgotten male who slipped into my slumber?
No, I did not.
Bending, I picked up my basket from where I’d placed it for Syn’s embrace. “I’m happy on my own, Hyath. I don’t need a mate.” Syn gave me one last look before slinking off into the grass, most likely hunting mice and rabbits.
“You say that now.” Niya ran both hands over her arms, trying to remove some of the sticky seeds. “But wait till you meet someone you can’t imagine being apart from.”
My heart tripped a beat.
Were my dreams right that I’d met someone like that already?
That he was out there—searching for me, all while my memories remained blank?
Hyath placed her hat back on her head, turning to face Niya. “Who’s got your eye, Niya? Stop taunting Girl with promises of a match for her when you don’t share your own desires of who will be lucky enough to bed you.”
I moved next to Hyath, joining in on the fun interrogation. I didn’t mind that I didn’t have a name compared to their pretty ones. It was a small sacrifice to make.
Grinning, I said, “Yes, come on, Niya. I’m still nameless and mateless...surely, you will be the first to enter into matri-matrimoneeeal.”
“You still haven’t gotten that word.” Niya giggled. “And a woman never tells.”
I smiled and glanced at Hyath. “I think I know who’s caught her eye.”