Shady

Aleth groaned in self-pity. “Can’t you at least knock me out first?”

“Um, no,” Jerica said, realizing she shouldn’t have made that link. “Biryn is just an asshole that managed to get buddy buddy with Levin. Bastards.”

(Ah, fair enough!) “I…” Aleth’s chest went tight. “Don’t like this plan.”

“My uncle’s head advisor.” She shrugged. “They’re both quite terrible.”

“Now wait just a minute.” Aleth curled his toes, pulling his feet closer to himself. It was different to acknowledge it needed to happen, and actually seeing the saw.

“Yeah.” Jerica shrugged again. “He started when I was 4. It’s not like it’s new.”

Aleth hissed in pain but forced himself to keep them in the water. He needed to make a friend out of her. “Thank you.”

“Only if you’re too emotional,” Jerica grumbled. It WAS painful. And so was this conversation. And all the words still echoing in her mind. She shrugged. “You get used to ...

“Oh.” Aleth reluctantly held his hands out to her.

Aleth kept wiggling his toes, eyeing the water. He wasn’t excited to go through the same process with his fingers. “You’re sure this isn’t warming them too quickly? It feels ...

“Of course I’m angry,” Jerica muttered. “But I’m tired of arguing with you. And you didn’t say anything I don’t already know. I’ve heard all that and worse, and it’s ...

Aleth took his feet out of the water and watched as water dripped off his toes back into the basin. He wiggled them, cringing at the pain that still stabbed ...

“Yeah.” Jerica watched the back of her head as she rushed ahead. Despite how annoyed Jerica was with Evaline, it didn’t change that they shouldn’t push too hard, so she ...

“Sounds like a pleasant arrangement,” Aleth commented.

“I don’t know about you.” Jerica started after her. “But I find them to be pretty important. We’d still be hungry and stuck in a wolf-surrounded tree.”