Page 49 of Scarred

“Amma!”

Chapter 20

Amma

Seeing a village for the first time was nothing like Amma had pictured it. In her head, she had imagined the minotaurs’ homes would be similar to human houses. That turned out to be far from the truth. The clearing they walked through to enter turned out to be where the warriors trained. Males and females of all ages engaged in hand-to-hand or weapon-to-weapon training. The sparring was loud, and no one held anything back. She wondered how many had to visit the doctor after a practice session. Zuberi and his males joined the fray as Ru led Suni and her further down the path. She was just about to ask about her cousins when she heard her name screamed.

“Amma!”

Amma spun around just in time to catch Shelly as she flew into her arms. “Shelly. Oh, baby girl, how are you?” She buried her face in her cousin’s hair and took deep breaths, inhaling her scent.

“I’m great,” Shelly said. She kissed Amma’s cheek and tightened her arms. “I’m so glad to see you. I thought Jo and I were the only survivors from our home.”

“Not even close.” Amma didn’t try to stop the tears flowing down her cheeks. “Let me get a look at you.” She held Shelly out at arm’s length. “You have grown so much! What are they feeding you?”

“Lots of meat,” Shelly answered. “And I mean a lot of meat.”

“Whatever it is, I like it. You look good.” She pulled Shelly back into her arms.

“Okay, okay, enough.” Shelly pushed until she let go. “I missed you too. Hey, is that Mike? Is Sam here too?”

“Yes, they jumped through the portal with me.”

“What are you?” Shelly asked, turning to the third little animal. “You’re beautiful.”

I’m Astro. Astro tried to climb on Amma’s head, but she caught him and held him out to Shelly. You smell nice.

“Thank you. Can I hold you?”

Without hesitation, Astro jumped from Amma’s hands to Shelly’s. Amma has too many friends. Want to be my friend?

“Astro,” Amma laughed. “Are you abandoning me?”

Shelly needs me. Astro answered.

Amma didn’t argue. She knew sometimes that’s how things happened. “Shelly, I guess you have your first animal friend.”

“He’s so adorable.” Shelly hugged him to her chest.

“He should be able to keep you out of trouble,” Amma said. “I’ve heard you have the warriors on their toes.”

Shelly waved a hand in dismissal. “No need to worry. I am not thinking about them right now.”

“Good. You are too young anyway and need to concentrate on controlling your magic. Where’s Jo?”

“She’s been feeling too sick to leave the house,” Shelly answered. “I just left her place, but I’m sure she wouldn’t mind more guests. Just keep all your hands and feet to yourself.”

“So, she’s acting like every other pregnant woman in our family?” Amma groaned.

Shelly laughed. “Yup.”

Amma turned to find Suni looking at her with a little smile. “Suni, meet my cousin Shelly. Shelly, this is my mate, Suni.”

“Amma,” Shelly dropped her voice to an exaggerated whisper. “He’s massive. Can you two… you know…?”

“Shelly!” Amma yelped, covered her mouth, and shrugged at Suni. “She’s still young. She has always tended to speak before thinking.”

“That has not changed,” Ru chimed in.

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