Page 48 of Resisting the Alien Rider

“The heroine is a veterinarian. That’s a human doctor who treats animals. She gets called out to this farm to treat a horse with an injured leg. And the farmer, he’s this big, brooding dude. Very grumpy, bordering on mean. But there’s this undeniable spark between them. Which she ignores, of course, because she has a boyfriend. Butget this.” She wiggled in her saddle, shivering with glee. “The farmer turns out to be her boyfriend’s older brother! Gah!”

Dramatic gasps. That’s what she said her old friend had done.

I opened my mouth and sucked in a big breath. Unfortunately, I also inhaled an insect. I pulled up onTorla’s reins, giving in to a coughing fit that made my ribs ache and my back burn even worse than before.

“Oh my God, Garrek, are you alright?” Magnolia had stopped Shanti, too. The herd ambled along behind us, with Killian bringing up the rear.

“Fine,” I wheezed. I was never attempting to do a dramatic gasp again. Not even for her. “Continue.”

“OK. Well, that’s about as far as I’ve gotten so far. But they’re just meant to be together, you know? I can feel it. Ugh. It’s so good.”

I would have tried to come up with an appropriate response to that, but I still hadn’t hacked up that blasted insect and now I was too focused on trying not to let my own cursed lungs collapse. I cough-grunted at her, and she seemed to be satisfied with that, if the agonizing glory of her beaming face was any indication.

We continued onwards for the rest of the afternoon, taking the flatter, smoother paths between growing hills. Trees were dotted here and there, which was good, as I would need them for the next part.

“We’ll have to make camp here for a few days,” I told Magnolia as the sun was setting. We’d reached a basin with a clear, cold lake and a big outcropping of stone behind it. “Killian and I will need to build a fence.”

“A fence? Why?”

“Because we cannot bring the herd much further into the mountains,” I explained. “The shuldu can come, but the bracku won’t be able to travel over any uneven or rocky terrain. A fence will give them someprotection while we’re gone, and they’ll have access to plenty of water and grass within it.”

“While we’re gone…” Magnolia repeated.

“To find Oaken.”

“Oh.” Her reply was nearly sombre.

“I don’t think it will be long now,” I assured her. She was probably worried about how long it had taken to get here while Oaken was injured. I was worried, too. Despite the complicated mess of feelings that surrounded Magnolia and Oaken’s marriage, I still loved him. I still wanted him to be well.

“I’ve never been to his cabin,” I said, “but the warden told me it was near a lake with a stone outcropping, which I believe has to be this one. We’ll get the bracku set up here and then you, Killian, and I will continue on to find him.”

“Right.” Her voice cracked on the word.

I wanted to touch her throat.

My idiotic hand actually rose to do it. I quickly aimed it back down towards the cannister that was clipped to the side of her saddle. I grabbed it and roughly shoved it at her.

“Drink your water,” I ordered her as I dismounted. “Killian and I will find some food.”

Food endedup being slippery freshwater fish. They were plentiful in this small lake, which was good, as that meant we’d be well-fed as we constructed the fences. Killian and I were seated side-by-side on awide, wet log, the remnants of some tree that had fallen here long ago. At our feet were the four fish we’d caught and cleaned. They were ready to be cooked.

I glanced over my shoulder to see that Magnolia had set up her tent already. She’d gotten much better at it, quick learner that she was, and had disappeared inside. She’d seemed impatient to get in there when we’d stopped. Maybe she needed to rest before dinner after her late night. Or maybe she wanted to get back to her story. The one with the animal doctor and the angry farmer.

Killian made to get up and grab the fish. My tail snapped out in front of him, stopping him.

“Before we go back to camp…”

How was I to word this? I struggled for a moment, chewing on things unsaid, until I finally just threw it all out there.

“Before we go back, I just want to make sure you understand what’s happening next. For all of us.”

Killian froze. He stared down at the rocks and the fish.

“I think it likely that, very soon, we will meet Magnolia’s husband.”

“He’s not her husband.” His words came out as a vicious snarl, the kind I had not heard from him in quite some time.

“What do you-”

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