Page 13 of Diamond

"Can you come down alone?" I ask.

"Sorry, no, but I promise we mean no harm," she assures me.

I make sure my weapons are placed correctly for easy access and that she understands just how serious I am. "I am Kuret. You can come down, but do not get too close. If you attempt to harm me, I will kill you and your friend."

She acknowledges my warning, her voice slipping into a hushed whisper as she speaks a different language I can't understand. I assume she is communicating with her friend and continue sawing through the bag, letting out a sigh of relief when it finally comes apart.

The silence of the forest is heavy, uninterrupted only by the distant hum of unseen creatures. Then faint, deliberate footsteps approach, soft yet precise. I want to step out from behind the large plant, but I am in too much pain from my wound. I can only keep my head low and watch a large, magnificent-looking beast walk toward me, its orange eyes glaring into mine.

Its eyes search me before it sits back, only a short distance away, orange and green fur waving in the wind when it spares a glance at the much smaller figure walking behind it. The female. I can't get a good look at her yet.

Its hands brush at its fur while serving as some kind of barrier between the female and where I am. I can barely make out more of her features than her oddly colored hair and eyes. Her skin is an odd pinkish color instead of gray, like our females.

A quick glance back confirms that she seems to breathe from the middle of her face instead of the sides of it. The sight of it unsettles me briefly, twisting my stomach. But I push the discomfort aside.

She speaks to me. "Hello Kuret, I am Ree, and this is Thivoll. Thank you for letting us come to you," she says, and I push myself up, standing tall despite the ache in my torso. I step into full view, watching her eyes widen slightly as they follow my movements.

"I will listen, but know I can defend myself if you try to harm me," I tell her, leaning my back against thetreebark for support. I make sure one of the weapons on my waist is visible, but she doesn't seem to catch it as she responds to me.

"I can see that. They hurt me too, me and my friends." I look over to the beast, eyes moving over its imposing frame and twitching tail.

The spike at the tip, poised and ready, leaves no doubt in my mind that it's venomous.

She must have seen the confusion on my face and lets out a small, pleased sound. "Not him. Thivoll actually saved me from them. They hurt him too, but he's healed now."

Her eyes soften as she looks at him, a glimmer of gratitude in her expression before she turns back to me.

"I killed three others a little distance from here," I inform her, a little confused at the ease of conversation between us but choosing not to question it just now. "They captured me from my home, and I don't know if I was the only one."

Her blue-green eyes dim with sadness. "Yes, they did the same to me, too. Changed me and a few others, gave usnanitetranslators,and treated us horribly. Luckily I found Thivoll, who they have been hunting. They are mostly hunters here, I think, not slavers. Thivoll is a manticorid, and I am human."

My jaw tightens when I imagine the females in the cloister going through the same torture.

"It is good we found each other," her tone lifting slightly. "Now I know there's someone else who hates the genali as much as we do." She lets out a trill of laughter, showing small, blunt teeth as her lips stretch.

I laugh too, appreciative of her humor. So that is what our enemy is called. I roll the name on my tongue, committing it to memory.

The laughter fades, and she turns to Thivoll, speaking in a language I can't understand. So this is what thenanitetranslators do? It seems like it is too useful to provide for someone and, once again, I feel suspicious.

I'd feel better with a knife in my hand, but something tells me I'd have that venomous tail flying at me faster than I could reach it.

She steps out from behind her manticorid protector, which means she must trust me more.

As she moves closer, my gaze takes in her full form for the first time. She is much smaller compared to the females of my species, her frame delicate but adult. Her features are striking yet strange, no marks, no ear spikes, no braids, blunt teeth, her coloring pale and her eyes a curious blue-green. Despite her differences, there's beauty to her, though she is closer in size to a youngling.

She wears a glossy black material, tightly covering her small frame. It outlines small breasts and pale skin where ours would be darker.

I look up at her "friend"and find that he is peering menacingly at me, orange eyes narrowing even as his lips move in response to Ree's words.

I do not believe they are friends, of course, that would be ridiculous. Just then, he says something that makes her laugh and slap a hand gently on his shoulder. Strange. She then turns over to look at me.

"I don't appreciate it when people look at me like that, Kuret. And Thivoll is thinking violent thoughts," she declares, the edge of her mouth twitching as if she is fighting back a laugh.

Realizing my mistake, I immediately bow my head in apology. However, I cannot help the question that shoots out of my mouth. "Is he your chosen donor? I assumed you were not compatible. Aren't you too young?"

She spoke about the genali, as she called them, abducting her and making changes to her. This manticorid looks older. His battle scars are visible across his body, and this purple-haired female does not look like she will be able to handle the sheer size of his children.

Still, I shouldn't have looked at her that way, regardless of how improper their relationship seems.

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