Page 39 of Diamond

He is a vicious killer, exactly the thing I hate most.

21

Kuret

Nasrin's discomfort is obvious and I can tell there is anger coursing through her as she questions the fairness of life.

I want to tell her that life is never fair. Things just happen to us and the best we can do is find a new purpose, but I know she will get more angry at it, so I say nothing and try to comfort her with my silence instead.

It doesn't work.

She becomes silent and covers herself with her clothes. I watch in sadness as it crawls over her body, covering the exposed parts of her arms and tender fingers, her light brown neck and finally her beautiful hair.

I decide to speak and risk her anger. "We will return to Ree and maybe she will have answers. I… I am glad I found you. That it is you I get to protect."

She lets out a long breath and glances over at me. At least I can still see her expressive eyes.

Right now, they are still angry and she doesn't reply. Doesn't say she is glad I found her, too.

This is more than enough evidence to me that males and females should indeed remain separate because we are not compatible with each other. At least I am not.

All I have been trying to do since I caught up to her is assure her that I am not the enemy. I thought we had an understanding, but the moment I speak up, she creates a shell over herself.

It is because I stared and complimented her. Ree told me and I didn't listen, and this is the consequence. Samke would know what to do, and I find myself longing once again for someone that knows what it is like on my world, in my culture.

With a start, I realize she must be feeling the same. I am used to females trusting me, but it was something that had been earned by all of the cloister guards before me. I just have to earn her trust instead of continually making her angry.

Knowing that I am the direct cause of this reaction does not sit well in my stomach at all, and before I know it, I am seething quietly. Not at her, but at the fact that I have ruined… something.

I'm not even sure what.

I keep making these childish mistakes and I wish again that I could remember my time in the cloister. Surely they taught me something about how to interact with females?

Nasrin's bright eyes are still trained on mine, with only her lips and nose visible. I have to hold myself from blurting out how she cannot hide her beauty no matter how much she tries to cover herself up.

An avioid squawks in the air above us and it reminds me that predators will soon be attracted to the smell of the male's dead body and we will need to be far from there by the time they arrive. If we are caught by them, I will have to fight for our lives, and her dislike for violence might make her take off from me.

And then she would hiss at me for following her.

I force myself to pull my eyes away from her and dig through my memory for any nearby places we could rest.

I don't like the silence between us, so I try to fill it with neutral topics. "I scouted a few clearings and caves we could head toward tonight."

Maybe that one hidden behind large, leafytreeswould be the best option. I had meant it to be a resting place after I shared my information with Nasrin and that terrible male.

It is strange how your plans can get interrupted without warning. The day I was captured, I hadn't expected to spend my time fighting genali. I would have offered myself to them without struggle to save the rest of my people, had they only asked.

I suppose life makes its own plans. It certainly gave me no sign whatsoever that I would become the protector of this female who seems to loathe my very existence. Yet here I find myself.

When I turn back to Nasrin, she is still looking at me, but it feels like she does not actually see me. I realize she is lost in her thoughts and while I would like to take advantage of the opportunity and stare at her pleasant face, we need to leave this place.

I clear my throat and she focuses on me, her face devoid of any emotion. "We should start moving. The stale blood will soon attract unwanted visitors," I say and she looks away from me as if she didn't hear me or didn't care.

"I don't know if I feel safe going anywhere with you," she tells me, scratching at her blue guardian.

Her words are daggers going straight into one of my hearts. What have I done this time?

The large animal makes a noise before getting up, not even sparing me a glance.

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