Page 17 of Diamond

Tehlmar jerks the reins roughly, and Roshan lets out an odd braying sound. Before I can protest, Tehlmar reaches for the whip again. This time, I place a hand over him, gently stopping him.

He grunts but lowers the whip, redirecting Roshan to the left at the fork below the ridge. "They are stubborn sometimes, and it doesn't hurt it."

I highly doubt it. "It doesn't mean you need to use violence all the time. He can be trained, you know," I counter and Tehlmar laughs. "What is so funny?"

He guides the reins tighter as we approach the slope. Roshan carefully picks his way down, slow and deliberate. "It seems that your people have strange views about animals. Back home, we use them for work, assisting us on the farms, and to be eaten. Not for treating like a lover."

His words hit like a slap. My jaw tightens, and I look away, swallowing the sting of his remark. I only care for Roshan's well-being, his accusation feels more like an insult than an observation. Like a lover? The nerve of him.

I grind my teeth together, and get distracted, but the biting cold seeps in, drawing my attention to my inadequate clothing. The genali, in their supposed generosity, gave me these thin garments that offer no insulation. I should be grateful to have anything at all, but it's hard not to resent them for this indignity. At least I'm not walking around naked.

Still, a scarf, or a thicker layer would go a long way.

Tehlmar seems to notice that I am chilly. "It is warmer where we are going," he assures, his voice neutral. Warmer than his attitude? He has gotten progressively less warm in his attitude toward me as the journey has gone on and I'm not sure if I can continue to ignore it. My instincts whisper that ignoring it may be unwise.

I thought we shared common ground, both of us captured and displaced on this weird planet. But now I am beginning toquestion my assumptions. "Where exactly are we going? Is it somewhere without the hunters?" I ask and he chuckles.

The laugh has no mirth in it at all, and it does not reach his eyes. Instead, it feels mocking, dismissive, a sound I know too well.

"You ask a lot of questions, Nasrin, and you are lucky I enjoy answering them."

Before I can respond, he continues. "We are heading toward a dock up north, You'll be safe from the hunters there. "

I cock a confused brow. "The hunters I'm so scared of? Do you not find them distasteful as well?"

He laughs at me, and it is definitely mocking, his face contorting into what I assume must be the equivalent of a sneer.

I cross my arms over my chest, keeping my expression composed. He needs to know I am serious.

He throws his head back in another cruel laugh and his hair blows back from the force of it. "Distasteful, yes. I find them absolutely abhorrent. However, I am not scaredof them. They are easy for me to kill."

When he says that, his knuckles tighten menacingly on the reins in his hand, turning them nearly bone-white.

With a grunt, he wraps the reins around his fingers and pulls Roshan onto a path to the right instead of going straight ahead. It is easy, the way he just knows which way to go, almost like he frequents the path.

"You won't have to be scared of them anymore once we reach the dock." he says, his voice calm but firm.

"How do you know about it?" I ask, though I notice how the flex of his jaw betrays his irritation.

He leads us through a dense canopy of wide-leafed trees, the shadows swallowing the daylight once again. "I found out the same way many others find out, by asking the right people the right questions."

Roshan snorts, almost as if disagreeing with him, but the creature keeps walking, probably afraid of being hit again.

I'm struck by how much more human Roshan seems after giving him a name, perhaps, even more so than Tehlmar. But I focus my attention back to my companion and his clipped replies.

His response raises even more questions, ones I want to press. But what's the point? I don't know where north is or how to get back anywhere. I have no idea which place is safe or where to find other people. Most of all, I no longer trust Tehlmar.

If I ever did.

At this point, I'd rather be alone with Roshan than try to understand Tehlmar's sudden shift from savior to something far more unsettling.

Though I'm not sure what good my distrust does to me. I'm no match for him. He's huge.

When we emerge from the shadows, I watch him closely for any signs of strange intentions, but outwardly, everything seems normal.

The forest reflects our shifting moods—it started bright and familiar, but now it's dark and foreboding, the trees crowding together as if conspiring against us.

Tehlmar suddenly turns, his gaze burning into my face for an uncomfortably long time. "On my home planet, journeys like this are deeply interpersonal and are mostly shared by lovers and friends," he says, his tone almost casual.

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