Page 15 of The Naga Inventor's Clever Mate

Corin

That was one mystery solved, maybe even the whole problem. Kalani did not seem to have any issues with what Min-Ji had just told her. That was good. She was going to need her friends to keep her company; it would help her pick her life back up once we returned to Haven. She had a place, she fit in, and she’d be safe.

I swiveled my head left and right as I glanced at the aspirant Haven members who made up most of this party. Good, strong warriors who had been cast out from their clans because they had not found their mates after a certain amount of time. Males like Zathar, Iave, and me. Though some of them, like Ekkire, the Water Weaver, had simply joined because they were curious. The Water Weaver clan did not cast out their males for not finding a mate.

They were going to pursue her, the one available female. After I’d tasted her, I couldn’t stand that thought. I never could, if I was honest with myself. If I wanted my mate to be happy and safe, then I had to leave. But Haven depended on me; I was vital to running its systems and repairing everything. I couldn’t leave, not until it was all restored. I didn’t know if I could stay that long—and stay away.

Then there was Reid. His situation was grave, and I didn’t have enough knowledge to know what was wrong with him. Looking at the readings on my handheld device now made me realize that I had never treated him before. All the humans, even most Naga at Haven, had been in at one point or another for a scrape or bruise, or a bout of sickness. Not Reid.

Something foreign was in his system—that was obvious—but I couldn’t tell if it was one or two substances. It didn’t look like a sickness, and it seemed to be destroying him from the inside out, and I had no way to stop it. I had to consult with Artek; a full Shaman might know.

My hand went to the metal disk dangling from a leather cord around my neck, and a wave of sadness rushed through me. That disk was my invitation, and the Shaman council had not formally withdrawn it, even after the Thunder Rock Queen had stopped me from returning to my training. If I’d had more time to study, I might have been able to help Reid. I felt inadequate, trapped in a life that shouldn’t have been mine.

I glanced back at Min-Ji, and my chest grew tight when I saw that she was smiling and talking cheerfully with Kalani. Iave was right behind them, not talking, but still part of the merriment, because his mate kept smiling at him. I didn’t want to be jealous of my friend, but I was. If the Queen… If I’d finished my training… Things could have been different. I could have been there with Min-Ji. She could have been mine.

“We found it! This is the lab,” Krashe’s call at the head of our traveling group went out, and I took the opportunity to focus on what I could do: explore the lab and help the warriors unblock the door from this side so we could return to Haven. I’d have to come back down here to inventory all these experiments and relics too, to make sure nothing was dangerous. “Sweep out,” Krashe ordered. “Make sure the Revenant’s head isn’t in here.”

I switched into hunting mode along with the other warriors and easily fell into place among them, familiar and comfortable with the hunt, even in a place as spooky and strange as this one.

Chapter 12

Min-Ji

Corin didn’t have more of that powder that worked on the welds, but that didn’t seem to matter as much when you had this much brute strength and access at your disposal. After carrying off all the huge chunks of stone that had been piled against the door, the warriors worked steadily to chip away at the welded seams. It was honestly impressive how quickly they could do all that.

One moment I had been watching the weird bubbling tanks that populated this huge lab; the next, cheers were going up and a clean breeze blew in. Then it all became a bit of a blur as we left the dark, hidden warren of tunnels and rooms beneath Ahoshaga and entered the pretty part, the town. Here, the crystals glowed like daylight, and the dark rock had been carved to fit over a hundred apartments in a downward spiral toward a pretty fountain.

As we climbed into the inhabited world, Haven’s members came streaming in from the outside to greet us. It soon became a chaotic mass of bodies and happy reunions. I saw Naomi and Krashe collide in a fierce embrace, the pretty, freckled woman crying, her Warlord growling. They disappeared into their home, and I knew that Naomi would be giving her mate her joyful news.

Ekkire snuck outside as soon as he could, clearly eager to be back under the open sky, while everyone else was just happy to be back. Vera and Kalani hugged, our blonde-haired leader crying as she cradled her heavily pregnant belly. I was pulled into a huddle of arms and smiles, but I didn’t miss how Corin hurried Reid into the med bay. His head was already bent close together with that of the white-scaled Shaman, Artek.

That night, a feast was prepared to celebrate the safe return of everyone and to officially welcome Zeidon and Farah to Haven. Naomi would normally be our designated chef, but for obvious reasons, she was absent that night along with her mate. I sat around the fire, enjoying the festivities and the fresh food, but I noticed Corin and Artek’s absence. They were still working on Reid, and it didn’t seem like good news that they were taking that long.

I was tempted to go find him; I mean them. It would be the right thing to do: check on the injured Reid. Bolstered by some of that potent Abseal that Iave brewed, I was almost at the door when I lost my courage. Corin told me to stay away for my own good. I still didn’t knowwhyhe thought that was best, but now was not the time to push him on the subject.

When I heard a very dejected beep from my right, I discovered Triff peeking out at me from the small opening of a cleaning-bot tunnel. “Hey, did they kick you out of the med bay, buddy?” I asked the little bot. All the cleaning bots looked virtually identical, but I still recognized Triff. There was no other bot that could make their sounds have so much meaning.

He hummed as he rushed toward me, circling my ankles and reminding me a little of an excited puppy. I ducked down and stuck out my hand, and he pushed his round dome against my fingers. I wondered if he could feel that. It didn’t seem possible, but he seemed to take comfort from the touch. It made me feel a little better too.

“Come on, you can bunk with me tonight,” I told him, and he squealed, a joyful noise this time. That saved me from embarrassing myself in front of Corin as I drunkenly asked himagainwhy we couldn’t be together. Who needed a man anyway, or a male? I was fine on my own! I was going to crawl into bed for some well-earned rest and forget all about him.

My apartment was empty and cold when I stepped inside. The lights were warm and bright, but they didn’t feel welcoming when everything was so bare and devoid of personal touches. I had a shelf, a desk, a chair, and piles and piles of soft furs, courtesy of all the hunters. Nothing that made this place mine. They were all things given to me by guys who hoped I might be their mate, or they were charity from the mated males.

It was probably the alcohol talking, but I felt extra gloomy as I kicked off my boots and crawled under my furs. The bed was cold, and it wasn’t even a proper bed. The Naga called them nests—round areas made up of hay, fragrant herbs, sticks for the raised edge, and furs to make them comfy. I still hadn’t gotten used to how much space there was inside one, and it made me feel extra lonely.

Triff settled right next to the nest, beeping once before going into hibernation mode. Unlike a flesh-and-blood pet, he didn’t make for good cuddling. At least I knew that he was lonely too, missing Corin like I was.

It felt like I’d only blinked a few times after dimming the lights when a sound jerked me back to full wakefulness. I couldn’t see a thing in this darkness, but I recognized the sound of scales sliding against stone. There was someone in my bedroom. Adrenaline surged, and any sleepiness vanished like snow before the sun. This had never happened before. The aspirants all slept outside the palisade at night. Only the fully trusted males were allowed a home inside the mountain, like Aks and Xorare, but they were a couple, and then there was Corin...

The sound came again, and I jerked upright, my hand slipping beneath the furs to locate my knife. I hadn’t felt the need for that protection in a long while, and I realized it wasn’t there. “Who’s in my room?” I demanded. There was no response, but I saw something glitter, something silver. “Corin? Is that you?”

The answering hiss was the only reply I got. He didn’t say anything, but I knew it was him. My earlier fear forgotten—Corin would never harm me—I leaned over the edge of my nest so I could flick on the little lantern I kept there. The light was just a soft orange glow, but I had to blink a few times before my eyes adjusted.

He was inside my room, but barely, hanging back by the door and raised high on his tail. I’d never seen the expression on his face that he wore now, and I struggled to put words to it. A darkness clung to his eyes that I wasn’t used to seeing. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he looked desperate and horribly sad at the same time. “Did he die?” I asked, my mind leaping to the most obvious reason for that kind of expression.

His head shake was firm, and I blew out a relieved breath. Okay, that was good. Then why the expression? Corin often wasn’t very talkative, but this took the cake. And why was he here? I thought he’d made it clear that we couldn’t see each other, but he was already breaking his own rule. He just hovered there inside my room, mercury eyes watching me and darkness clinging to him like a second skin.

At my wits’ end on what to do, I lifted the fur that covered me and held it open in invitation. I didn’t think he’d come closer, that he’d crawl into the nest with me, but he’d come here for a reason, and maybe that was company. Goosebumps broke out all over my flesh when he jerked forward and started to approach. He was doing it! I liked that, liked that he’d come to me for comfort, but I was confused too.

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