Page 19 of Claimed By the Krijese

My cheeks grow warm.

“I do not require any deal to be made to trust Iris’s word that she will not hide. Hers with you is enough for me.”

“But you need to be able to ask questions as well,” Sorin insists.

Kala’s mouth opens, and I’m sure he’s about to argue further, but I’ve learned it’s best to pick your battles. I shove my arm out toward the elder Krijese. “No, it’s fine. We can shake on it too.”

Slowly, he grips my hand and the slight abrasion of his calloused skin against mine makes a shiver dance across the back of my neck and travel down my spine.

“We have this deal as well,” he says.

I clear my throat. “Looks like it.”

Kala releases the hold he has on me, but his gaze remains. The shadows in his eyes almost appear to shift and swirl. It’s fascinating. He blinks and they stop moving. Either that, or I only imagined the entire thing.

“We should make our way to the line if we wish to eat.”

His words break whatever this weird tension is between us, and I wipe my palm on my pants. It’s a habit I developed at the orphanage anytime my anxiety levels spiked slightly. And as much as I don’t really want to admit it, there’s something about Kala that has me off-kilter. I nearly jump to my feet.

“I’m ready.”

He rises far slower than I did. Same with Sorin, who stares at me with his small head cocked a smidge to the left like he can’t figure out why I’m so twitchy. With me in the lead, I walk to the end of the line. Luckily, it always moves fast so before I know it, we’re through with a plate full of some seasoned meat, a root vegetable, and a type of bread made from a recipe one of the human women has been trying to perfect over the last year I was told.

Kala, Sorin, and I take our seats again. We eat in silence for several minutes before Kala speaks.

“How do you enjoy the food on Tavikh?”

“It’s excellent. Took me a while to get used to some of it, but everything’s been really good.” Way better than the protein bars I’ve eaten my whole life.

“Do you not have this kind of meal where you come from?” Sorin asks.

“We don’t. The part of Earth where I lived was only given these hard bars that provided sustenance, but not much more than that. We had to dip them in water that wasn’t nearly as clean as the river here to soften them enough to not hurt our teeth.”

Sorin’s silver-sparked eyes widen. “Our tribe does not have much, but at least we are able to hunt beasts that provide us meat to eat. Moshi even shares his with Ashrif sometimes. Gogo does with me as well.”

I lean over and stroke the top of his head. “You’re a lucky little boy, that’s for sure.”

“Gogo would never let you go hungry, either, if you were part of our village.”

Of course, I can’t help but glance over at Kala with my cheeks growing warm. He stares back at me with that intent way of his. Funnily enough, I don’t think there’s anything to read into with its intensity. I feel like that’s always how the older Krijese is. But it’s certainly becoming clear that Sorin has some ideas about things. I turn toward the young boy.

“I’m sure your gogo takes excellent care of all members of your tribe.”

“He does. I only wish there was someone to take care of him in the same way.”

It takes every bit of effort I possess to not glance Kala’s way again. “Maybe one day he’ll find someone.”

Sorin shakes his head. “There are no Krijese females left.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Perhaps you?—”

“Sorin,” Kala barks out his son’s name in a harsh enough tone that I flinch and people’s heads turn our direction.

The young Krijese snaps his mouth closed with an audible sound and ducks his head. I feel bad for him, but it’s not my place to get in between father and son, so I keep quiet. Kala doesn’t say another word either. Nor does Sorin. Instead, the three of us eat in an uncomfortable and awkward silence. I know I should attempt some neutral conversation topics, but none come to mind.

Finally, we all finish our meal and Kala holds his plate out to Sorin. “Take these to the fire so they can be washed. If Iris is finished, you may take hers as well.”

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