Page 27 of Claimed By the Krijese

“Perhaps.”

My hold on his loosens and I playfully smack him on the chest. “You’re a jerk.”

“Perhaps.”

I snort and shake my head before turning to glance at the target again. I’m stopped by the sight of Sorin staring at me and his dad. The silver speck in his eyes sparkles and shines brightly. Crap. He’s going to read more into that kiss than he should. It was an impulsive move I should have stopped.

“Iris, you kissed Gogo.”

“Yes, I suppose I did.”

He cocks his head. “Does that mean you have affection for him?”

This is exactly the reason why I’m glad Sorin hadn’t seen the earlier kiss. Why couldn’t I have reined in the impulse this time? Of course, Kala remains quiet and leaves me to explain things.

“Sometimes humans get over excited about certain things and they express that excitement in odd ways. Kissing is kind oflike crying. We cry when we’re sad or happy. There are a lot of meanings behind actions.” I already know my answer isn’t going to satisfy Sorin before he speaks.

“How do you know what meaning to give an action if it has many meanings?”

“It’s called context.”

“What is context?”

He doesn’t pronounce the word like I do, but I still understand it. How do I explain context to a ten-year-old? “It sort of means the situation where this particular action happens. When you wanted to kiss me, it’s because you wanted to show your affection. I kissed your gogo because I was excited that I accomplished a task I didn’t think I could. It was just a demonstration of that excitement.”

Sorin continues staring and it’s clear the wheels in his head keep turning. “I have never seen any of the human females in the Tavikhi village give a kiss to anyone when they are excited.”

“What I believe Iris is saying is that the kiss was an accident,” Kala finally adds his own thoughts to the conversation.

That’s not at all what I was saying, and I’m annoyed at him for putting words into my mouth. But I let it go, because adult emotions are complicated and I don’t know how to explain them to myself, let alone to a little boy.

“Yes, it was an accident and won’t happen again.” I glare at the older Krijese and hope I’m getting my point across.

Except Kala won’t meet my eyes. The only person he’ll look at is Sorin.

“I still do not understand.”

“You do not need to understand. All you need to know is what Iris says. It will not happen again.” Kala walks over to the target and yanks the axe from it. “I do not think it is a good idea for us to teach Iris how to throw. Take your weapon and we will escort her back to the Tavikhi village.”

What? Is this because we kissed?

“But Gogo.”

“No, Sorin. I have made a decision and it is not for you to question. Now do as I say.”

He takes the axe from his father and sheaths it without another word. Kala turns to me. “We will go.”

“Lead the way.”

I’m not going to argue in front of Sorin, but I do plan on finding a way to get the older Krijese alone so he and I can have a little chat. He can’t accuse me of giving up quickly on a task and then turn around and do the exact same thing. Especially when it’s an issue that’s far more important than throwing some weapon at a target.

Kala practically stomps across the field toward the trees and the path hidden within it. Sorin falls in line next to me behind his father and takes my hand. He’s so dejected, my heart aches at his downcast head. I squeeze his fingers. It’s the only reassurance I can offer at the moment.

The walk down the hill takes far more time than it did going up or maybe it just feels that way because the silence is so damn uncomfortable. I’d enjoyed the fresh air of the day as well as the beautiful weather and the clear lavender sky. If Tavikh hascloudy days I’ve yet to see one. The sun has shined brightly since the ship arrived. I’m grateful to be on this planet for that alone. It’s also a long trudge through the grass field. Or bari field, according to the Tavikhi. It’s a pretty yellow color and looks less like grass and more like cotton balls on skewers. Yet another different, but lovely view Tavikh offers. We might have been played by Earth’s government in regards to many things, but at least they offered us a beautiful planet to settle on. It could have been a far worse place where the ship brought us.

Just past the field, a weird bird call resonates in the air. Kala responds with a rough growl. The trees rustle and a large body falls out of one to land on two feet. I screech and jump back, dragging Sorin with me until I recognize that it’s a Tavikhi warrior. My racing heart takes forever to slow to a regular rhythm.

“Greetings, Evren.” Kala fists his chest. “We ended our target practice early, and I am bringing Iris back.”

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