Page 44 of Claimed By the Krijese

Sheis one of the most lovely thingsIhave ever seen.

More people arrive to the fire and once everyone is present, we form our line to be served. It is the best morning meal I have eaten, because it is done with my kit and mate at my side. Iris and Sorin speak of their plans for the day, although they are more ideas of things for them to do than actual plans. Once we have finished eating and cleaned up, we return to our tent so I can get my war axe and prepare to leave.

Iris helps me secure the sheath around my chest and shoulders. Although I have done this action countless times, I enjoy herassistance and the casual touches she gives me. She lays her hands on me when we have finished.

“You’re going to be careful, right?”

“Aye.”

She gives me a kiss and draws Sorin into her side. He leans into her and rubs his cheek up and down it like he does to my chest when he is feeling affectionate.

“I will return near the evening meal.”

Iris nods and I must force my feet to move because I do not want to leave them. It is a first for me. This need to remain with my mate. As much as I wish otherwise, I quickly exit our dwelling and lope into the forest before I talk myself into staying.

Chapter 21

Iris

Watching Kala leave is harder than I expect. I know I shouldn’t worry, but I can’t help it. In such a short time he’s already come to mean so much to me. It’s not quite love, but I care deeply.

“He will be well, Momo.”

I glance down at Sorin and hug him tightly against me, once again enjoying hearing him call me that. “I know, sweetie.”

Okay, no more moping. “How about you show me where all the supplies and medicine are stored?”

“We do not have much.”

Kala warned me the tribe is only surviving so I’m not surprised by the response. “That’s all right. We’ll take inventory and make a list of things that would help.”

Sorin and I walk outside and he leads me to a small tent not far from where the food stores tent sits. He folds aside the door flap and I step inside the darkened interior. My heart drops into mystomach at how right they both are. There is hardly anything in here. A few wooden chests and that’s about it. Sorin comes in a few seconds later holding what resembles a lit candle which helps.

I open the lid of the first chest, which contains maybe a dozen folded furs and hides. “Where are the dreri hides we skinned yesterday?”

“They were most likely given to the elders. While it is warm enough when the sun is out, it is still too cold once the moons rise for some of them. Gogo makes sure they get extra furs when he can.”

I make a mental note to check in with them and make sure they received the extras. No one is going to go without blankets if I have anything to say about it. We move to the next chest and inside it are clothes. Pants, really, since that’s all the Krijese wear—even the few remaining females, which took me slightly off guard the first time. Most of them appear new, but a few pieces look a bit tattered.

“What about these?”

Sorin glances over at the pair I hold up. “After King Armik and the rest of the warlords attacked the Tavikhi and were killed, Gogo and I—along with a few other tribe brothers—returned to our old village and raided tents. We gathered as much stuff as we could carry and brought it back here. This is what remains.”

My god. I try to keep my expression neutral, but I’m not sure I succeed.

“Is there any medicine?”

Sorin shrugs, no doubt a gesture he picked up from the human women. Or perhaps Cecily and Carter. “We do not have much of that either. It is why Gogo had to take me to the Tavikhi village when I almost died even though he did not wish to. It is where I met Healer Sage. She saved my life.”

I gape at him. I knew Sage was his favorite, but I didn’t know why. “You almost died?”

What would this world be like without Sorin in it? I don’t want to imagine. He nods.

“Last cold season. She said I had a disease similar to what humans get. I do not remember what it is called though. It is a difficult word.”

“What were your symptoms?” Maybe that will narrow it down.

“I could not breathe, and there were crackling sounds in my chest. She made me drink some type of healing liquid to help my cough and she forced me to lean over a basin of boiling water with some herb that smelled bad. They placed a fur over my head to keep the heat within.”

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