Page 83 of Phoenix's Fire

"And the conversation was so riveting that you ignored the birds?" I asked.

Zasen ducked his head. "Yeah. I mean, she was kinda hinting that she's into you, Kanik, so I was trying to encourage her."

"Me?"

Rymar chuckled, the asshole.

Zasen shot him a warning look, then turned back to me. "She says you are kind, and fit, and intelligent. She says you're..." He blew out a breath. "A good prospect, or something like that. I told her she was allowed to experiment with all of this. You know, kissing, hand-holding, and those things. I mean, not that I named them off, but that was basically what we were talking about."

"Why are you pushing her at him?" Rymar asked. "I thought you were into the girl?"

"And Ayla clearly doesn't think of me that way," Zasen explained. "She doesn't look at me with those little smiles she gives him - and we all know she's not going to have more than one partner, if that."

"True," I agreed. "I just figured she had more in common with you. I mean, she becomes so brave with you."

"And she feels safe with you," Zasen told me. "Kanik, she likes when you touch her. She tenses up every time I do it. I think that says more than anything else."

"She told me it was improper, remember?" I shot back.

"Hey," Rymar said, stopping our debate. "Enough. Ayla's worried about enough. She doesn't need to add men to the mix. That she's relaxing should be enough for both of you. Right now, her attention is on Meri and helping her friend learn as much as she has, even if Ayla still has a lot more of that Mole shit to let go of."

So I flicked a finger at Zasen. "He said she got hurt." Then I headed back into the kitchen to check on the water.

"By the bear?" Rymar asked.

"It's not bad," Zasen promised. "My side's worse."

"You got hurt?" Rymar huffed, and I heard his chair creak as he got up.

Shaking my head at them, I pulled down a pair of cups, found the tea leaves, then poured the hot water over it all. They'd dropped their voices, but what little I could hear made me think Rymar was checking Zasen's wound. Deciding to beextra nice, I opened the pantry and found the bottle of pills Zasen kept there. Pulling one out, I palmed that, grabbed the cups and headed back in.

"Take this," I told him, offering a cup, then the pill.

"Thanks," he said, flicking a hand for Rymar to go sit down again. "Ayla's going to need one as well." He lifted a brow at me pointedly.

"Don't worry, I'll chew him out," Rymar assured me. "Take her some water as well."

"She's still in bed," I countered.

"So knock first," Rymar said. "If Zasen was in there, she's dressed."

"She's dressed," Zasen promised.

So I set my cup of tea on the coffee table, headed back to the kitchen, and got another pill, along with a glass of water. Ignoring the guys - and the way they both grinned at me - I carried those up the stairs, then lightly tapped on Ayla's door.

"Ayla?" I called through the wood.

"Mm?" she murmured from the other side.

It was loud enough that I knew it was meant for me, but that wasn't the same as an invitation. "I have medicine," I told her.

"Come in," she mumbled.

Slowly, I cracked open her door, giving her the chance to change her mind. "You decent?" I asked through the gap.

"I..." Cloth rustled. "Yes."

So I opened the door the rest of the way and stepped in. Her blonde hair was a mess. Her nightgown had thin straps over the shoulders, and while she'd pulled a corner of the blanket over her lap, I could still see her bare legs hanging out from the bottom.

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