Page 46 of Of Rime and Ruin
I smile.Fixed.
With a quiet snarl, he slips into the night, leaving me to chew the bones.
***
Isummonhimthefollowing night. Then the next; each night, he hunts for me. Silverfish, grayfish, and bottomfish. He drops them in my cage, then watches me with dark eyes, making sure I eat something before he leaves.
He crouches there now, squatting on his rear legs. His muscular body crowds out the low light coming from the tunnel behind. His shadow drips across the floor, tail flicking in that anxious rhythm of his.
I have fixed, he says.Sunfish should eat.
A few days ago, his mind could only form singular words. Now he’s stringing several together. I smile. Perhaps our exchanges have been good for him, too.
I lift the carcass to my mouth and puncture its skin with my teeth. He grumbles in approval.
What other tricks can you do?I ask him.All this fish has been great, but I’m awfully bored in here.
His thoughts flex around my request, confused.
I try again.
Backflip?I assess the size of the tunnel and change my mind.Not enough room. What if you brought me a game to play? Or a book?
He brightens at the final word.
Sunfish wants book, he says.I will find.
He slithers out of the tunnel, sneaking past a sleeping Vaughn.
Every day is the same: brush frost from my scales, chat with Perrin, dig a little more of the tunnel, then summon the Beast. The hole in my ceiling is now deep enough to fit my torso. A few more days of work, and I could fit my tail, too.
The exercise is good for me, and the Beast keeps me fed. But my mind needs more stimulation. I can only stare at the same wall for so long before I drive myself insane.
He returns a while later with a stack of tablets. Crouching to avoid the low ceiling, he stops at my cage, then passes them to me one by one.
Books for Sunfish, he says with a note of pride.
I send my gratitude through our connection as I shuffle through the tablets, skimming their titles. A few grimoires, a diary, and a book on ancient curses. Odd choices for entertainment.
Any romance, by chance?
The Beast wrinkles his nose.Romance?His thoughts test the meaning of the word.
You know. Kissing books. Happily ever after.
Kissing?
I pucker my lips, demonstrating a kiss.
The Beast snorts.I do not kiss.
I cover my mouth to keep from laughing aloud.That’s okay. It’s the characters in the book who kiss. You don’t have to.
Kissing…His confusion spreads.…is good?
Very good.I grin at him, at the same time searching my memories for a better demonstration. His thoughts swirl eagerly as I impress the memory of my first kiss.
It happened under the shade of the sweetnut trees. I was cracking open a nut. Or trying at least. I couldn’t find the opening. My blade was too dull. His shadow slid across my face, and I looked up into the setting sun. I was ten years old, but he was older by a few years. A hunter. Handsome, in a freckled guppish kind of way. He had dark curls, like mine.
