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TALODUS
DAY SEVENTY-ONE
As the days fade away, each morning becomes increasingly more difficult to leave Ada. I feel as if I should be there to protect her, but she’s also made it abundantly clear that she doesn’t need us to hover over her, acting as if we’re helicopters.
I don’t know what a helicopter is, but when Connak asked William, the Earth native, had doubled over in laughter.
Madigan was the only person who would explain it to us... And I was the first to admit we have been hovering. A bit. Not all the time. But a lot of the time...
It’s a strange situation to be in. Ada appears so fragile, delicate by Mongrel standards. But she’s incredibly strong, intelligent, and unkillable. Immortal. Even more so than Isolde, according to the queen, though the guys and I aren’t sure what question to ask to get Isolde to elaborate on what she means.
I wander to the far edge of the catacombs, waiting for my patrol partner to show up. I stop beside Garben, bumping him with my elbow.
“Are you waiting, too?” I inquire, knowing he is.
“Yes. For you,” he gruffly replies. “Did you want to skip through the forest and pick flowers for your lover? Or can we get to work?”
I chuckle. “We can just walk, but I’ll save the flowers for our return trip.”
He snorts, grinning. “Pick some for my love while you’re at it. I’ll tell her you helped me.”
“Are you in trouble again?” I ask as we begin our trek to the barrier.
We’ve extended our rotations and doubled our patrols since the rise in beast attacks. Not that the number is significantly higher than the busiest time of year, but the attacks have become more brutal. Ada’s theory of cycles and the months makes sense when we take into account the major attacks. But when she factored in sightings and escapes, it made less sense.
“I’m not her favorite today,” Garben tells me with a wry smile. “But I’ve always been the trickster in our household, so I don’t know why she’s mad.”
I glance at him as we cross over the stone wall. “What did she say?”
“This is no time to be out at the tavern all night, Gar,” he mocks, pitching his voice too high.
“Anything interesting going on there?” I ask, trying not to sound too interested.
I don’t want him teasing me about not socializing because I have a lover. Being in the crowd still doesn’t appeal to me.
He shrugs lazily. “Just the old fisherman spinning his tale of a beast attack that cost him his daughter and her grandfather.”
I nod. “That did happen.”
“Aye. We know,” he states. “We’ve been keeping a check on him. He feels as if he’s the reason they’re dead. It was he who was injured on the boat that led them to shore earlier than planned.”
“I’ll take Ada by to see him,” I mention. “She has a way with devastation that makes you feel like you’re not alone.”
“We’ve heard about her, too,” he retorts, gracing me with a sly grin. “Seen her around. You should bring her into the tavern for the men to meet.”
I cough. “Ecaeris is worried she’ll start a fight.”
“With who?” Garben asks, voice full of humor. “We’re all well behaved.”
“No one said she was,” I mutter.
He full-belly laughs. “Kerr has said as much. The consorts enjoy her company.”
“They like to watch her make their son squirm. She has a way of challenging the prince as well,” I inform him. “She gets under his skin.”
“And he’s worried about her?” Garben huffs. “She’ll find more friends than foes in the tavern. Especially after breaking the hearts of every single woman in the village.”
I roll my eyes, a terrible habit I’ve picked up from Ada. “No one is heartbroken.”
