Page 36 of Aryn

Ronan nods, trying to hide the relief on his face at Aryn’s agreement. “We stay here until morning light, then. No fires. It’s too risky inside, and we don’t know who might be close by. We’ll stay together in this main area.”

We drop our packs in the open space, and I have zero shame as I unroll my sleeping bag and climb inside. “Holy fucking gods, that’s amazing,” I groan as I sink into the furry warmth.

Cameron copies me and rolls his bag out beside mine, then sighs contentedly as he crawls in. Ronan crouches beside him, a fond smile on his lips as he presses a gloved hand against Cameron’s flushed cheeks. “You need to eat something to keep your strength up, mo’sziv. It’ll help you stay warm.”

“Ah, see, I was hoping you’d treat me like a baby bird and just kinda drop it into my mouth,” Cameron says as he burrows deeper into the sleeping bag.

Ronan chuckles as he digs in Cameron’s pack to pull out a few of the meal bars. I watch for a moment, tracking how carefully Ronan takes care of his mate.

Something I haven’t felt in years flares up inside me, longing for the sort of connection that lasts beyond a few fleeting hours of physical release. So many of my friends are finding that kind of happiness now, filling those quietly empty spaces with something more.

More never felt attainable for someone like me, though.

“Are you alright?” Aryn asks from behind me.

I roll over to find him setting up his sleeping bag beside mine. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

He shrugs, opening a bar for himself. “Your energy felt off.”

“My energy,” I snort as I stare at my pack, not wanting to climb out of my pocket of warmth now that I’m in it. Aryn huffs as he passes me a bar, and I nod my thanks as I tear into it.

“Laugh if you want. My kind are very in tune with others’ emotions.”

“Are you now?” I ask through a giant bite.

“We are,” he agrees. “For example, I can almost always tell when you’re irritated.”

“Do I glow red or something like that?”

A smile tugs at his lips as he nods at the moonlight shining off my skin. “Something like that.”

“What about my other moods?”

He shrugs, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Wouldn’t know. Haven’t seen any others yet.”

I bark out a surprised laugh. “Hey now! I expect that kind of bullshit from the others, but not you.”

He gives a noncommittal hum, looking far too pleased with himself as he slips into his sleeping bag. For a moment, we sit in silence, eating and staring out the window. Red moonlight breaks into rays as it drops behind the trees, highlighting the fat flakes of falling snow.

“Three moons is weird as fuck,” I say, glancing between the two giant ones visible from where I’m sitting.

“I imagine it would be for you,” he agrees, “just as it was strange for me to see only one in your world.” He points at the space between the two large ones, where the other just fell beneath the horizon. “Did you notice the smaller one?”

“The pink one?”

“Yeah. That one is called Kuu. She’s known as the Rebel Moon.”

“Why?” I glance over and find a wistful smile on his face.

“According to legend, Kuu was a mighty Dreven warrior. She was a savior of our people.”

“Dreven?” I ask, nodding down his frame. “That’s you?”

“It is, yes. A very long time ago, there was no structure or hierarchy. Whoever was the strongest ruled until someone else took over. They were usually evil… willing to do whatever was necessary to hold their position. They murdered their opposition, plundered and killed for what they needed. If you were in their inner circle, you lived like royalty, but in the outskirts of the cities and beyond the walls, people lived in poverty. Smaller towns struggled, and most villages were barely hanging on.”

“Sounds familiar,” I mutter.

He nods. “It was not very different from the way your world is right now. A ruler took over that was worse than the others, and he developed a… fascination with my people. Our villages were raided and anyone to his liking was taken to be kept as courtesans within the castles.”