"Hey," Gloom calls out in protest. "I have very good hearing."
I don't take it back, though. I just wink at my mate, who's squinting as Sterre thoroughly licks her. She hugs one of the big, opalescent paws, and I'm absurdly grateful for that creature. Does she try to eat me sometimes when Alice and I are in bed and I make her cry out particularly loudly? Sometimes. Does she look as if she wants to chew Gloom's face off? Most of the time. But that carinoux loves Alice more than anything, and it's incredibly protective. It found the trail of her captor when I was still scanning muddy riverbanks for footprints.
That carinoux is part of the family, as far as I'm concerned.
It's hard to walk a few feet away from Alice, but I don't want her to have to look at the remains of her captor. Sterre's ripped off most of his limbs, and she doesn't need to see that. She also doesn't need to see that I stabbed him in the face thirteen times, because I don't want her to think I'm too brutal. Sometimes you have to kill people in my line of work, but…thirteen times might have been excessive, even for me. I just wanted to make sure he never, ever, ever keffing touched my Sunshine ever again.
Gloom stands near the fire, his hands on his skirted hips. He looks sweaty and tired, and I remind myself that he kept up with me, even when I was frantically running up and down the riverbanks, looking for signs of my mate. I clap a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you. Even if we didn't stick to the plan, it was still a good one."
He nods, looking pleased. "I'm glad I could help."
"Let's put out that fire," I say, gesturing at it. "Just in case anyone else is in the area. We need to scout for footprints and we need to get rid of the bodies. We'll stay here tonight and set off in the morning."
He nods. "You want me to get rid of the bodies?" He looks resigned, as if he's determined to take the worst jobs just so I'll keep him around.
I shake my head. "I'll do it if you don't mind scouting. I'd like to stay close to Alice."
"Is that her name? I thought it was Sunshine."
Kef. Well, I guess it doesn't matter. We're stuck with him now. "It's Alice. And you're Salvotor, right?"
His smile broadens.
74
ALICE
Sterre licks all the skin off my ear, my cheek, and then gets started on my arm. I don't mind in the slightest. I just hug every part of her that I can, happy to see her again. I was so afraid when that turtle bastard took me and Sterre wasn't around. At first I thought something terrible had happened to her, but now I realize he must have distracted her by throwing rocks into the woods and used the river to hide his scent. Bastard. "It's not your fault," I tell Sterre as she licks my fingers. "He was an asshole, but he's dead now."
After I put my skirt on, I pull the harness off of Sterre, noticing that when Gloom returns, he's still layered in my extra skirts. He seems to be in a bright mood and helps Kas finish cleaning up the campsite. I can't help but notice that Kas seems to have a bit more affection for the guy, even calling him Salvotor. In a way, I guess it makes sense. He helped Kas save me. He's as much a part of our team now as Sterre is.
"You want to hear my bird calls, Alice?" Salvotor races up to me once the last traces of the camp have been removed and swept over. It now looks like no one has been here, which, I guess, is the point. "I was doing some great ones to distract the moden while Killer moved in."
"No thank you. Maybe tomorrow." I give him a weary smile. The sun is going down and I'm just…exhausted.
Kas senses this, too. He claps Salvotor on the shoulder. "Think you can take first watch tonight?"
Salvotor nods eagerly. "I'll give you a bird call if I see anything!" And he lifts his head and warbles, the sickly, dying sound tearing through the jungle just like it did before.
"Or just yell," Kaspar says. "I'm going to sit with my mate for a while."
The gladiator nods and races off like an eager child, and Sterre tenses, her prey drive activated. I immediately wrap my arms around her. "No chasing! He's on our side!"
Kas drops down next to me at the cradle of the roots. "I should probably talk to him about that. I think the only reason she didn't eat him was because she was too worried about you to stop and take a bite out of him. Now that you're safe, I don't know if he'll be so lucky."