Page 16 of The Incendiary

“It’s just Ary,” I decided. “If you’re going to talk to me, you’ll call me Ary or nothing at all.”

“If you insist.”

I watched as she licked at where the snake wound had been. “Shera, what the hell is going on?”

She stopped grooming and stared at me. “As I have said, I have deemed you worthy of my voice, Aryella Jay S⁠—”

“I heard that part!” I steadied myself with both palms as the world spun like I was drunk. “Can you hear my thoughts?”

“Yes. They’re really loud. You’ll need to work on that.” She strolled with grace along the nearby stream before drinking from it. The forest was growing blurrier by the second. I leaned back against a thick tree trunk.

“Did my blood just heal you?” I asked mind-to-mind.

“It would appear so.”

“You don’t sound very surprised.”

“Surprised?” She audibly chuffed. “Hardly. You are Made.”

“I’m what?”

No answer. Shera finished lapping up water and sauntered to where I’d flung my bag, then hooked the strap in her teeth and dragged it toward me.

“How long have you been able to talk to me?”

“I could have opened the door on my end at any time. I’ve been listening.” She dropped my bag and nudged it closer with her nose. “Eat. Your healing has made you weak.”

I withdrew some berries and jerky with trembling hands. “The snake… I told it to stop, and it obeyed me. Was that Soltum’s power?”

“Probably,” she answered, unnervingly nonchalant as she continued grooming. “Though currently, you are drained. Thankfully, my magic is strengthening our connection while yours is weak. So, as I said, eat.”

I shoved some jerky in my mouth. At least she and I could always be connected, even at my weakest. “Why haven’t I been able to talk to other animals like this?” I asked.

She paused her busy tongue and peered up at me. “Have you tried?”

I frowned. Fair point. “The snake obeyed my command, but I commanded you to stop, too. Why didn’t you obey?”

“Umbras do not obey.”

I softened my inner voice. “But you would have died if I hadn’t healed you.”

“Not my finest moment.” She stretched her warm body along my leg, rested her head on my thigh, and closed her eyes. “And I didn’t die, Ary. I’m with you.”

I’d consciously aimed to arrive before Commencement started to account for any delays, and I was glad we did. We rested an extra day, avoiding danger beneath a small, moss-covered cliff. I made Shera promise to let me handle anything we crossed. She was only eight months old, impulsive and inexperienced against anything larger than a rodent.

“He told me to protect you,” she reminded me while pacing nearby. “Not the other way around.”

Her claws gripped the dirt with every prowling stride. Her adolescent body was lanky and lean, but thickening muscles stretched and flexed as she paced. Damond said she’d surpassed the size of a full-grown mountain lion at six months. I could only imagine her maximum potential.

“Well, he’s not here,” I retorted. That reality stung more than I cared to admit. She must have sensed my turmoil, because she didn’t push back. “You’ll need to hunt near the Barracks where I can hear you, but stay hidden from others. I doubt any of them have ever seen an umbra, and I can’t risk them trying to hurt you until I know I can keep you safe.”

“Fine, but I don’t like it. I’m meant to be by your side.”

My whole body throbbed with pain and exhaustion, but I didn’t regret saving her. And now that I could talk to her? There was so much I wanted to know.

“Please tell me what your life was like before he found you.”

She paused her prowl, violet eyes flickering in my direction. “I don’t like to think about that much, but I was… hungry. And cold.”