Souls of Aredyrah 3 - The Taking of the Dawn by Tracy A. Akers Page A

thought him “the worst.” Lyal and the others thought Reiv a
man. But Reiv did not feel like a man at all. Right now he felt
like a boy—a pure, stupid, inexperienced boy.
    He marched on furiously, turning his anger
toward the women who had rejected him, and funneling even more of
it toward Lyal who had more than his share of partners. What made
Lyal so special? Reiv wondered. The bastard was good looking
enough, but that arrogance of his. It wasn’t fair that girls turned
their eyes from Reiv when that conceited rooster named Lyal
strutted by. Maybe it was Lyal’s confidence; he did have a
confident walk. Perhaps Reiv could practice his walk…and his talk.
Reiv ground his teeth. Women were so much work. Why were they so
much work? Regardless, he would save himself no longer. He would be
more like Lyal. He would strut and brag; he would be a rooster,
whatever it took. Yes, he determined, he would have his way with
the first girl that came along.
    And then she came along.
    Reiv recognized the young woman strolling
toward him; she had commented to him once that she liked the kohl
design he painted around his eyes. She wasn’t beautiful, not the
type he was normally drawn to, but at least she was female. And
right now any female would do.
    “Hello, Reiv,” the girl chirped as she drew
near.
    He stopped, facing her, and smiled his most
charming smile. But his charm evaporated in a hurry when he
realized he did not remember her name. “Hello, um…hello.”
    “Cora,” she said. “My name is Cora.”
    “Oh yes…of course. I knew that—Cora,” he
said.
    He ran his eyes over her, assessing her
features. She was an unusual looking girl, with a friendly,
freckled face, and hair the color of straw. Her body was round and
ample, especially her breasts, and Reiv found his attentions
lingering on them for a moment.
    “What are you staring at?” Cora asked, her
expression indicating she knew full well what.
    Reiv felt his face blush. “Nothing…I
mean…sorry…I was just going to my hut. Would you like to—would you
like to—” His words froze. Gods, was he insane?
    “Join you?” she asked with a playful arch of
her brow.
    Reiv’s heart raced. Yes, that was what he was
going to say, but now that she had said it in his place, he could
not help but wonder what she meant. Did she mean she wanted to join
him, or join with him? And what if he misunderstood? The way
the village gossiped about him, why, he would be a laughing stock.
Reiv felt a case of nerves gurgle in his belly. “Would you like to
see my bump?” he blurted.
    “Your what?”
    “My hump. I mean, my hut.”
    “Well, of the choices you’ve offered, I would
have to go with the hut,” Cora said.
    Take her to the hut. Just do it. Reiv
grabbed her hand, pulling her behind him as he marched on. Perhaps
this really was going to be his lucky day. But as he headed in the
planned direction, he realized he didn’t have a hut to take her to.
Not one to call his own, anyway. And what did he expect to do with
her when he got her there? He didn’t have a proper bed, but even if
he did, there was little chance for privacy. Brina would be there,
and probably Torin with his second haul of the day. No, the most
Reiv could hope to offer the girl was a mug of tepid tea.
    “Reiv! Reiv!” Kerrik came bounding up, his
hair wet and plastered against his head, his feet frosted with
sand. He grinned and flipped a large pink shell into the air. A bag
filled with even more was clenched in his other hand. “You’ll not
find one bigger than this, Reiv!” he said, beaming. “No sense in
you even going out today.”
    Reiv’s mind scattered to retrieve a response
to the challenge (and prepare for a defense of his rushing along
with Cora in hand.) But he had no time to respond before Kerrik
asked, “Are you two heading to the hut?”
    Reiv felt flustered. “Wha—I mean…uh…no, of
course not,” he stammered.
    “We’re not?” Cora asked, turning her eyes to
Reiv.