He brought his hand up to tap a claw at his snout. “She is not your bride, but she is yours? I do not understand.”
For the first time since Reia’s arrival, Orpheus eyes changed to a bright green. A warning rumbled from within his chest, burning with possessiveness and malice.
Her light footsteps pattered over the ground, and he turned his head to watch her approach them.
“Could you sit?” she asked the Mavka while holding strips of torn cloth. “It’ll make it easier to reach you.”
He immediately did as he was told, behaving like a well-trained dog as he folded his legs. Orpheus’ claws dug into his palms when he sniffed her as she wrapped cloth over his – bare of clothing – neck, shoulders, and chest.
She is touching another. The green darkened into a different emotion; one he hadn’t experienced in an exceptionally long time but felt like acid in his throat.
He could tell by the hum that came from him as he stared at Orpheus that he was pleased with how close she was to him, touching him as she tended to his wounds. That he very much knew Orpheus was displeased.
“Our skull can be broken, Mavka,” he threatened with spite.
“She said she will be upset if you kill me.”
She turned her head back to look over her shoulder with a frown, not seeming to understand the game he was playing with Orpheus.
“Are you threatening him?”
He was unashamed as he said, “Yes.”
“Well, don’t. I’m only doing this because you wouldn’t listen to me and hurt him.”
The yellow of joy brightened in the Mavka’s orbs at Orpheus’ grumble of defeat. I want to crush it. It’ll feel good. Break it into millions of tiny little pieces.
An idea lit in his mind once she was done.
“Reia,” he said to get her attention.
“Hm?” She turned to him, placing her hands on her hips while giving him a disgruntled expression.
“I am also wounded.”
“What? Where?” She quickly came forward to place her hands on him to check his body. Her instant concern gratified him. “I didn’t think he’d gotten you back.”
“I did not get them from him.” He showed her his bare hands since he hadn’t left with his gloves. He no longer needed to wear them since Reia accepted his body. “I got them getting your honey.”
“Aww, you were stung by the bees?” She brushed her thumbs over his hands, finding little spikes embedded into his skin. She tsked. “Come, let’s sit you down so that I can remove them.”
Yellow flashed in his own orbs when the Mavka looked disappointed in her care for him. She hadn’t just touched his wounds, but held his hands and patted his body.
They didn’t actually hurt that much.
“Stay,” he warned when he got up to follow them.
“No,” Reia rebutted, tapping him in the stomach. “He can come. He shouldn’t have to sit near the circle anymore.”
He sighed. I have to be good. Cannot crush his skull, cannot tell her no. Reia’s happiness mattered more than his own.
Gesturing for Orpheus to sit on the porch steps, she stood between his knees and cupped one of his hands so she could use her nails to remove the bee stingers that remained in his skin. His fur and shirt had saved the rest of him from being stung.
The Mavka was crouched into a seated position only a few feet away as he watched them with interest. His head turned one way and then the other while examining them together.
“Anymore?” she asked when she was done with the other hand.
Orpheus began to open his jaw. “I tried to eat a few to get rid of them.”
“You got your tongue stung?”
He nodded.
“Okay, fine. Only because you worked so hard to get it for me.”
Slipping his tongue forward, he opened his mouth a little wider and Reia started checking it for stingers.
“What are you doing?” The Mavka asked with a tone of disbelief. “You are reaching into where he eats!”
“She trusts I will not hurt her. Don’t you, Reia?”
She nodded as she removed the stingers one-by-one.
“Yes, I guess that’s true. Why else would I reach into a Duskwalker’s mouth?”
“This is not believable,” the Mavka said, raising hand to tap at his snout.
Orpheus withdrew his tongue from the air when she thought she was done, and he checked by sliding it against the roof his mouth.
“Thank you,” he said, before he leaned forward and licked her right underneath her jaw.