“And how about you, Falon, are you looking to tie yourself to our people?”
Cree poses the question as innocently as she has the others, but I sense the trap in it immediately. She doesn’t trust me, and I get the distinct impression she’s looking for leverage. She wants collateral, something she can lord over me. Maybe she needs something that helps her feel confident that the lives of her people will be safeguarded if they fight, or maybe she just likes pulling strings like Wekun. Either way, I instantaneously feel like I’m in some fucked up chess match, which sucks because I’m a checkers kind of girl.
“No,” I admit, in answer to her question. “I’m not interested in tying myself to anyone from any side,” I add.
“Hmmm,” she hums, her tone tinged with a hint of judgement. “I’ve heard as much.”
The flap of the tent opens, and in walks Treno, Zeph and Ryn. Their faces are stony, their movements stiff, and I swear I can hear the wheels spinning in Cree’s head as they’re lined up in front of her. She pushes away from the table and circles them, her purple gaze raking over their figures carefully, as though she’s committing every curve and dip to memory. But I get the distinct impression that she’s watching me more than them.
Does she want a reaction?
“Falon and I were just discussing your potential interest in females in this camp. She stated she didn’t want to speak on your behalf, so I thought it best to go right to the source. You three know how this is done. Our ways haven’t changed in how alliances are formed during times of war. If you want us to fight, then you give us something to fight for,” Cree states, stopping her circling and settling behind Ryn.
Four pairs of eyes land on me, and the sets belonging to Ryn, Zeph, and Treno do not look happy. If they’re trying to send me some kind of subliminal message though, it’s lost on me because these fuckers always look pissed off these days.
“We are all aware of how things are done,” Ryn starts, his tone irritated. “However, we’re all mated and not in a position to make alliances in that way.”
As though Ryn’s words went in one ear and right out the other, Cree steps up behind Ryn and presses into him. Her palms skate across his chest as she wraps her arms around him from behind. Ryn stiffens, and every inch of him radiates how uncomfortable he is, but it seems Cree doesn’t give a shit. I wait for Ryn to grab her hands and shove them away, but he doesn’t. He also doesn’t look over at me as she nuzzles her cheek against his neck.
I look to Zeph and Treno, trying to understand what the fuck this chick’s deal is. Treno just looks blankly at the ground, and Zeph looks conflicted but doesn’t move either.
“What the fuck are we missing here, Pidge?” I ask.
Cree nips at Ryn’s neck, and he flinches but still doesn’t stop her. Anger at not understanding the nuance of what’s happening surges inside of me. Cree is tough as fuck, that’s clear, and she has hair I’m massively jealous of, but the fucked up vibe coming off her right now is not sitting right with me.
“Cree, maybe you can clarify something for me,” I tell her, and her face lifts until she’s no longer looking at Ryn like she’s going to devour him, but her gaze is once again fixed on me. “Where I come from, we do things a bit differently, so you’ll have to forgive my ignorance, but when you talk about how things are done around here, is consent not a factor? I mean, clearly you don’t care about how pathetic or desperate you look pushing up on someone who’s clearly not interested, but is that just you, or is it a Gryphon thing altogether?”
“What did you just say to me?” she asks, evenly pulling her hands from around Ryn and now moving in my direction.
“I asked if you have any shame?” I tell her. “I used more words than that, but I’m happy to dumb it down if you need me to.”
“So you do speak for them then?” she presses.
“I’ll speak on behalf of anyone being pushed into something they clearly aren’t interested in,” I correct her.
“Good,” she responds simply, and then she gestures to the guards in the room who all converge on us.
“Take them to the pit please; I’ll be right behind you,” Cree instructs, and with that I’m suddenly being herded out of the tent and away from the Psycho Syta of this Gryphon camp.
The guys don’t say anything, but they look tense as fuck. I know I’m missing so much right now, but they have looks on their faces that tell me I’m going to get ripped apart if I even ask for them to fill me in on what the fuck is happening, so I just keep it quiet.
Pigeon feels agitated inside of me, so I focus on calming her down as we’re ushered through the camp to a large sunken rink of packed dirt. The word pit is accurate at least.
This should be fun.
14
I look behind me to see Cree steadily trudging our way. And goody, she has what looks to be the entire camp on her heels. She passes me like a force to be reckoned with and hops down into the pit. She starts to untie the armor encasing her body, and I look around a little more cautiously.
If she tries to force herself on anyone, I’ll fucking rip her to shreds. I don’t give a fuck what happens to me in my efforts to do so. It dawns on me that I’m massively outnumbered and, as indignant as I am, I may not be able to stop it, but I shove that
