Chapter 13

Iwas tired from all the walking we had done and I wasn't sure how Sorcha had done it the first time as a regular girl. Even stopping to rest for lunch and sleeping at night, my legs still hurt.

It had been two days since I took her flute away from her and told her not to play it. Sorcha was a fucking imp. I honestly didn't know how Belisarus kept her contained to just Idric Island, much less their yard. She didn't listen to a damned thing I said, and I was pretty sure she was plotting against me.

Sorcha hadn't run off and nearly exposed herself again, but any time I tried to get Sorcha alone, either to teach her or talk to her, I somehow ended up alone with Esylle. And she'd be there close enough to watch with this look on her face like that's what she intended.

She was also getting bolder with her words. If Tollam started taunting her, she had some pretty creative insults to throw his way that usually involved goats. Esylle and I couldn't figure out where she even learned those words because Belisarus never used them around us. She finally confessed to us that if she thought Belisarus was being unfair, she'd steam the sweat in his socks and underwear until he had to run from the room swearing to take them off.

We were following a river that emptied into the ocean we'd be crossing to get to Idric. Everyone was fishing, foraging, or watching Esylle. I needed five minutes to myself, so I wandered slightly away from everyone to sit beneath a tree to gather my thoughts.

I was surprised when Sorcha materialized out of nowhere to approach me. I really didn't understand why she was staring at me like that or why she was here instead of gathering food. She looked like she was in pain, confused, but she also had another look she shouldn't have because I was much too old for her.

Sorcha came to sit by me and didn't say anything. I was going to let her explain what was going on, but I was shocked when she slid into my lap and started kissing me.

She was too young for me, and she could possibly be the love of my life's missing daughter. I kept trying to push her away, and she kept trying to kiss me. She reminded me of the monkey that lived at the brothel that had given me a room in exchange for protecting their girls when I first got banished to Guttertown.

"What are you doing?" I demanded, trying to shove her away again.

"I don't know. I have no idea what's happening. I need to and you smell right," she said, trying to kiss me again.

I knew exactly what this was. And I was going to have words with Belisarus for forcing me to be the one to explain this to her. Esylle didn't deal with this, but Sorcha wasn't just Tempris like Esylle was.

"Sorcha, when is your name day?" I asked.

"I don't know. I've asked, and he refused to tell me," she said, still trying to kiss me.

I had to pick her up and physically remove her from my lap to get her to stop. And I felt terrible about it because she seriously had no idea what was happening to her right now, but I couldn't help her. I didn't know why Belisarus kept so many secrets from her, but this was a basic part of her physiology that she should have been told about.

"You can't do this, not with me, not with anyone else here. Your body wants to mate because you are that age now. If you had been raised with the tribes, you would be married and there would be a ceremony. You only want to do this with me because I smell like a compatible mate to you. I don't think you even like me. I know I said not to, but you need to transform yourself into something small and stay that way until this feeling passes for you. It should go away in a few days."

I expected her to respond so I could explain what mating was because I don't think Belisarus even did that. I was going to strangle him when I saw him again. I didn't care how old or sick he was. He should have prepared Sorcha for this.

But she didn't even ask. She flashed me this look like I'd slapped her and disappeared into something small like I told her to. I could have sat here and tried to explain what was happening to her, but I'd learned enough about the kid by now to know that she never stuck around if she was hurt or angry. She'd probably flown off and was long gone by now.

I walked back over to the river where everyone else was. I didn't tell them what happened or why we'd have to stay here for a few days. It would upset Esylle to know what she was going through. The soldiers had all been respectful and had been treating her like a little sister so far, but I didn't need any of them getting her pregnant because they thought they were helping. She was old enough physically to have a child, but Belisarus hadn't prepared her for that either. She needed time to just live first.

I hoped Sorcha would control herself and stay small until this passed. I didn't know how she felt or what she was going through since this wasn't something humans experienced. I hoped the reason she came to me and not the other men, who wouldn't have known what was going on and told her no, was because the rest of them did not smell compatible to her.

There wasn't much about this in my family's journals. I knew it happened, but I didn't know how long it lasted. Hopefully, it passed soon, and I could explain to her what happened to her while she was rational and not operating on instinct.

And hopefully, it didn't last so long, we missed the last boat that ran to Idric.