I nudge Josie with my knee. “What did you tell them?” I ask.
“Well, I tried to think of a way to get them out of your hair without hurting their feelings. And so when I woke up…I told them about the Miss America pageant.”
Huh?
My confusion must show on my face. Josie grins. “A competition,” she says. “They’re going to compete against each other to show you who is the strongest and most clever of the lot. Right now, they’re competing to see who can down the snow-cat with the nicest pelt since we’re low on those.”
Snow-cats are soft and good for baby blankets. I look at Kira’s little Kae and realize that must be what inspired this particular contest. “And tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow, it will be all about who can refill the dung chip baskets the fastest.” She nods solemnly and pulls something out of her pocket. It’s a bright red seed, painted and dried out, probably from the holidays. “I kept a bunch of these because they were so pretty, and now each day that someone wins, they’re going to receive one. And each task is going to keep them very busy, keep the cave replenished, and keep them out of your hair.”
I grip Josie’s hand. “I think you’re a genius…except I want to know what they win at the end of this.” Because my terrified mind can’t focus on anything else.
“Oh. Didn’t I say? You and I are going to the Elder’s Cave in a few weeks for the language dump, and they’re fighting for the honor of escorting us. It’ll mean lots of alone time together.” She grimaces slightly. “It was the only thing I could think to offer them, short of marrying you off to the victor. It had to be a prize worth the struggle.”
A few days with one ardent suitor instead of all of them? I’m game for that. I squeeze her hand tightly. “Thank you so much, Josie.” I feel like I can breathe. It’s wonderful. They’re going to be gone all day and I can just relax.
“I’m surprised you got them to agree to this, Josie,” Kira murmurs.
She wiggles her eyebrows. “I went to each one and played it up as an Earth custom…which it is. Sort of. And I told them each that the others were doing it, and if it was good enough for them…” she spreads her hands.
“I didn’t hear any of that,” Kira murmurs. “Aehako won’t like deceiving them. He understands their point of view a little too much, I think.”
I’m a little less eager to hear her quiet rebuke. Her mate Aehako is the nicest guy, but he’s also the interim leader of the South cave and takes his job very seriously. Plus, I think of the months that he chased after Kira. Yeah, he would not be a fan of a bogus competition.
“Then you most definitely did not hear any of that,” Josie says brightly. “Besides, what’s it going to hurt? They volunteered of their own free will. It helps the cave out — and don’t tell me that they weren’t spending too much time lazing about looking for Tiff when they could have been hunting.”
Kira just shakes her head.
“And it’s not like they won’t win a prize. Tiff and I do need to go get the language dump. We’ll need an escort. The way I see it, it’s a win-win situation.” Her gaze flicks back to me and Josie looks for my approval.
She’s done all this for me. How can I not be appreciative? I lean in and hug my friend. “You have saved my sanity, Josie.”
She pats my back as she hugs me. “You just leave it all up to me. I’m going to keep them so busy you won’t see their faces much for the next few weeks. After all, it’s part of the competition that they interact with your go-between instead of you.” She winks as she pulls back.
Goodness, Josie’s thought of everything. She’s awesome. This is either the craziest thing I’ve ever heard of, or the smartest.
Chapter Four
SALUKH
I was not invited to compete for Tee-fah-nee’s attentions. I’m displeased by this, especially when Tee-fah-nee looks so very pleased to hear that the others are out, hunting to show their worth. Is this what some human women want? Jealousy curls in my stomach but I remind myself that all of the games do not matter when resonance happens.
And Tee-fah-nee is going to resonate to me.
I remind my khui of this fact over and over as the object of my attentions moves about the cavern, a faint smile on her face. She looks so very happy. I am pleased that the misery lurking behind her eyes is gone for a few short hours, but I’m less pleased that her suitors are fighting to win her and I’m not included. She’s mine, and my jealousy is hard to reason away.