Killing Time by Elisa Paige

enemy?”
    Koda didn’t look away from his contemplation of the moon. “They don’t, but that is not why I asked.”
    “No?”
    “No.”
    I couldn’t help it. “So…why?”
    He shot me a triumphant look, like he’d been waiting for the question. “Seek first to understand.”
    “What is that, Confucius?” I huffed.
    “St. Francis. It’s from the Bible.”
    “You’re quoting the Bible. To a bittern.” I barked a laugh. “According to our masters, we don’t possess a soul.”
    “According to your former masters, my people have no right to the air we breathe.” He shrugged, unaffected. “So why would anyone believe the itiq? ”
    I went still. “Are you saying…” I was curiously conscious of the air passing in and out of my lungs. “You can’t mean what I think you’re saying. Not after having witnessed a bittern frenzy.”
    “That’s what has you white as a sheet and shaking?”
    I glared at him, unspeaking.
    The lines of his face gentled. “Haven’t you wondered why our fight ended? Why I bore no more injuries than the few you saw?” He gave me a sidelong glance. “You’re a formidable fighter, Sephti. And smart. But you didn’t wonder?”
    Cheeks flushing, I squirmed under his gaze. No way was I going to admit my humiliating assumption that he was more skilled.
    He lifted a brow at my obstinate silence. “The reason the fight and your frenzy ended is because you stopped it.”
    My breath caught in my throat. “That’s not possible. The frenzy had me.”
    “It is the truth. You reacted emphatically to aggression, but when I backed off, you instantly disengaged.” He considered me from the corner of his eye. “Would someone driven by animalistic impulses do that? I don’t believe so.”
    “But the frenzies—”
    He shrugged again. “So you’re DNA challenged. Doesn’t mean it governs you.”
    I had to laugh. “DNA challenged?”
    Koda just smiled.
    Wonderingly, I thought about what he’d said. “You think…do you think I have a soul?”
    He bent his head to meet my gaze. “I look in your eyes and see your soul shining out. I touch your skin and feel your soul’s fire. Yes, Sephti, of course you have a soul. How could you think otherwise?”
    My heart thudding in my chest, I felt a grin stretch my lips. I wasn’t sure if he was right, but it felt so damn good to hear it.
    “Would you do me a favor, though?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.
    I nodded, breathless at the joy he’d awakened.
    “Would you drop the camouflage when we’re in private? Every time I look at you, it’s like I can’t focus.”
    “You can see it?” I asked, startled.
    “It’s like there’s a filmy gauze over you.”
    “Because of your bindings?” It was strange knowing someone could see through the glamour.
    “No. Because of what I am.”
    Feeling unaccountably shy, I admitted, “I was keeping up the camouflage because I thought if I looked like a Round Ear, it would make you more comfortable.”
    He quirked a brow. “Round Ear?”
    “It’s what bitterns call humans. Knowing how you feel about fae, I figured—”
    “As you’ve told me repeatedly, you are not fae.”
    “As you’ve told me repeatedly, you don’t believe me.”
    Koda gave me a look I couldn’t decipher, but he didn’t respond.
    Staring off into the night, I debated furiously with myself before letting my camouflage fall. It was strange, but I felt exposed before him in a way I’d never experienced.
    Koda’s warm gaze roved across my features. “Much better.”
    My hand strayed to my hair, pulling it down over my pointed ears. Desperate to change the subject, I returned to our earlier discussion. “Midnight sky is h-lai giit. ”
    His eyes darkened as he looked at me. A spark of humor glinted in their depths, along with unexpected gentleness. I covered my surprise by correcting his pronunciation as he repeated the words a few times and he surprised me even more by accepting the corrections with patient good