Page 5 of Green-Eyed Monster
Hyrak plunked the smoothie down in front of Alistair just a touch too loudly, the contents frosting and freezing so thoroughly that the glass iced over, and part of the table surrounding it too. He already had his back turned, stalking back to the kitchen, leaving frosted footprints behind as he went. I’d never seen his magic so out of control. He’d been incredibly precise, deliberate, and careful when I’d brought him my seeds, so why was he so out of control now?
The fluffy white antenna on Alistair’s head curled forward as he peered down at the frozen drink. He tentatively slid his long, thin tongue to tap ineffectually at the solid block of ice that was supposed to be his smoothie. “You don’t think he poisoned it, do you?” he grumbled.
Chapter 4
*Hyrak*
I’d been in a terrible mood for three days, which wasn’t like me. First, I’d needed to pick up extra shifts at the pub when the naga I work with went into an early molt. That wouldn’t normally have bothered me, but I looked forward to Solandis stopping by to say hello and drop off clippings of extra herbs or whatever else, and I hadn’t gotten to see her when she’d visited her mushroom patch. I’d missed her smile. It was the brightest spot in my day, and I found my thoughts drifting to her every time I had a spare second.
And then,then, she’d brought herdateto my pub last night. I had one fleeting second of happiness when I’d stepped into the front room and spotted her, only to come crashing down when I finally noticed the man sitting across from her. My cheeks felt hot when I remembered how embarrassed I’d felt. I’d been trying to flirt with her since we met, and now I felt like an ass. I guess now I was grateful she hadn’t noticed.
When I’d come back out to find them holding hands, my flare of jealousy had nearly overwhelmed me, and now I wanted nothing more than to be left alone with my disappointment. Still, when I arrived home from class, I couldn’t help looking to see if she was in the backyard. I’m one of those people who just can’t help picking at a wound, I guess. When I didn’t see her back there, I ignored the way my shoulders slumped and decided to go check on her weird little mushroom people.
Solandis had explained over the last month and a half that they were some kind of guardian creatures, but I didn’t see how. They were just little mushroom dudes who peeked at me when they thought I wasn’t looking. Then again, the ferns closest to her mushroomsdidseem a little bigger, though that might be my imagination.
I only needed to take a few steps off my back porch to realize I’d made a huge mistake, because I found the woman herself bent over her mushrooms behind one of the ferns, all her curves and round little bottom on full display. She was completely unaware of me as she sang a quiet song to them and checked each one over, and I blushed furiously when I realized my pants were suddenly uncomfortably tight across the groin.
Wanting nothing more than to escape, I tried to duck back into my house without being seen, but luck wasn’t on my side today.
“Hyrak!”
Her face lit up as I froze in my tracks, and she scooped up a basket that I hadn’t noticed on the ground beside her.
“I brought you some produce I thought you might like! I grew it myself,” she said, pulling out artichokes, eggplant, peppers, and carrots as she approached. “Since you can’t grow these sun lovers here with all this shade.”
I eyed the prickly artichokes with grudging interest—grilled artichokes were one of my favorite foods—then turned my gaze to Solandis, studying her hopeful expression, trying to make sense of her. Was she dating the mothman or not? Regardless of my completely inappropriate desire to bash his head in, I wasn’t about to chase another man’s girl. That kind of drama was a total turn off for me.
Hooking my fingers against the door frame, I flexed and stretched a bit as I fought my disappointment, killing time and some nervous energy while I tried to figure her out. I didn’t miss the way her chestnut eyes strayed to my chest and arms as I did. Her pale white hair was gathered up in a high ponytail today, the tiny clusters of flowers peeking out between strands here and there, and her cheeks seemed to grow pinker in the late fall sun.
“Well… I guess you’ll have to stay for dinner then,” I said, like the glutton for punishment that I was.
***
I pulled out my cutting board and my favorite chef’s knife, setting them on the small kitchen island and watching Solandis from the corner of my eye as she hummed a little tune at the sink. She scrubbed her hands and nails, and then each piece of produce in turn, handing them to me to dry until I had a gleaming pile of vegetables. Bright shades of greens and purples, reds and yellows, all reminding me of the sunny personality of the girl who brought them.
“What are we doing?” she asked cheerfully as she gave a final rinse to a little cluster of blood red storm berries.
“I’m going to prepare some artichokes,” I answered as I inspected the tightly clustered leaves of one, “and you’re going to tell me about this mothman you’re dating.” I couldn’t quite read the look she gave me as she climbed up on the stool across from me, but she settled in slowly and dragged the bunch of berries in front of her on a little hand towel. She was wearing a soft looking gray sweater with a big, scooped neckline, and when she leaned forward to tuck a leg underneath her on the stool, her neckline gaped and I caught a glimpse of a thin, lacy undershirt. I tried, unsuccessfully, to refocus on preparing the vegetables.
“Why would you assume I’m dating Alistair?” She took a tiny nibble out of a berry, and then, sighing, wrapped her lips around the whole thing and plucked it from the stem. I was so focused on what her mouth was doing that I missed what she said for half a beat.
“You’re not dating him?” My words came out more growly than I’d intended.
She laughed.Laughed!The sound was like delicate wind chimes tinkling on a breeze and made my heart catch in my throat. “I introduced him as my friend, you goof. Do you think I’m the type of girl who wouldn’t claim a date?”
I hadn’t really been focused on what she’d said at the time. My brain had gone to a place that knew only rage and desire. Pain. Jealousy. If I sliced the thorny crown off the artichoke a little too aggressively, it was purely accidental.
She smiled at me, and her grin was knowing. “Hm… Hyrak your eyes are glowing,” she teased as she bit into another berry and licked the juice off. “I feel like I should be nervous that I’ve stoked this green-eyed monster.” She gave a little shiver, but her smile was delighted. “But I kind of like it.”
The rattle I felt beginning in my chest was a reminder to get a grip on my emotions and shut it down immediately. Orcs already had a reputation for being possessive and fearsome, something Ihadn’tmissed overhearing the mothman repeat to her at the bar, and it wouldn’t help my case for me to start snarling and growling right here in my kitchen.
She continued lightly, “To be clear, Alistair and I aren’t dating. He’s my best friend from childhood, and I’d no sooner date him than I would my little sister.” She pulled a face.
“Well, that sounds delightful. I hate him a tiny bit less,” I grumbled, setting my knife down and bracing my hands on either side of the cutting board to keep from grabbing at her like I wanted to. Her peal of laughter was a balm for my soul.
“Hyrak, are you jealous?”
“No.”
