Page 81 of Suncatcher

Driz feared what she might do. She would never intentionally harm Pearl, but she was not confident she would have that option.

“I’ll be quiet,” Pearl promised.

It was not worth the risk. Driz glanced at the growing light. “I must go.”

She started to run, each step a punishment through her.

She didn’t get very far, rounding the bend when the sun broke the horizon. Her body slowed, stiffening. She just had time to stop and brace herself in a stable position so she didn’t topple over.

Her last conscious thought was that she hoped Pearl would stay far away.

Pearl sat by the crackling fire, picking the bones of her catch clean as the sun dipped low. She eyed the end of the canyon, waiting for Driz to wake.

The visible joint of the wing finally shifted.

Driz returned to her, and Pearl’s shoulders relaxed when she saw she wasn’t limping anymore.

“I told you to stay away,” Driz said, her fierce features twisting.

“And I told you I’d be quiet.”

Driz looked down at the pile beside Pearl.

“I figured you’d be hungry, so I hunted for you,” Pearl explained, gesturing toward the two decapitated coachwhip snakes and collection of large beetles.

Driz stared between the pile and Pearl, her expression unreadable.

“That alright?” Pearl asked.

Driz pounced on her, grabbing Pearl’s face and kissing her. “Thank you.”

“You hunted for me last night,” Pearl said, caught off guard by Driz’s strong reaction.

“No one has ever hunted for me before,” Driz rumbled, and Pearl’s heart stuttered. “Except for pie.”

Pearl chuckled. “Well, I hope there’s stuff in there you like.”

“It is perfect.”

Driz finally pulled away and scooped up the first snake, biting into it, her sharp teeth slicing through the flesh easily.

Pearl watched unabashedly. The sight would have alarmed her when she first met Driz, but not anymore. Driz ate every scrap of every creature, including the bits of carapace that sloughed off the partially crushed beetles.

Her injuries appeared much better tonight. As she stretched her wings, the tear was almost entirely gone.

“I’ll admit I’m a bit jealous,” Pearl said, gesturing. “I wish humans healed that fast.”

“And I am jealous of everything else you have.”

Pearl tilted her head. “You wish you were human?”

Driz considered. “At times, I have resented being a goyle. And I have always been drawn to humans. Perhaps the humanity in me is more dominant than the stone. But there would be no point in wishing to be something other than I am. I cannot change it.”

Pearl cupped Driz’s cheek. “Many things would be easier if you were human. But then you wouldn’t be Driz. So for what it’s worth, I don’t wish you were.”

Driz’s eyes shone. “It is worth everything.” She drew Pearl closer, leaning down.

Pearl forced her head to the side so the kiss landed on her cheek. Her heart hammered, and her body clenched with need and guilt for turning away. But she had to keep some boundaries between them.