Free Bastial Explosion (The Rhythm of Rivalry: Book 3) by B.T. Narro Page B

having his own family, but she could feel anger stirring in the depths of her stomach at him pushing the issue. “So stop talking about it.”
    “I meant is he going to come back for me?”
    “You mean his threat to kill you?”
    Grayol’s voice dropped to a murmur. “Yes.”
    “He used to tell Zoke that all the time,” Zeti lied. “Father to me is too much of a coward to risk punishment for committing murder.”
    Zeti figured that Grayol didn’t need to know that Ruskir was probably serious. The little Krepp wouldn’t be able to defend himself whether he knew Ruskir was coming for him or not. Zeti took that to be her responsibility now.
    She set her knife on the table next to Grayol before she hurried off.

 
     
    Chapter 9:
    ZETI
     
    Nearly a week had passed since Zeti had disowned her father. They’d seen each other only once since then.
    Zeti caught sight of Ruskir on her way to the market. He was with Dentar, possibly the only Krepp who Zeti loathed more than Ruskir. Her father kept his eyes forward as they passed, while Dentar turned and spat in her direction.
    Zeti found herself smiling. So it looks like both have finally given up on me.
    Her concerns were focused on her Slugari leaders, Doe and Haemon. Every Krepp needed a task within the army, and her task as part of the Slugari search team had ended the same day she’d killed Paramar.
    Zeti visited Doe and Haemon’s quarters each day to find out what her next duty would be, but the Krepps guarding the entrance kept telling her to come back tomorrow.
    “They still haven’t decided what they’re going to do with you,” one told her.
    “Are they angry with me?” Zeti needed to know to decide how worried she should be.
    The guard leaned in to whisper, “Who could ever tell?”
    Zeti nodded to show she understood and said no more. To talk about Doe or Haemon while they weren’t there was like taking a child’s toy while he wasn’t looking. When they found out, which they always did, there would be trouble. But the massive Slugari, although sometimes behaving like Krepp children, should never be regarded as such. Their power was unmatched.
    Except for Vithos, Zeti would remind herself, often wondering what a battle would look like between the psyche of the Elf and the magic of the giant Slugari. He’s probably back with Zoke now, the both of them with the Humans in Kyrro.
    Zeti tried to imagine Zoke interacting with Humans but she couldn’t. She didn’t know enough about the weak race of hairy men and women to guess how they would behave around a Krepp who spoke their language.
    Much of Zeti’s time was spent training, the bow when she was alone, the sword when she was with Grayol. She hadn’t realized that her brother had taught the little Krepp how to use the weapon, and his skill with it surprised her.
    “Zoke used to train with me,” Grayol had told her one day. “He didn’t want you to know because he thought you would be upset.”
    “Why would I be upset?”
    “That’s what I asked, and Zoke said it was because you would tell him that he was just wasting his time.”
    Zeti grumbled, realizing it was true. She never would’ve thought Grayol could become proficient enough with the weapon to make use of it. But the little Krepp was growing up fast, surprising her more each day.
    “Here you are,” a woman’s voice caught Zeti by surprise. “Come, Zeti. Doe is waiting.”
    She turned to find Suba grinning at her.
    Zeti smiled back. “It’s been too long,” she replied before she realized what Suba had said. “Wait, you’re taking me to Doe? Why?” This was a strange task for Suba.
    “I’ll tell you on the way.” Suba shook her claws at Grayol. “You’ve been behaving, right?”
    He nodded urgently, his eyes widening. “Yes!”
    “Good. Now be careful with that weapon.”
    “I will.”
    He’s too careful, Zeti stopped herself from saying aloud. The feeling of chewing on dirt would be more tolerable than openly