Page 85 of Diamond

Still, I do not want to drag the argument out any longer.

Ree seems to be confident in her ability to protect the females and I know that she will make sure all them are happy and thriving in the cloister she is building.

I know this because my chest tells me to trust her and it has failed me only a handful of times. "When we get to Ree, you can tell her all of this. For now, let us focus on getting you there so that I can return and look for the other woman."

Nasrin's face goes from wide-eyed to having an even deeper frown on her face than before and I ruminate on my words, hoping that I have not said something to offend her.

"No," she responds.

I tilt my head to the side in confusion. "No? What do you mean, no?"

When I look at her determined frown, I know what she is about to say before it leaves her lips.

"No, we are not going to Ree and her plans for a cloister, not before we find Olivia and make sure she is safe."

I let out a labored sigh. "Nasrin, I do not want to risk your life anymore. Just back there with the genali—" I point behind us and Roshan runs up and licks my finger, undermining how serious I look, but I pat his head. "Back there, I was terrified because I couldn't protect you. I was unsure of your safety and nearly had my hearts drop out of my chest when I did not find you after ki—I mean, fighting them."

A mischievous look replaces the frown on her face for a brief moment before dropping away. "You can say you killed them, Kuret. I won't run away." She lets out a huff of air. "I did too. Lots of them, and I'm sorry I was so hard on you before. They deserve it. Wait. You have multiple hearts?"

The question takes me by surprise. "Is that not normal?"

Nasrin plasters a hand over my mouth, but her bright eyes give away that she is holding in a laugh. Something about her body language tells me that she is desperate to find something to distract herself.

"No, people have one. On my planet anyway."

Having only one heart cannot be a healthy way to live. I wonder how she does it.

We turn at the same time to look for the argila and find them grazing behind us. It's a stark reminder of just how different a being can be from another.

"I want to find Olivia because I am the one who let her get taken away. This place is dangerous, and anything can happen to either of us at any time. Hiding from that when a friend is in danger makes me just as cowardly and honorless as the male who took her."

Her words reverberate through my head, and I understand what she means. If Samke were here and he was taken by a hunter or a strange creature, I would scour the ends of thisforestto find him. And then start looking all over again.

Just like I would for her.

Denying her that would make me just as honorless, and I cannot have that.

I draw my lips into a straight line. "I understand. We will go back for her but you will stay by me at all times."

Her eyeballs roll back into her head for a moment again. I wonder if she has an injury I didn't find when I moved may hands all over her body.

"Where else would I be?" she asks, back to looking at me with her amused stare.

I turn my bag to the front and open it. "This is serious, Nasrin."

I pull out one of the many guns I seized from the now-dead genali and shove one in her direction. "I noticed you must have lost the other one when the cart had the accident, so hold on tightly to this."

She peers inside the bag and her eyes widen. "You have a lot of guns in there. Well done."

My spine straightens at the unexpected praise. "In a place like this, you can never have too many weapons."

I'm surprised she agreed so easily this time. I had been expecting a long lecture from her or at least an adamant refusal but neither is offered.

She nods her head and shuts her eyes tightly for a moment. "I never thought I would talk about weapons and death like this. Like it's normal."

"I wish it wasn't normal, but they brought us here. The only other option is to let them kill us."

"You're right. It's a new world, and sometimes that means being different people." She looks me in the eye, her face softening. "I can see that you are trying to meet me halfway, Kuret. I can do the same."