Nadine's Champion (Icehome, #7)

by Ruby Dixon

He watches us all like Devi watches her morning cup of shrimp tea.

“I can’t decide if that was alpha male of him or douchebag of him,” Bridget admits, whispering as she leans in close to me and Penny.

Same shit nowdays

I smile at him, determined to win him over. I remember Thrand's boast. Children like me. Well, they fucking like me, too, damn it.

It's multiplied, though, because Thrand's joy is my joy.

"Uh, just so we're clear, you're not going to like, grow anything unusual while I touch you, right? No tentacles or shit?" His dazed expression turns to one of open confusion. "Tentacles?" "Never mind. Just watched too much anime back home, I think."

Aime, huh?

"Motherfucker, do you see grass around here?" I gesture at the endless snow.

It smells terrible, too, like too much meat left out to rot.

If it is the brutal season then it is sub zero. It will just freeze, won't rot...

Oh, kef me. Nadine is HERE.

"We can get away," she tells me. "Crawl back down to the bottom—" "And then what? Die at the bottom?" I tilt my head at the graveyard of animal corpses below. "We cannot fight something that big from the air."

I laugh and look over at Nadine. Two Nadines, I think. "This is the best day of my life," I tell her. She looks at me, concerned, tugging her tunic down, and her gaze flicks to my brow. "Thrand? Your head…" "S'fine," I reassure her as she doubles again. Four—then eight Nadines. This strikes me as the greatest gift ever before everything goes black and I collapse in the arms of a million Nadines.

I know Ashtar saw us fucking against the canyon wall. I’m pretty sure Thrand’s red ass was impossible to miss.