Sun Catch Her (Book 1: Three Rivers Deep series) COMPLETE

Chapter Twenty-Six

"How was I supposed to know Indy is a non-gender gender?"

I sank low in Micah's arms, huddled against him for warmth as we occupied the same chair at an empty lunch table. He had just finished explaining the three gender charges of positive-male, negative-female, and the neutrally, uncharged absence-of-gender that existed in Lightning devvi pedigree to me.

The cafeteria, both inside and out on the patio, was sparsely populated. Most everyone in the upper grades had left during second period on a field trip. This included Reese, Trevor, and Dandoy. Coming in later the first week, Micah and I missed the sign up.

"Should I even refer to Indy as she? Is she okay with she?"

"My cousin prefers to be called she, since she publicly

identifies as such." Micah spoke in quiet tones at my shoulder, where his chin was nestled.

He might have seemed calm enough to the casual observer, but his instinct to guard was on high alert because I still didn't feel well. A male devvi thing, I guess. And yes, he was definitely male. He told me so with a smile when I became all worried.

A shiver tore through me, despite his hot embrace and the heavy sweater I was wearing over my uniform. He hugged me tighter when I curled in against him, shaking. A low growl rumbled in the back of his throat when a girl with curiosity bright in her eyes stopped in the patio doorway. Thinking better of it, she turned around and went back inside, leaving us the sole occupants of the outdoor space that was still wet from this morning's showers. The patio smelled of rain- damp pavement, the surrounding campus obscured with pockets of fog that were shot through with moments of sunshine as clouds passed overhead.

One of Reese's borrowed jar openers kept Micah's pants dry, and I knew we were breaking some serious P.D.A. rules by sitting together like this, but I didn't care. Besides, the lunchroom monitor seemed to have her hands full with a rowdy group of people sitting at an inside table who hadn't been permitted to go on the trip. The very few times she sent her attention out the windows our way her expression was sympathetic. Probably thought somebody close to us had died, or something.

Good cheddar, I was a collective train wreck, with my skin so pallid today that my arms and neck looked translucent. And then there was the constant shivering, some of it because I couldn't keep my body at a steady temperature, and some of it caused by my heart pounding so hard it felt like it might break through my chest.

Micah wasn't doing too much better. His instinct to protect had him so on edge, he teetered between snapping at anything that moved while at other times he appeared almost close to crying. I shouldn't have forced him to bring me to school.

I finally accepted the peach he offered on his third try. Gingerly, I bit into it, taking care not to drip juice onto the beige sweater.

"That's my girl," he mumbled, turning his head to press his guarded version of affection—tightly closed lips—against my temple. "How'd the trig test go?"

Micah had moved me into his morning math class when he found my afternoon class was full.

"You know me...and math," I mumbled disjointedly around a bite of peach, swallowing. "Riding a bicycle, falling off a horse, and all that jazz." Good thing trig had come and gone earlier, when my mind was clear. Right now I was pretty out of it.

"You're tired. We'll go home after this," he said, and I agreed.

We'd skipped phys-ed in favor of taking in an early lunch, His idea, not mine. I was okay with that—except for the eating lunch part. I didn't have much of an appetite. But he wanted me to eat something. He brushed my hair back while encouraging me to take another bite. How could I refuse when he was being so kindly persistent?