She finished her meal and pushed the plate back. “I need to head out. I have a lesson.”
“For the spring festival?” Rain grabbed her plate and pulled it toward him. “I’ll take this for you.”
“Yeah, I’m learning to play the flute,” she explained. “Thank you.” She ruffled his hair as she stood up. “Stay out of trouble and keep your father from pissing everyone off.”
“Easier said than done, but I’ll try.” Rain chuckled, pushing her hand off the top of his head. “Good luck.”
“I’ll need it.” Before she walked away, she reached out to Learen. “It was good to meet you.”
He only nodded, shaking her hand in the Andinna way—grabbing each other’s forearms close to the elbow and holding for a moment. There were a couple more goodbyes she had to get through before she could leave—Luykas reminding her about training, Zayden telling her not to be late for dinner.
She left the dining hall with a light heart, smiling as she passed a couple of males trying to get in, and they even smiled back. She ignored the fact they walked faster, not letting it spoil her good mood.
She arrived at Alchan’s home to find Senri already waiting on her. She settled on a log next to her only female friend, taking her flute out of her pocket.
“Are you ready to get started?” Senri asked.
“I am. Sorry if I’m a little late. Learen is in the village, and I was getting to know him.”
“Learen?” Kian’s head perked up. He was lying about ten feet from them in the grass.
“Go,” Senri ordered, smiling.
He didn’t waste any time, taking off within seconds after she let him go. Mave and Senri were laughing as they started practicing. Mave stumbled over things, but nothing could dampen her good mood.
“You’re not frustrated,” Senri pointed out.
“I’m not.” Mave was still smiling as she twirled the flute in her fingers. Senri only raised an eyebrow. Mave was pretty notorious for getting frustrated with lessons, something she was constantly working on. “What can I say? It’s been a good day.”
8
Rainev
“Baba! Is dinner ready to go on the table?” Rain called out from the dining room. “Table is set.”
“Give me a moment!” his father yelled back.
Rain tapped his fingers on the table, wondering when Mave was going to show up. He didn’t have time to consider it for long when he heard a sharp knock on the front door.
“Come in!” he yelled. He was smirking as the door opened, and he heard her kicking her boots off. His father brought plates out to the table, grunting as she walked into view.
“Evening, Mave,” Zayden greeted. “Almost done setting up.”
“Don’t rush for me,” she replied. Rain watched her look around a touch uncomfortably like she did every time she came over for dinner. She didn’t move for a seat, instead grabbing a plate from Zayden and putting it on the table for him. “Please, calm down.”
“You’re a guest, stop that,” Zayden grumbled. “Mat would kill me if he knew you were helping me put food on the table. Rain, get your female to sit down and relax.”
“You heard the old man,” Rain said, grinning. “Sit down and relax.”
The look she gave him would have scared him in the pits, but now, he only laughed. She roughly grabbed a chair and pulled it back. He sat down as she fell into the seat, watching her politely.
“And why aren’t you helping him?” she asked, crossing her arms. “Don’t good sons help their parents?”
“Sure, but that would mean he wants my help, and he doesn’t,” Rain retorted. “Don’t good guests let their hosts take care of them?”
Finally, she smiled. “You got me. How are you two? Have a nice afternoon?”
“Yeah. I was fitted for a few new sets of breeches. Nothing big. You? How was practice with Senri?”
“Well, I won’t be the best musician, but she and I are both hopeful I’ll be good enough for the spring festival.” She looked away from him and growled, “Zayden, why don’t you let one of us help you?”
Rain looked toward the kitchen with her, chuckling. His father was trying to balance more than he really should. He walked slowly with the rest of dinner, and Rain knew it was time to step in and help when he saw his father realize he had no way of putting anything down.
“Baba, stop before you drop something.” He jumped up and grabbed one of the dishes, putting it on the table before it slipped off his father’s arm.
“I had it,” Zayden mumbled, putting the rest down on his own.
“Sure you did,” Rain teased. His father narrowed his eyes, so Rain decided to take his seat again, trying to stop grinning as his father sat down as well.
“Enjoy,” his father declared, waving at the spread on the table. Neither Rain nor Zayden moved to start making their own plates. There was a ritual, one they both followed from the time Rain’s mother was alive.
Rain eyed Mave, waiting on her to make a move. She didn’t move either, looking between them. Finally, she gave in, just like he knew she would.
“One day, you’ll stop this ridiculous habit,” she muttered, shaking her head. She stood up and dished her own plate. He didn’t move until she sat down, which was the cue he and Zayden needed to dive in and shove food onto their own plates. “I mean, it’s really unnecessary.”
“Any good male eating in private company with a female will allow her to pick what she would like first, then serve himself,” Zayden reminded her. “If the male is part of her mayara, he fixes her plate the way he knows she likes it unless it’s for her health.”
“She doesn’t need the lecture, baba. You’ve given it to her over a dozen times now. She knows.”
“Well, I won’t have Matesh showing up here, claiming I don’t treat his female right.” Zayden picked up a rib and tore off a piece.
Rain rolled his eyes. “Mave, you wouldn’t tell Mat or Bryn we treat you bad, would you?”
“Of course not,” she said, taking a bite of her food. “I’ll just tell him you think I’m an imbecile who needs repeated lectures about something I know but don’t give a shit about.”
Rain snorted, looking down at his plate as his father began to grumble louder.
“You’ve developed a sense of humor,” his father snapped as if it was an accusation.
“I have, it seems,” she agreed. Rain dared to look up at her and saw the small smile she sported.
“I hate it.” Zayden shook his head, turning his attention to his food. Rain resisted the bubble of laughter threatening him. His father looked like he was about to go up in flames if the redness taking over his face was any indication.
“Oh, get over yourself, you cranky shit,” Mave ordered. The smile faded, but Rain could still see humor in her eyes as they danced in the firelight.
He would have been worried about someone’s safety if Mave used that tone with anyone else, but it was common at their dinner table, and he could only work to keep from laughing. He failed. The first laugh came out strangled, then he couldn’t stop, leaning over his food as his shoulders shook.
“Look, now you’ve broken my son,” his father accused.
“My little brother knows how to enjoy life. You should learn from him.”
Rain couldn’t stop laughing as they continued the exchange, firing insults and barbs at each other like they were dueling for some great prize.
“Stop, please! I want to eat dinner!” He waved a hand between them, his words barely understandable as he tried to rein in his laughter. “Please. You two are children when you’re in the same room.”
“Says the young one,” his father mumbled, looking his way.
“I’m just saying, you two always do this, and it’s hilarious, but let’s get through dinner first.” Rain sighed happily, looking between them. These were his favorite moments of the week. Training with Alchan was rough and made him strong, but this made him happy. This was exactly what he needed after every
thing that happened to him. His favorite two people, respecting his space and putting up with each other, so they could have meals together—a family, in their own fucked up Andinna way. “I’ll make everyone coffee after.”
“No coffee for me tonight. I have training tomorrow with Luykas—”
“You always have training with Luykas,” his father cut in. “Enjoy a coffee.”
“Well, we’re working with the bond, and I don’t want to be tired. I’ll hang out while you two have one.” She eyed Rain, making him feel pinned down and cornered. Something was on her mind now. It ended quickly as she went back to eating, looking down at her plate.
“I’m just giving you a hard time,” his father said, leaning back. “I have to turn in early tonight myself. I promised Mat I would look over his men after they get back from patrol. He’s concerned they aren’t taking care of their gear right when he’s not watching. Bryn found rust on one of their swords. Another came with muddy armor. They do fine when he and Bryn are hovering, so he wants me to sneak up on them and see what they do when no one is looking.”
“Oh, fuck. Why can’t they take their damn jobs seriously?” Rain shook his head, disgust flooding his mouth. “It’s not hard to spend time cleaning everything before you sleep.”
“They’re young. They aren’t soldiers. They didn’t sign up to do this for the rest of their lives, which means they don’t love it. They don’t have the passion or fire for it. The rai calls them somewhere else, but thanks to the position we’re in, they can’t achieve those goals.” Zayden sighed. “Another thing Senri has been trying to figure out for a long time—how to keep everyone in her patrol units happy.”
“Fuck their happiness,” Mave mumbled, still staring at her food. “Survival comes first. You only get happiness if you can survive everything else.”
Rain nodded slowly, his first instinct telling him to agree with her. He thought he understood before he met her, but he was taught that hard lesson in the pits. It was a hard lesson he still had nightmares about. He’d tried to be happy in the pits, tried to be her friend first. He left his survival up to things out of his control. He didn’t blame Matesh or Mave for not being there when he was cornered, but he’d learned the hard way, he needed to be able to defend himself at all times.
Survival came first—everything else was secondary in their world.
“If they aren’t happy, they don’t perform as well,” Zayden fired back, no longer eating.
“Senri told me there has to be something to fight for. I understand that, but you might not know what it is yet. That doesn’t make fighting and surviving less important. It just means you have to fight harder and survive longer to discover what’s worth living for.” Mave smirked. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
Rain looked between his father and his adopted big sister. When neither of them continued, he offered his own opinion.
“I don’t think you’re wrong,” he said finally. “But if we can help people find something to fight for, why wouldn’t we? I think they’re a load of lazy young males who want to stick their dicks in something and don’t want to be forced into a life of fighting. Without something to fight for, they’re worse than the most incompetent soldier who chose to do the job.” He sighed. “But they need a hard lesson that if they don’t fight now, they may never get the chance to see any of their goals through.”
“You’re nicer than me,” she said, giving him a half-lidded stare. It was a look he recognized, making him chilled to the bone and uncomfortable. Mave was gone. The Champion was talking now. “In the pits, the lot of them would be dead already, and you know it. Fuck giving them anything until they earn it. They don’t want to pull their weight? Give them an extra patrol. Showing up late? Make them stay on duty for an extra night. Not taking care of the equipment keeping them alive? Take it away from them. They don’t deserve steel if they can’t respect it. Tell them they’ll have to fight for their lives with wood and without armor.”
“Mave—” Rain tried to cut in.
“If they don’t learn after that, give them to me,” she ended.
“You’re angrier about them than I expected,” Zayden said softly.
“I’m annoyed. Matesh and Bryn come home talking about them. You two talk about them. Senri talks about them. The world needs to chew them up and spit them out. I don’t see anything else working.” She dropped her fork on her plate. “Let’s change the subject.”
“Good idea,” Rain agreed.
It took a while, but they found easier conversation. When Mave brought up learning the flute, they launched into a discussion about the few Andinna holidays and festivals they celebrated throughout the year. There weren’t many Andinna festivals of major importance, but those they did recognize were very important.
“I didn’t celebrate this year, but I’m intrigued by The Dead Night,” she said finally.
“Why didn’t you celebrate with us? The Company always gets together for it.” Zayden sounded genuinely curious. Rain was just proud his father hadn’t taken her absence that night as an insult.
“I know enough about death. When Mat and Bryn explained Al Moro Nat to me, I decided I didn’t want to have an evening dedicated to it—not yet, anyway.” Mave shrugged as they all sat around the fire in the family room. Rain handed her a coffee, even though he knew she wouldn’t drink it. “The spring festival seems happier to me. What’s the official name for it? Everyone just seems to call it the spring festival.”
“Al Momara.” Rain was glad to see her interested in the Andinna traditions. He understood her reasoning for skipping the get-together for Al Moro Nat. “It’s rarely used. It means The Rebirth. After a time of death, life needs to return. It’s the cycle.”
“Makes sense,” she agreed softly. “I lived a thousand years of death. Now, I have a life to enjoy.”
Zayden nodded at her words as he moved closer to the fire, not saying anything more. Rain couldn’t imagine what was going on behind her cold steel eyes, but she seemed deep in thought.
As they talked further about other holidays celebrated around the village, Rain was glad to be the one who could tell her about the harvest festival and The Hunt, right after the spring festival.
“You should ask Matesh and Bryn about that one,” he finished. “It’s a time for males to go out for the first hunt of the new year, and a chance for males in families to bring home new gifts to their females.”
“Such as?” She smirked, leaning closer to him. “I don’t often get gifts, and I’m not one for surprises, Rain.”
“Furs and skins turned into a variety of objects, oftentimes crafted by the very males who hunt the animal down to give to his female,” Zayden answered instead.
Rain remembered the decades his father had gone out on The Hunt, Al Olmoro, and came home with a new fur for his mother, a new waterskin made of quality hide, or leather accessories and jewelry. Most of the items were still in their home, tucked in his father’s bedroom.
“The Hunt also gets males away from the village if their females are coming into their fertile cycle and don’t want children. It’s less used for that, but sometimes, females come in really quickly and unexpectedly.”
Rain watched Mave’s face bloom into a deep red. He never saw her embarrassed about anything, but something his father just said certainly did it.
“Fertility cycles normally come during the spring,” she said softly, seemingly to herself. “If a female is going to get one or the Blackbloods encourage one…”
“You haven’t talked to them about it yet, have you?” His father straightened up, his face turning a touch pink. “Sorry. You should do that before something happens. Females coming into their fertile cycles without making a decision with their males can be a dangerous situation.”
“Baba, it’s not our place,” Rain warned. Knowing his father, this could easily turn into a more fatherly discussion than anyone ever wanted. Zayden was a grouch and young, but he was one of the few males in the Company who knew
what it meant to have a family.
“I’m just trying to help,” his father huffed, frowning in his direction. “Mat is my closest friend. I would hate to see anything happen between him and Mave if they aren’t communicating about what might come.” With that, he turned his attention back to her. Rain watched her sink down, crossing her arms as his father stared at her.
“Males are driven by a violent need to breed. Females are driven by the instinct to avoid it since childbirth is so dangerous to our kind. If you tell them beforehand you don’t want children, they’ll work harder to control themselves to respect you. They’ll let others protect you, so you don’t get hurt. It’s the only time in our lives males are the dominant sex. It’s the only time our noses can pick up on a scent from you females that means anything. There’s no hiding it.”
“So, talk to them sooner rather than later,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Senri’s never broached the topic with me, but I know she wants to. Mat and Bryn are the same way. I just…”
“You’re over a thousand years old. You must have gone through your fertile cycle a few times by now.” Zayden shook his head. “It’s your body.”
“Once. In the pits,” she answered.
Rain had been lounging in his seat up until that comment. He sat up slowly.
“The pits?” It makes sense since she spent most of her adult life there but…The idea of it gave him chills.
“The Empress had to lock me in a cell after a few unfortunate deaths,” she explained softly, the red leaving her face, making it seem pale in the firelight. “Never had one again after that.”
“Then you’re due for one and really need to talk to Mat and Bryn,” Zayden reinforced, pointing at her in a gesture Rain knew well. “They’ll understand whatever decision you make if that’s what worries you. I promise you, Mat isn’t looking to have a child right now.”
“They aren’t the reason I’m worried,” she clarified, not raising her voice. She continued to stare at the fire, and Rain didn’t like how distant she felt at that moment.
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