Tempest Song: Unraveled World Book 2

by Alicia Fabel

“Imma badass.” He smirked. “The adrenaline helped too. That’s gone now.”

  She gave him a strange look then crawled into his lap. Kale lost function of the last still-working parts of his brain for a few heartbeats. Her hands were warm against the sides of his face as she pulled his head forward to rest against hers. Immediately, her skin began to glisten. She dropped her hands to his chest, propping herself up, and her eyes fell closed. Kale’s head cleared slowly as she pulled the toxins from him. It did nothing to help his breathing or brain function.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” said Kuwari, twisting his hands.

  “Shut up,” Vera answered.

  “But if someone comes and sees you like that…”

  “If anyone comes, send them away,” said Kale. “Especially that idiot. He’s not welcome here. Neither are you. Out.”

  Kuwari balked, but Kale met his eyes, never breaking his contact with Vera. Silently, he promised to remove the man if he didn’t leave on his own.

  “I’ll be in my lab if you need anything.”

  “Is he gone?” asked Vera a moment later, her breath washed across his face.

  “Yes.”

  “Feeling better?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” Vera’s arms trembled from the effort of keeping herself upright.

  Kale collected her hands into his and gently tugged until she let herself relax against his chest. Probably not the best plan, he realized as her body pressed against his.

  “Your heart is beating fast.” Vera tapped a finger in rhythm to his racing heart.

  “Yes.”

  She giggled. “Is that the only word you can say?”

  At this exact moment? “Yes.”

  “Poison got you tongue-tied?”

  “Vera.” The word was little more than a growl. “The only thing that has me tongue-tied right now is you.”

  She pulled back, eyes wide, her nose inches from his. Her eyes dropped to his lips. His gut tightened. Blast me.

  “Do you need me to get out more poison?” she whispered.

  “No.”

  She nodded okay but didn’t move. Infernals be damned, she’s punch-drunk from the poison. I need to back away. But he didn’t. Kale’s fingers flexed against her sides where he held her.

  “Kale?” Her voice was a whisper.

  “Yeah?”

  “My heart’s beating fast too.”

  “It’s just the toxins. They’re making you a little loopy.”

  “Nooo.” She shook her head the smallest bit. Her eyes dropped to his mouth again. “My head feels really clear all of a sudden.”

  Hel. Kale closed the space between them. He claimed her lips and Vera matched him kiss for kiss. Her hands flexed against his shoulders, and Kale wound an arm up her spine, weaving his fingers in her hair beneath the scarf. Her teeth scraped against his bottom lip. Heat roared through his veins. He pulled her closer, tugging at the fabric binding her hair. He wanted to see her hair burning for him.

  Kuwari cleared his throat. Vera jerked away and ducked her head to blush while untangling herself from his arms. He wanted to hold onto her, make her look at him, but he let her go.

  Vera swayed on her feet. When Kale and Kuwari jumped, she waved them off. “I’m fine. Uhh, it’s just the poison. I think I need to lie down for a little while.” Vera’s eye twitched. She darted one last look at him before she fled from the room.

  Beautiful deception marks swirled over her fingers. Like Diyu it’s just the poison.

  “Feeling better?” Kuwari asked dryly.

  Good enough to fly. Or better yet, chase that girl down and kiss her until she tells the truth. He kept his thoughts hidden behind a bland expression. “I didn’t know kargadan would stoop to poisoning a challenger. It doesn’t seem very honorable.”

  “Our people are dying. We cannot afford honor.” Kuwari carefully pulled his hands into the sleeves of his robes.

  He’s got something to hide, does he? “But you can afford eggtooth poison from Summartir.”

  Kuwari looked surprised by his deduction.

  “Not my first rodeo with that stuff recently. Although, I thought Nibiru had cut off interaction with outside realms. Who’s your source? I’d like to meet them.” Especially since he believed they were responsible for his last drugging too.

  Kuwari stared back, wary and silent. And Kale couldn’t make him talk without jeopardizing the challenges.

  He stood slowly to tower over the man. “If anything happens to that girl, whether I’m here or not—one more bruise or one hair out of place—and I will make sure your people end a lot sooner than expected.”

  “Hutran will ensure her well-being.”

  Kale flexed his fists and left.

  15

  Vera waited in the deepening shadows beside an empty hut, listening. She thought she’d heard something. After a couple of minutes, she worked her way forward again. Kuwari still refused to let her visit Nisaba, or even to send a message to her, so Vera decided to stop asking. She looked over her shoulder to dispel the feeling that someone was behind her.

  She turned between two huts and made it half a block before realizing she’d turned too soon. This road would take her right to the garden square, a couple blocks away from Nisaba’s home. If anyone were likely to catch her, it’d be at the village center where there was always more activity. Vera swung around to head the other direction and came face to face with an unfamiliar pair of men. She skidded to a halt. Curling over their heads were armored scorpion tails with glossy barbs. Kuwari had told her that the Tablilu Clan would be arriving soon for Ashur and Nisaba’s mating ceremony. She hadn’t realized they were already in the village, though.

  “Look at that, Darien,” said one with a wolfish grin. “A lost karg girl.”

  “Where’s your keeper, Karg Girl?”

  “I don’t have a keeper.” Vera scanned her surroundings for options.

  “No keeper?” Darien slid a side-eye at the other. “That can’t be right. Maybe we should help her find her way home.”

  “Yeah, make sure she’s protected.”

  “I don’t need protection. Or help. Thank you,” she added to keep the men calm if possible.

  She took a step back, and the scorpions advanced. The closest inhabited hut was blocks away, and she knew she couldn’t outrun them that far. A barb in the back wasn’t how she wanted to go out. Instead, she angled toward a hut with a door still hanging from its hinges. If she could get inside and somehow bar it, she might be able to make it out a back window when they weren’t paying attention.

  “I think she’s scared of us.”

  “You’re not scared of us, are you? You don’t need to be scared.”

  “Yeah, we’re just a couple of nice guys.”

  Vera whipped around to sprint for the hut and slammed into a woman. A freaking scorpion woman. The woman placed herself between Vera and the two men. Alrighty then.

  “What are you doing?” the woman demanded of the men.

  “Nothing,” said Darien, tail curling down closer to his body. Both scorpions cast their eyes down.

  “Nothing,” mocked the woman. “Didn’t look like nothing to me.”

  “We was just having fun,” tried the nameless scorpion.

  The woman’s tail flexed. “Fun? You think tormenting a young girl is fun?” As she spoke, she stalked toward them. They shrank but didn’t back away.

  “It’s not our fault,” claimed Darien. “We was just walking by and bumped into her. She got all scared, like we was mass murderers or something.”

  “And you thought you’d play the part? See how scared you could get her?”

  “It’s stupid. They act like we’s nothin’ but thugs.”

  “What’s stupid is you acting like thugs and getting upset cause someone believes it.” The woman's tail lashed out. She didn’t sting the men, but rather knocked each one upside the head. “Apologize to the woman.”

  “Sorry,” they mumbled
in chorus.

  “I’m sorry too,” added Scorpion Lady, walloping each boy again for emphasis. “I apparently did not raise these two so well.”

  “It’s okay.” Vera wasn’t sure whether to be wary or amused.

  “I don’t mean to imply anything, but why’s a young woman like you out here on your own?” asked Scorpion Lady.

  “Checking on a friend.”

  “Your guardian know you’re out here?”

  “No.”

  “How about we make sure you get to your friend in one piece, then.” The woman threw one last disapproving glare at her boys.

  “You don’t have to. I can get there.”

  “I’m sure you can.” The woman paused, considering her words. “But since my clan is in town, it’s best we make sure of it. Anything happens to you, I wouldn’t want my kind implicated, if I’m honest. Especially since these boys have no sense in their heads.”

  Vera still wasn’t sure, but she understood the woman’s dilemma. “Okay.”

  “My name’s Esta,” said the woman. “Whose hut you trying to get to?”

  “My friend, Nisaba’s.”

  “Ah, the prince’s intended. I know her and her hut. You was close, just one more road down.” Esta headed that direction with Vera at her side and her sons trailing behind. Vera kept an eye on them. Esta must have noticed because she said, “You boys get going back. Your supper’s getting cold.”

  Vera was relieved to have the two jog ahead and disappear. They passed a couple of huts, and Vera froze at the soft sound of singing coming from deeper in the dead neighborhood.

  “For crying out loud, I told them no singing.” Esta narrowed her eyes in the direction it was coming from.

  “It’s beautiful,” Vera said.

  “You hear that?”

  “Yeah. Is that one of your people?”

  “I thought you was kargadan.” Esta considered Vera anew.

  “Half.”

  “That explains it then.”

  “Explains what?”

  “If you was kargadan, that sound would make you sick to your stomach.”

  “Oh.” I forgot about that.

  “You’ve not been in Nibiru long, have you?”

  “No. And I don’t plan to be here much longer.”

  “That explains why you was out walking alone too. And why the Guardian was at my door, telling me to check on those boys of mine before they got themselves in some kind of trouble.”

  “Kale knows I’m out here?” Vera turned in a circle looking for him. Her scalp tingled from the heat that rushed to her face.

  “You’re the reason he’s in the village, then,” concluded Esta.

  “Yeah. He’s trying to save me from the pile of crap I got myself into.”

  “It’s nice to have such a powerful friend when you need one.”

  “Except I might be in too deep for him to get me out.” Vera gave up. He either wasn’t there or he was staying out of sight on purpose, in which case, she’d never spot him.

  “If that’s true, then maybe you just got to get yourself out.”

  “I wish I could. Unfortunately, I have no say or rights as far as these people are concerned. All because I was born with a vagina.”

  Esta laughed softly. “Oh dear.”

  “Tell me about it. I’ve got to sit back and be the damsel in distress while Kale plays the part of champion-in-shining-armor.” Vera kicked a rock and sent it skittering into a patch of weeds. “I swear, I’m gonna lose it on that asshat, Hutran, before this is over.”

  “Maybe I shoulda stood back and seen how you handled my boys. I have a feeling they would’ve been the ones needing help tonight, not you. Although, I’m glad I could save them. Despite their stupidity, I do love them.” Esta pointed down a road. “There’s where you’re wanting to go.”

  “Thanks for getting me here.”

  “My pleasure.” Esta tapped her lip thoughtfully. “I hope it goes your way tomorrow. But if it doesn’t, I hope you find a way to be your own kind of champion.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Now get on, so I can go tell my sons how I saved their tails tonight.” Esta winked before melting into the shadows.

  Vera didn’t dawdle. She hurried to the hut before anything else got in her way, but stopped short with her hand upraised. She hadn’t thought this far ahead and had no idea how she was going to convince Ishtar to let her come in.

  “What are you waiting for?” asked Kale over her shoulder.

  Vera jumped. “Geez! Don’t do that.” She put a fist over her racing heart. “Hey, how’d you know I’d need Esta’s help?”

  “Intuition. And lots of experience with you.”

  “Ha.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m surprised you didn’t just rip their tails off and save yourself the trouble of hunting down their mom.”

  “They aren’t bad kids, and I figured you could handle them until Esta got there. Were their tails still attached when she arrived?”

  “Yeah, but a few more minutes and it might have been a different story.”

  Kale’s eyes flashed with amusement. “So how do you plan on getting in to see your sick friend?”

  “How’d you know she’s sick?”

  “I heard you ask Kuwari to see her.”

  “You weren’t joking when you said you’d be staying close enough to hear everything, were you?”

  “Do I ever joke?”

  “Good point,” Vera replied. “As far as how I’m going to get in, I’m going to knock.”

  “You’ll get a door in your face. She might even summon your kargadan groom to come save you from yourself.”

  “You have a better idea?”

  “Yep.” Kale knocked. A few moments later Ishtar answered and he announced, “Apprentice Vera would like to see your daughter.”

  “She’s not feeling well and is asleep,” said Ishtar with barely veiled disdain.

  “Why didn’t you send for Kuwari?”

  “My daughter doesn’t need a healer.”

  “You have issues.” Vera shoved past the woman and headed for the back of the house. Just as she neared the only closed door along the hallway, there was a thud on the other side. Nisaba cried out. Kale didn’t wait for Vera to react, he threw open the door himself. Nisaba lay on the floor, curled up in a ball with her eyes squeezed closed, whimpering. Greeny was bent over her. When he saw Kale, he placed himself protectively in front of Nisaba. Vera was familiar with the pose, it was one of Kale’s favorites.

  Ishtar shrieked behind Vera. “What is going on? Stop him, he’s hurting her.”

  Vera held the woman back. “He’s not hurting her.”

  “Look at what he’s done to her,” Ishtar railed at Kale. “Why are you just standing there?”

  “My name’s Kalesius,” he said simply to Greeny, which seemed to stun Ishtar into silence.

  Thank the Lady.

  “I know who you are.” Greeny picked up Nisaba, carried her to the bed, and settled her beneath a quilt.

  “What’s wrong with her?” asked Vera.

  “She was determined to come greet you and save me from discovery. She only made it a few steps before the pain took her to her knees.” The man’s voice cracked. “She’s dying.”

  Greeny started to pull away from Nisaba, but she reached out and clasped his hand until he sat down beside her. With webbed fingers, he brushed the hair from her face.

  “Her mother is right. It’s my fault.”

  “Can I look at her?” asked Kale.

  “There’s nothing you can do,” Greeny informed him.

  “How long has she been pregnant?” Kale asked.

  Ishtar choked, her eyes bugging from her head. She backed away until she bumped into the opposite wall of the hallway, and then slid down it like a rag doll in shock. At least she’d gotten quiet.

  “She only realized it yesterday. We’re not sure how long.”

  Kale placed a hand on Nisaba’s tense arm. His brow furrowed, and then
he shook his head. “At least a few months. I don’t think she’d make it to the world-gate so I could get her somewhere safe. This is not something I can heal either.”

  “She’s going to die?” asked Vera. “Because she’s pregnant?”

  “The baby must be a demas,” explained Kale. “It’s pulling the salt from Nisaba’s body, trying to survive. Demas have saltwater wombs for their babies. They’re both dying.”

  “You know what I am,” said Greeny.

  “My father was a demas,” he replied. “I thought the Tempestarii killed you all.”

  “They tried. Then a Tempestarii woman fell in love with a demas. When they killed her husband, she used his death and her own to power a portal. It took the remaining demas to the other side of the world where no one would find them. The Tempestarii killed her sons for it.”

  “They killed my brother but not me,” corrected Kale. “I’m sure they wished they’d killed me too once I grew older.”

  Pain wrenched Vera’s chest as the details of his childhood were revealed. The beginning of his terrible story.

  “That was your mother? Tempestarii Teuila?”

  “Yes, but I never knew what she’d done until now. I believed you all dead.”

  “We’ve remained hidden since the world unraveled, and we found ourselves somewhere we were not wanted. Luckily, the seas here are mostly left untouched.” Greeny stood and bowed. “May the goddess of love bless you for the sacrifice of your family.”

  “You don’t need to bow to me. I didn’t save you, nor can I save Nisaba.” Kale’s jaw jumped. “And the goddess and I are not on the best of terms, currently.”

  Vera swiped the tears from her eyes before Kale saw them. “You’re the reason the river has turned to seawater,” he said.

  “I was injured and swam up the river to heal—that’s how I met Nisaba. I can handle fresh water for a short time, but after a while, it takes a toll. When I decided I couldn’t leave her, I added salt so I could stay.

  Holy salt shakers. “Umm, are you saying demas are the reason the ocean is salty?”

  “We keep the levels balanced, but the ocean was always salty,” answered Greeny.

  “How do you make water salty?” asked Vera.

  “It’s just something we do,” he said sadly. “It’s part of our magic. As soon as we are born, our mothers teach us how. In the womb, our mother keeps the environment salted for us.”