by Ryan Muree
“What’s wrong? What happened?” she asked.
Veridran dipped her head at her. “Brynn is afraid he’ll try to escape again. She ordered it.”
Was he not able to leave, then? Could she not give him her gift? She wrung her hands. “But… Brynn told me to take him to the gardens for some food. I have her permission,” she lied.
Crilla nodded to Veridran.
Please work. Please work.
“Fine,” Veridran said. “You’ll get one hour.”
She bit back her smile. “I understand.”
Waiting until they’d walked down the hall and turned the corner, she rushed inside.
Rowec was pacing and rubbing his head. His face was flushed. Some of his furniture had been rearranged.
“Rowec?”
He stopped and glanced up. “Nida!”
“Are you okay?”
“I, uh, was bored.”
His green eyes eased on her as he approached, bringing the scent of… yes… the night. It was silly, but she’d finally placed what he smelled like, and he smelled just like the night air when she opened the oculus in the hatchery. A fresh, night breeze brought in from the jungle in one of her favorite places.
She cleared her throat in the silence. He did the same.
“I thought I’d get the chance to come sooner, but the hatchery, and then Ascara…”
He smiled. “It’s fine. I was worried my… closeness… last night bothered you.”
“Bothered me?” She half-laughed. “No, no.”
Was he kidding? She’d wanted more. For learning purposes, purely, and not in any way breaking ancient Tialan traditions for her sister. If she kept telling herself that, the knot in her stomach might ease.
His stomach growled.
“Speaking of which…”
“Sorry, I’m starving.” He took a step back.
“Are you ready for my surprise?”
He smiled, revealing his perfect smile. “Yes.”
“It’s a much shorter walk than to the kitchens.”
“I’m in, but what about the guards?”
“They’ll be back in about an hour. Plenty of time to stretch your legs and get something to eat.”
He held out his elbow. She loved that, and how it brought them closer. Maybe that’s why he did it? When she hooked her arm through his, he closed his eyes.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“You said it’s a surprise. I want to be fully surprised. I’ll keep my eyes closed and everything. Just lead the way.”
She grinned. “You want it to be a surprise?”
He nodded. “If it ends with you, some place out of this room, and something to eat… then, yes.”
She bit her lip and led him through the golden hallways with the sconces lit and blazing. In a few weeks’ time, the sconces would be snuffed. The temple would go dark for the hatching as every ceiling in the temple that could be opened would be to honor the new sisters.
“Oh!” The festival. How had she forgotten?
“Oh?” he asked, eyes still closed and letting her lead him.
“In a few days, we’ll be holding the festival.”
“A festival?”
“Yeah. It’s to celebrate the hatching coming up. Life gets crazy after the sisters arrive, so we hold a festival and eat and dance before they bloom. We get dressed up and everything.”
He grinned, eyes still closed. “Will I get to sneak out and see it?”
She sucked in air between her teeth. “Actually, you’re the honored guest.”
They continued through the winding corridors of the temple.
“Your people built this like a maze, didn’t they?” he asked. “It’s intentional.”
“Yes. It was built a long time ago. We had an entire city. Time pushed us back into this one temple.”
They silently made their way toward the northern section of the building.
“The air is moist here.” He tilted his nose up.
“Yeah, we’re nearly there.”
Good thing he had closed his eyes, or he’d see the sweat on her forehead. To have him this close again…
His shoulder bumped into hers. His arm was stiff and stable. She swallowed.
The two grand doors carved from golden stone loomed above her. “Stick out your hand and help me push this open.”
True to his word, he kept his eyes squeezed shut and stuck his arm out until he reached the door. Together they pushed, and the two doors swung apart revealing a lush durlo garden.
“Okay, open your eyes.”
He blinked. “Holy—”
“You can have as much as you want. Well, as much as you can eat in an hour.”
***
Rowec fought the urge to run at full speed into the garden and gobble up as much as he could hold.
A garden, at least as wide as the temple, was covered in durlo trees. Their bright yellow orbs dangled from the branches— some so heavy, so sweet and filled with juices, that their branches dipped low from the weight of them. A pebbled walkway wound through the trees, dotted with fallen leaves. Under the moonlight, the dew on every single one of them glistened.
“May I?”
She giggled. “Absolutely. Go for it.”
His stomach burned, his chest ached, and his mouth watered. He hadn’t eaten a durlo since he’d been six. Hoisting himself up the nearest tree, he shook an entire branch as hard as he could. Two, three, four fruits fell down onto the path.
The smell was horrendous, already seeping out their foul-smelling odor. But if he pushed past the smell, which he had no problem doing, the reward was worth it.
He dug his nails into the rind and peeled it back. Sixteen sections of sticky, juicy white fruit waited.
“Oh man,” he mumbled, chewing each piece as quickly as possible. “Why habn’t oo eetn awny?”
She laughed and crossed her arms. “I’m not hungry.”
He shrugged. “So, more for me?”
She nodded. “There’s more than enough for the new sisters and you.”
He swallowed and wiped the juice running down his chin. His pocket rustled. “Raz!” He nudged him out with sticky fingers. “Look, Raz! Durlos!”
Raz yawned and crawled out to his shoulder.
Rowec broke off little pieces for him, and the creature smacked on them loudly. “It’ll take him all night to eat one piece.”
Nida glanced down at her feet. “There’s a fountain in the center if you’d like to wash up.”
He glanced down at himself. Fruit splatters had already stained his shirt. His fingers and hands were covered in fibers and juice. He could only imagine what his face looked like. “Are you saying I’m not fresh and clean?”
She laughed and bit her lip. “I meant no insult, but…”
“But I’m covered in fruit juices like a child?”
She glanced away and shrugged, obviously fighting a smile.
“Are you laughing at me?” He grinned.
When she smiled, it warmed him. He loved making her happy.
“Then lead the way to the fountain. I wouldn’t want to insult my kidnappers.”
“Hah hah.” She rolled her eyes but led him toward a fountain in the center.
Shaped like a flower bud, the fountain sprayed crystal-clear water into the air and collected in a wide base underneath it.
He dipped his hands in. Nice. Cool. Clean.
He scrubbed his hands and arms.
“You missed a spot.” She pointed to his shirt.
He glanced down but was soon splashed with freezing water. “Gah!”
She giggled and darted around the side. “I’m sorry, but you had a stain right there, and you were ignoring it.”
Raz ducked back inside his pocket with his fluffy white tail slinking in behind him.
Rowec grinned and cupped his hands in the water. If she wanted to play, he would play, but he’d win.
“I wasn’t ignoring it. I was saving it for last!” He shov
ed an enormous wave of water in her direction, drenching her brown robes from shoulders to waist.
She gasped and stumbled back, dripping from her robes.
“I’m sorry. Did I get some on you?” he teased.
He shouldn’t be making jokes. He shouldn’t be playing like a child in the garden of his captors. But the moment was too perfect to pass up.
After both were successfully drenched, head to toe, he reached for a fruit and peeled back the rind. He dangled the fleshy fruit, teasing like he was going to throw it at her.
“Don’t you dare.” She lifted a shaky finger and backed away.
“Come on. The smell isn’t that bad.”
“Don’t!”
“And if you eat it, it tastes really good…”
“Yes, I know, but it still smells terrible, it’ll get all over everything—”
“It washes out.”
She wrinkled her nose and reached for her own ammo of smelly durlo. Her teal eyes were alight. Her skin was smooth and damp. Her hair fell in soft tendrils around her face, dripping wet. The need to hold her and make sure she was warm came over him. It tugged his chest. He wanted to hold her, wrap her up, protect her.
He straightened and lowered his arm. He cleared his throat. Was he going crazy?
“I’m sorry,” she said. “Did we take it too far?”
He barely shook his head. “Don’t be sorry. It was fun. I was just… I was just lost in thought.”
She lowered her arm, too, and tossed the fruit for him to catch. “About Etta? Your brother? Your home?”
No. He hadn’t been thinking of any of that, and he should have been. “No.”
She wrapped her skirt tighter around her legs, sat on the edge of the fountain, and crossed her arms.
He sat beside her, shoulder to shoulder. The air was merely cool, but she was shaking. He slipped out of his filthy top shirt and unbuttoned his dryer, cleaner undershirt.
She turned her eyes away.
Was she embarrassed he was undressing? Maybe living in a temple with only women had that effect? He clenched his jaw and fought a smile.
“Here.” He put his undershirt around her and replaced his drenched one on himself.
“Thanks.”
The gryllids chirped across the jungle just beyond the wall encasing the durlo garden. The fires crackled in their sconces.
“I’m glad you like the garden,” she said.
He ran his hands through his damp hair, shaking out some of the droplets. “I love it. It’s perfect. If I wasn’t here against my will, you know—”
“Naturally.”
“It’d be perfect.”
She grinned and focused on her feet, digging the toe of her teal flats into the pebbles. “Are you…” She took a deep breath. “Were you really serious about helping me leave after the hatching?”
“Of course.” Was she afraid he would back out? “I wanted to say…”
She met his gaze. Soft eyes the color of cascading pools in the Zchian tiered farms. Lips like… He cleared his throat. “You should come and live with me.”
Her eyes widened, as did his.
It had just tumbled out. “In my village, I mean. Of course. I mean… you could just visit. Among other places, but if you needed a place to live, my village would be decent to visit.”
“I don’t think your villagers would like me.”
“Too bad. Nida, if this whole ordeal has taught me anything, it’s that my life can change in the blink of an eye. There’s no use waiting for something to happen. There’s no use worrying about what everyone else wants. They get to live their lives how they want, when they want, but we’re supposed to do the honorable thing?”
She nodded. “I understand what you’re saying, but we both care very much for our people. I do care what happens to my sisters, and if they’ll be hurt if I leave. And what would I be leaving to? What would I be running towards? Freedom is good, but it’s scary, too. I need something more than that.”
More?
“Nida, I…” What was he going to say? How was it going to sound? “Nida, I care about you-r… your well-being. I want you to be happy. You deserve to be happy. And whatever it is you need to figure out, you can do it safely in my village.” He swallowed. “Stay as long as you like.”
She shrugged a shoulder against her cheek. “Somehow I don’t think Etta would like that very much.”
“I’m not marrying Etta.”
She jerked her head in his direction.
“She might think so. The chief and some of the elders might think so, but I get a say in my life. I won’t be trapped into something I don’t care about or don’t want. I was already planning on ending it, but our conversation the other night convinced me. I deserve to be happy, and so do you.” He had never been surer of something. Being with Nida had given him that confidence.
She shook her head and stood. “I don’t know. At one point, I believe someone referred to us as beasts.” She grinned.
He squeezed some water from his shirt. “I was wrong. I was very wrong. You’re far from it. If it helps, Etta is a beast. Anyone who uses and manipulates others, hurts others, or makes them feel bad for who they are is a beast.”
She dipped down and picked up a chalky pebble from the path. “I haven’t met her, so maybe you just think she’s a beast.”
“No. No, I swear! Do you want proof?” He scratched the stubble on his jaw. It was hard to just pick one story. How could he sum up a lifetime of terrible deeds? “When we were kids, she stole one of our classmate’s lunches because she just felt like it. It was during a drought. No one had much to eat that year.”
She tilted her head side to side and nibbled on her lip. “That is pretty bad. But you were children, and sometimes children can be cruel. They’re learning. That doesn’t count.”
“Okay.” He held up a finger. “Just last year, we had some flooding. Her place, which we all nearly broke our backs building to her exact specifications, was plenty out of the way from the flooding. Some of the homes lower in the valley, however, were being swept away.”
She stopped and glanced up at him.
“Etta demanded that my brother and I stop helping them and help her with a tiny leak in her roof before it ruined her dresses.”
She sucked in. “That’s… not good.”
“I told you.”
“But I don’t think anyone is inherently good or bad,” she said. “I think we make bad choices, either because we’re misguided, or misinformed, or misunderstood. I think we can become terrible if we don’t focus on what’s good.”
He twisted the ends of his shirt to get the last bit of water out. “That sounds like Etta.”
“Etta is making a terrible choice to force you into a marriage she wants,” she said. “Maybe she’s doing it because she genuinely believes you’ll be happy. One day.”
He grumbled. “What about Drathella? She abuses you. She hates you.”
She took a deep breath, twirling the pebble over and over in her hand.
He stood and joined her.
“Drathella is a tough one,” she said. “She’s scared. Scared of things being different, of more sisters like me and unlike her. Scared of being alone. Scared of us going extinct.”
“And that’s an excuse?” He pointed to her palm. “You’re wearing down that pebble to nothing.”
She smirked and dropped it, dusting her hands off on her earthen robes. “Drathella is misguided. She makes beastly decisions. It’s whether or not she learns from them.”
“Nida, I…” Her words, her faith in others, stabbed him. He’d never treated his captives or enemies with that much… humanity.
“We should get back before we get in trouble.” She turned away, but he reached for her shoulder. She slowly turned back to him.
She was so close. Just right there. Her lips parted.
How had he missed it? She was beautiful. All of her. “Thank you. Thank you for bringing me here, talking to the queen, and c
aring for me. I never would have treated my captives with the same grace.”