"I thought it would be our mother who answered."
"Ah. Tell the girl that I want to see her."
It's strange to hear her call me "the girl"—after all, I'm a couple years older than her. I walk around behind Rak's chair.
"There you are," says Asha. "Now Rak, you may go. Leave the room. What I have to say is not for you."
"But—" Rak glances at me, uncertain.
"It's all right," I tell him. "Go."
Once he has slammed the door to the hallway, I slip into his chair and lean forward. "We're alone."
"How is he?" she says.
"He's healthy. Safe. Happy."
She chews her lip. "That night—I did what I thought I had to, and what my mother insisted was right. I have cursed myself ever since. It may have been a mistake."
May have been a mistake? What am I supposed to say to that? She humiliated and scorned her brother, aided in the ritual to cast him from their tribe, to cut him off from the family he tried so hard to protect.
A mistake? That's an understatement.
"When I looked at you, that night, after the excision, I saw something," she says.
I know the exact moment she is talking about. She had Rak's severed lock of tribal beads, his ayila, in her hands—and I was crying, hurting for him because he was in such emotional anguish. I didn't have time to pull a mask over my feelings before she saw them.
"You love my brother," says Asha. "You loved him then, such a short time after meeting him. And you love him still."
"I do."
She nods once, her eyes cast down. "You must think our ways very strange."
"It's true that you have customs that I don't understand. But in a different way, my culture is equally strange and merciless."
"You think us merciless?"
"What else would you call it, when your brother's heart broke in front of you and you did nothing to help him?" My voice shakes.
Her eyes flash up at me, her jaw tight. "He saw me break once, and he did nothing."
"Rak told me what the Vilor did to you. He said they promised to spare your life and your mother's, if he didn't fight them."
"I would rather have died than endure what they did to me that day."
"But you're alive. You're strong, you're one of the Fray now. Surely you can stop blaming Rak for something that was never his fault!"
She sighs, long and deep, an aching breath from the bottom of her soul. "It doesn't make sense to blame him, and I try not to. But the heart and the mind do not always agree. And my mother—she hates him for not fighting back. And for saving you, and for being what he is."
"His ability, you mean?"
"He told you about his Touch of Darkness?"
"He's Evolved, Asha, not 'darkened' or 'cursed.' "
She purses her lips. "Another difference in perspective. I suppose you've convinced him to lie with you as well?"
"That's none of your business."
"If you love him, you must encourage him to return to the Way of the Light—to repent, and perform works of atonement so he can someday be restored. It may take years to undo what he has done, but if you truly love him, you must give him up. Send him away, so you cannot tempt him with your body anymore."
I stare at her. She's so young and earnest, her dark blue eyes shining with zeal and belief. She loves Rak, and she wants him back in the family.
"I love your brother. I want him to be free, happy, and at peace," I tell her gently. "I couldn't send him away to perform years of penance that may or may not end in restoration to the tribe. He would be miserable."
"But the purification of his soul is of utmost importance, or he will spend his afterlife in Darkness," she says.
My patience is thinning. "So he should spend his life following these restrictive rules and denying himself happiness, on the off chance that he'll get to become part of some beautiful Light after death? What if you're wrong? What if he spends his years being the perfect Maraj, and then nothing happens after death? What will be the point of his life then? He'll have missed his only chance for joy."
"I—I never thought of it that way." Then she frowns. "Is this how you corrupted him? Tangling his thoughts, introducing doubt?"
"No, I switched between teasing him, yelling at him, and flirting with him. I highly recommend the combination, if there's anyone you like."
"Get Rakhi back here," she says curtly. "I wish to speak to him."
"With pleasure."
I lean out into the hallway, where Rak is slouched against the wall, staring at his hands. "Your lovely sister is done with me," I say. "She wants to talk to you again."
For the next several minutes, I sit on the bed while Asha and Rak argue in Maraj, the ebb and flow of their words wearing at me like acid on stone. Then Rak's mother returns from her errands, and the conversation escalates sharply into a shrill tirade from the older woman.
When she pauses for breath, Rak says, "You'll be receiving a gift soon, Amha, from Zilara and her family. You may accept it or not, as you choose. It's part of the blood-bond ritual, as she is to be my match."
"Sacrilege!" hisses his mother.
"No need to send a return gift," Rak continues calmly. "Zilara says having me here is gift enough for her. My love to you both."
As his mother's voice rises to window-shattering shrillness, he ends the call.
"Such a great idea, calling them," he growls, and stalks into the bathroom.
"I deserved that," I say to the empty room.
He stays in the bathroom for several minutes. When he comes out, he throws himself onto the bed beside me.
"Are you all right?" I ask.
"No."
"May I help you feel better?"
"Please."
24
We sign the consort pledge the next day without telling anyone. I wear a light scarf around my head and face to hide my tattoo, but the woman at the contract office barely glances at us. We flip through the questionnaire on the holoscreen, answering the questions about our property arrangements and disclosure preferences. A records bot handles the verification of our IDs and the receipt of our signatures.
It's all very sanitized and swift.
When we walk out of the building, Tram and Ridley move from their stations by the entrance, falling in behind us as we walk toward the lev-train station. Neither of them asks what we were doing. The South Quarter Office of Records and Contracts handles a variety of affairs, not just consort pledges.
"So that's it," says Rak, low. "We are joined."
"You expected something more romantic?"
"More meaningful, maybe, with more effort involved. That was too easy."
"After all we've been through, I should think you'd be glad for something easy." I tuck my arm through his and curl my fingers over his bicep. "Don't be glum. When we get to North Dixan we can find some good deeds to do together. Will that help?"
"I think we've already done at least one good deed, getting the evidence about the suppressors."
"That definitely counts. And I think we should celebrate our joining. Let's have lunch at Uni. I would take you somewhere nicer, but my finance card is running low thanks to all our illegal activities."
"Do you hear me complaining?" He grins. "I love the food at Uni."
"Should we ask the others to join? Maybe tell them about us? It's done now, and they can't talk us out of it."
Rak's eyes light up. "In my tribe, a blood-bond ceremony is usually followed by a dinner with family and friends."
We message everyone and ask them to meet us by the fountains where we had the confrontation with Gareth. That way, if anyone reacts badly to the news of our joining, at least it won't be in the middle of a crowded cafeteria.
When we arrive at the twin fountains, my bodyguards take up positions just out of earshot—Tram at the back corner of the garden, and Ridley a few steps outside the arched entrance. We sit on edge of the fountain that Rak emptied over Gareth's head. It has been refilled and
it sparkles in the sunlight as if nothing happened.
"Imagine what the garden caretakers must have thought when they found this fountain completely dry and empty." I run my fingers along the rough stone.
Rak chuckles. "I overreacted that day."
"Not really. I was about to scorch Gareth where he stood." My face flushes again at the thought of my insufferable ex listening in on my first intimate session with Rak. "That boy is truly despicable."
"I won't argue with you on that one."
The sun warms my hair and my arms—a gentle touch, not the harsh blaze of the desert. The air of the courtyard is suffused with the rich scent of spring blooms, bursting in violent and gold and white in the beds near us.
I squeeze as close to Rak as I can get, while the words pulse through my mind—Consort. My consort. Mine. I'm his consort. His blood-bond match.
The pledge is a document, words in a file. Rak and I were already connected, soul to soul. But the knowledge that it's official gives me a strangely pleasant sense of belonging, of safety. An assurance that if someone wanted to pull us apart, it would be harder now. It's a flimsy assurance, maybe, but it feels real.
"You're quiet," he says.
"Thinking."
He winds his tanned fingers through mine. "Second thoughts?"
"Not a single one. You?"
"Never."
"We're insane," I say, nodding. "Completely, utterly insane."
"Insane never looked so good," he murmurs, kissing my temple.
Before I can return the kiss, Alik strides through the arch with Safi.
"I can't stay long," he says. "I'm meeting my new business partner, the lovely and charming Mr. Gareth Vandelor."
Safi snickers at his pompous tone. "Enjoy yourself."
"Oh, I will. I have plans to humble the young would-be Councilman." He grins wickedly.
"Before my other friends get here, I want to tell you two something," I say. "After we go public with the information about suppressors, things could get crazy. Dangerous."
Safi snorts, and Alik grins wider. "More dangerous than the Vilor?"
I roll my eyes. "Dangerous in the Ceannan way. Politically dangerous."
"We're not worried," Alik says. "Safi has cleaned up our digital tracks, and neither of us were involved in the actual theft of the data."
"Yes, but Rak and I were. And once everything comes out, I'll definitely be implicated."
"How?" Safi frowns. "Aren't we just posting the packets?"
"I have a plan to bring more attention to the suppression of the Evolved."
She sighs. "Of course you do."
"That's beside the point. What I'm trying to say is that Rak and I are going to leave Ceanna afterward. I've been offered a place on the Rippan College Aeroball Team in the North Dixan States, and I'm taking it. Rak can study medicine there, and I can play aeroball and study politics."
Safi kicks the fountain with the toe of her boot. "So you're leaving."
"I think I have to. I'm sorry."
"Sorry why?" She snorts. "Don't be sorry on my account. I barely know you. Doesn't bother me."
"Liar," I say.
The corner of her mouth twitches—or trembles.
"You'll be all right here," I say. "We'll be back someday, when I'm better prepared to challenge my father. And Alik's staying—right, Alik?"
"I may be switching cities," he says ruefully. "But yes, I'll be here, in Ceanna. Don't worry, Sky-born, I won't leave you to fly alone."
She turns her green eyes up to him, and an understanding passes between them. I glance away, because it's a private moment, and I lace my fingers with Rak's.
"There's one more thing," I say. "But we'll tell you that part when everyone is here." As I speak the words, I hear Vissa's loud tones and Reya's tinkling laugh. "Here they come."
Reya and Vissa stroll through the archway, arm in arm.
"What's the news, Vixen?" Vissa says, letting go of Reya and slouching beside me on the fountain's edge.
She's going to hate this so much. I bite my lip nervously, looking at Rak; and he takes it as a sign to make the announcement himself. "We wanted to celebrate with all of you, because—we signed a consort pledge this morning."
A soft gasp escapes Reya's lips.
"You what?" Vissa says, very low, very intense.
"We signed a consort pledge," I say. "We're officially together, joined."
Alik steps forward, lazily extending his hand. "The best to both of you."
Vissa smacks his hand aside. "Shut up, idiot! Are you crazy, Zilara? What are you thinking? You've known this boy for a couple of months, and you're joined now? Of all the stupid rutting things to do, you link up with this weird, messed-up foreign rebel who took you prisoner because his insane leader told him to? What rancid worm chewed into your brain and died there? You've gone completely insane. Just like your mother."
Energy floods from my skin through the air, straight toward her, a wave of heat that blasts her backward off the fountain's edge and singes her shirt.
"Don't ever speak of my mother again," I bite out, trembling. "How dare you? You're supposed to be my friend!"
"And you're supposed to be my friend, but all you do since you got back is hang out with these Emsali loser freaks, and force all of us together even though we have nothing in common with them." Her face and neck are flushed, and she's yelling with all her might.
"You're a bigot and a class-worshiper, Vissa," I shriek. "You're selfish and narrow-minded, and I'm done making excuses for you!"
She steps toward me, drawing her hand back. Rak lunges forward, protesting, and Safi raises her voice, shouting something—
And then we all stop speaking, and moving. Because Reya is singing.
Her voice ghosts over my skin, raising constellations of tiny bumps. The notes writhe into my heart and its rhythm changes, thumping unsteadily to the shifting cadence of her song.
Nothing exists but Reya. She is beauty and life. I exist only because she does, and she is my one true love, the only thing worth adoring among all the creatures on this globe—in this entire universe. I would die for her if she asked me to—
The notes fade suddenly, and I draw a shuddering breath. Rak looks over at me, wonder in his face, and guilt too, at whatever thoughts her song put into his head.
Alik swears loudly, and Vissa staggers. Safi sinks to her knees, overcome—maybe the sound vibrations affected her more dramatically than the rest of us.
"I'm sorry," Reya says. "You were all so angry."
"Reya, honey," I say. "Did you have something done to your skull-port?"
Her cheeks flush. "I was waiting for the right moment to tell everyone. I had my skull-port replaced with a standard model. One of my friends is a med-tech student; he had a spare one, so he did it for me."
"Your old port had a suppressor."
"I think so. Ever since I got the new one, I can make people—stop. And I can get them to do things—whatever I want."
She always had a gorgeous voice. Like a universal mating call, it fascinated males and females and drew them to her; but it only beautiful, not compulsively irresistible.
What she just did to us is something very different and far more powerful. Catching Rak's eye for an instant, I see that he realizes it too.
Of the Evolved in our little group, Reya is by far the most dangerous.
"I have somewhere to be." Vissa rises and walks unsteadily out of the garden without sparing me a glance.
"She'll come around," says Reya. "I'm happy for you, Zil. Really, I am."
"Thank you." My anger melts, spilling over in tears. Reya's slender arms wind around me. "You too," she says to Rak, reaching out and pulling him into the hug.
Beyond the crisscrossing arms cocooning me, I see Alik leaning down to Safi. I can't hear what he says, but she takes his hand and rises.
The lunch at the cafeteria is more enjoyable than I expected, especially after the fight between Vissa and me. Her absence fro
m the table pains me, but Alik goes out of his way to be raunchy and hilarious, and Safi chimes in with well-timed sarcasm. Rak smiles and laughs, but there's tension in his shoulders and around his eyes. Vissa's words hurt him as badly as they hurt me.
After the meal, we take my hoverpod to drop Alik and Safi at their respective lodgings.
"I'm angry at you for not telling me you were going to do this," Safi says, poised to leave the pod. "That's what friends do, yes? They let other friends come to their joining ceremony."
She says it loudly enough for my guards to hear. Ridley's back goes rigid, and Tram clears his throat. Wonderful. So now they know.
"There wasn't a ceremony," I say. "Just a consort pledge to sign. And we did invite you to the meal afterward."
"As an afterthought."
"Many of my best thoughts are afterthoughts."
Her lips twist like she's trying to keep from smiling. "I suppose I'll forgive you for that. But not for leaving Ceanna."
Then she disappears, and the pod door slides shut.
Sighing, I sink back against the cushions. "What a day. I've ruined one friend and made another angry. And tonight will be even worse."
"Even worse? Aren't you spending the night with me? Is that not traditional for newly joined couples in Ceanna?" He leans in, his breath ghosting over my lips.
"Not tonight. I can't," I whisper. "I have something else planned."
"Zilara." Rak takes my chin and turns me to face him. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to go on Berri's show again."
"With the evidence."
"Yes."
He sits back, closing his eyes. "I don't suppose you'll let me talk you out of it."
"You can't."
"Why tonight, of all nights?"
"Because we're ready. I've been sitting on this knowledge long enough, and I can't let one more day pass without telling the Evolved of Ceanna that they've been tricked." I run my fingers over his chest, his stomach, his belt, and lower, for a brief instant. He sucks in a startled breath.
"I promise I'll come to you right after the interview," I whisper. "Whatever happens next, we can ride it out together. If things get too dangerous, we'll leave for North Dixan a little early."
He captures both my hands and kisses me, soft and deep.
Princess of Lies and Legends (The Evolved Book 2) Page 24