Inwardly, I smile.
The doctor’s mouth is agape as he stares at the boy. The doctor was so silent, I almost forgot he was in the room.
Esther’s eyes are wide. “How did you do that?”
“I’m not sure.” Lately, I’m afraid and amazed at myself. I’ve begun to question my abilities and why I’m really here. Something is changing inside of me, but I can’t figure out what it is. At first, I thought it was feelings for Tao rising and falling like an emotional storming tide. But, this is all together something else.
“Ms. Alania.”
I turn to see Devlin, as does everyone else in the room. They bow in respect, but I stay standing.
His deep voice cuts through the quiet in the room. He glances to the boy resting in the bed. “Did you heal him?”
Esther comes up beside me. “She’s a miracle, truly.”
The leader nods. “I know.”
Esther smiles, and then silence befalls us. “I should be collecting some clean linens now.” Esther bows and leaves. I want to object and ask her to stay, but it’s too late.
Devlin clasps his hands behind his back. His eyes fall directly onto mine. “Have you thought about my proposal?”
7
“No! I’m not marrying Keyon.” I turn to leave, and my face burns. I can’t believe I said that. I told the leader of this clan I would not accept his proposal. Although I wasn’t raised to be outspoken and disrespectful, it feels... freeing.
I walk straight to my hut and don’t look back. I’m afraid I’ll see an angry or shocked expression and then feel instantly guilty.
I lie on my bed and think about all that’s transpired over the last few days. Spending time with Keyon felt oddly comforting, and then getting to know Esther felt oddly annoying and nice. How can someone be so perfect and irritating all at the same time?
The village bustles with life, and the sounds of training enters my hut, allowing for no rest at all. I walk out, hoping not to see Devlin waiting to lecture me or push me further into marrying Keyon. I don’t want to hear any more on that subject today.
Training continues throughout the village. Several people train with the spears and more with the archery. People start to crowd around a makeshift arena area where two people seem to be sparring. Upon closer inspection, I realize that Tao is one of them and the other huge, bulky man is someone I’ve seen around the village but never got to know too well. He’s strong and one of the tougher fighters that have surfaced during the training. I’ve seen him teach several people how to fight with one-on-one combat if the situation calls for it.
He’s not one of the Wai, as I’ve seen him mostly in the village, never in the water. He’s tan and has provided much of the village’s meat through hunting. I know I’ve heard his name before, but I can’t recall it.
As I near the arena area, I hear others speak it: Rian. Keyon stands off to the side watching the spectacle unfold. I join him. “What’s happening? Why is Tao sparing with Rian?”
“Tao’s acting like a fool. He’s been doing so the last couple of days now, actually. Now that I think about it, ever since he saw you leaving my hut. He’s been hunting all night with Rian, and now he’s challenged him to a match, even though we all know he’ll easily lose. Maybe you can talk some sense into him,” Keyon says.
“Tao!” I scream.
Tao turns to look at me, and Rian knocks him onto the ground.
“Not now, Alania. I meant after the match. You’re distracting him, and he’ll get squashed out there.” Keyon rolls his eyes.
Tao rolls over and glares at me. He’s angry now and gets back on his feet to face Rian.
Dread boils inside of me. Rian is a good foot taller than Tao and a lot bulkier. Why is Tao doing this?
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Devlin on his balcony watching the scene unfold below. I wish he would come down to stop this. It’s taking everyone away from their training to watch the match. Tao ducks and misses a punch to the jaw. He moves quickly around and jabs Rian in the side. Several people cheer.
Although Rian is bigger, Tao is faster and uses that to his advantage. He isn’t fast enough, though, and Rian rams him in the side, grabs hold of him, and takes him to the ground. They tumble a few times. Tao struggles to push him off, but Rian is too heavy.
Tao manages to get his right arm around the front of Rian, and he shoves him off balance, allowing him to escape from under the heavy weight. My heart races as I watch him struggle to get his feet. What possessed him to get into this sort of combat training?
The two fighters take a moment to balance themselves but then go right back to fighting. The crowd cheers, and all I want to do is scream for them to stop this nonsense. This isn’t the calm community I’ve grown to love. They have become a people braced by fear and trained to kill others.
All of my thoughts mix together and become a puzzle of a mess. Keyon throwing spears, the dying Wai on the blood-soaked shore, the ruins on the mountain and in the water, the large eel with teeth hungry for its next meal... I can’t get my thoughts straight or coherent.
Tao’s jaw takes a solid blow from Rian’s fist. Blood squirts out of his mouth. He falls hard onto the ground, and his head slams into a rock.
The crowd gasps, and the cheering ceases.
Blood fills the dirt around Tao’s head, and his eyes don’t open.
Screams fill the air, but then I realize it’s my voice.
I run to Tao and see a gash on the side of his head where the blood comes. Keyon and Rian help carry Tao to a hospital bed. The boy’s mother must have come to get him because he’s gone as I enter the hospital, leaving Tao as my only patient.
“Keep everyone away,” I order Keyon and shove him out of my way.
With added pressure, the blood flow stops, and I work on cleaning out the wound when his eyes slowly open.
“There’s my angel.” Tao smiles. “Once again, you come to my rescue.”
“Can you stay awake?” I ask. “You hit your head hard. You need to stay conscious for me. Does it hurt?”
He takes my hand away from his head and holds it.
“Stop, Tao. This is serious.” I pull it away and finish cleaning out the wound. “I’ll need to stitch it up. Why did you do such a foolish thing?”
“How else am I going to get you to pay attention to me?” His smile fades.
“Don’t you dare tell me that you went all barbaric in order to get injured just to have me care for you. That’s ridiculous.”
“And the truth.” He breathes out a long held in breath. “You’re too busy with everyone else lately that it’s hard to get you alone for a moment.”
“I’m busy taking care of your people, with the help of your fiancée, by the way.”
He winces.
“Did that hurt?” I take away the wet, blood-soaked cloth, worried that I touched his head too hard.
“Not in the way you think,” he says. “Are you going to give me something for the pain before you use a needle on my head?”
“A moment, please.” I hurry to the hearth and take out the brew I use for pain reduction. I pour it into a cup for him. “Little sips.”
“Thank you.” He sips the medicine as I ready the needle to close the wound. “Did I ever tell you about the time that Keyon and I were out on the other side of the island and we ran into a bear with her cubs?”
“No. I don’t recall you telling me that story.” I clean the wound.
“I wasn’t sure if maybe Keyon told you that story or not.” He frowns and closes his eyes.
“He didn’t.”
“Well, we had decided to be adventurous and leave home for a couple of weeks, against Father’s advice. He didn’t want us to go, and certainly not alone, but we insisted and he relented.”
“You have a way of getting what you want, don’t you?” I sterilize the needle over the fire.
“Not everything I want.” He pauses before continuing. “One of the bear’s cubs fell into a ravi
ne and couldn’t get out. We watched it from a distance so the mother bear wouldn’t attack us. Keyon said we should leave it alone and go on our way, but I couldn’t let that cub die down there. It surely would have died all alone, and I couldn’t let that happen. So, I convinced Keyon to lower me down into the ravine from the other side, away from the mother bear and her other cub.”
“What happened?” I start stitching up his head.
He groans but goes on with his story. “Keyon lowered me down, but the cub was so afraid of me. His little paw was hurt from the fall, and he feared I’d hurt him more. He scratched my back good on the way back up. Keyon latched onto a rock and pulled us both up as I struggled to hold onto the cub. There were a few times I thought we wouldn’t make it, that the bear and I were too heavy for Keyon, but he pulled us both up and I grabbed onto a branch and heaved the cub over the edge. Then, I pulled myself up. I scrambled away, leaving the cub for his mother to find. Keyon and I watched from behind a nearby tree until she came. It didn’t take long for them to be reunited.”
“That’s amazing.” Warmth invades me.
“The cub ran fast away from us and reunited with his mother, limping the entire way. I don’t know if he survived to adulthood, but he lived another day with his family. It’s rare for us to see a bear with two cubs, but I felt connected to them. They shared the same parents and were born on the same day, as Keyon and myself were.”
“You associated with the cubs because they were twins?” I tie off the string and dab the sealed wound. It already looks much better.
“Keyon thought I lost my mind wanting to rescue the cub, but then that night over a fire, he listened to why I did it. I wanted the brothers to grow together and share their lives as we’ve shared ours. He understood me more in that one moment than we had our entire lives. Going on that trip taught us a lot about each other. I’m willing to make sacrifices, and he’s willing to give me the strength to do so. Together, we work well to achieve great things.”
I think about the tough time Keyon must have had pulling them up and the struggle with the cub who feared Tao on the way up the ravine. “I like that story.”
“When I was getting sick, Keyon panicked. I could tell he was upset he would lose me, and he was willing to get sick right along with me if need be. It was a miracle finding you.” He stares up into my eyes. “My guardian angel was sent to our rescue.”
“I only healed the sickness,” I say.
“You saved both of us that day, Alania. I don’t think Keyon would have survived without me, nor I without him. He seems brash and pigheaded at times, but his intentions are always pure.”
“What are you saying?” I ask.
“He feels as guilty for taking you as I do. His methods... our methods were awful, but it was to save our people from dying out.”
“Keyon apologized for it, and I forgave him.”
“He did?” Tao asks.
“Keyon has a tough outer shell, but he’s a good person. I know.”
“Do you love him?”
I am taken aback by his question. “No. I don’t love him.” My stomach wants to burst open and spill onto the floor. Is he trying to push his father’s agenda? Is this why he told me this story about him and Keyon saving the cub? Can I trust what I see in his eyes? Is his affection for me the same I feel for him?
We stare at each other for several seconds in silence.
He pulls me down to him. Our lips touch for the first time. They linger together for a long moment, and I’m lost in the sensual kiss. It doesn’t feel real, but my lips say otherwise.
8
When the kiss ends and I see the longing in Tao’s eyes, I realize there’s no possible way I can marry his brother. The feelings I have for Tao outweigh anything I have ever felt before. It seems nothing is fair in this world, not even love.
“I have to go.” I turn to leave.
Tao grabs my hand. “Don’t.” His grip tightens. “I can’t stop thinking about you.” He lowers his head. “I know it’s not right, or fair to Esther, but I can’t control it. Every second I’m awake, you are the only one filling the thoughts in my head.” He skims his fingers over my cheek. The warmth from his touch sends shivers throughout my body.
My heart aches. I want him to stop bleeding his soul out for me. The pain of it is too much to bear. I close my eyes and wish things could be different, but it’s clear this is the way they were meant to be. Before I can stop myself, I say, “Your father wants me to marry Keyon.”
Tao’s hand slips from mine. The shock turns his tan face ashen. Our gazes crash into one another. The guilt I feel is overwhelming, and I don’t understand why. I’ve done nothing wrong. He opens his mouth to say something when the warning horn blares.
Tao’s eyes widen.
“Get to somewhere safe. I’ll be back when I can.” He pushes himself up and gets to a standing position. Pain flashes across his features, and he visibly winces.
“Maybe you should—”
“Get to somewhere safe,” he hollers over his shoulder.
It doesn’t register what’s happening until Tao takes off toward the beach. One of the people on lookout duty has spotted something or someone coming toward the island. I race to the water. I won’t hide this time.
The heat from the late morning sun blasts through the chill scampering down my arms. Could this really be happening? It all seems so surreal.
But, as I run and pass mothers pulling their children away from the shore, the reality of it all becomes very clear.
Everyone is on the beach when I arrive. They are in position and ready with their weapons. The sun glints off the pointed tips of their spears. The faces of the men poised and waiting are a combination of scowls and determination. They have trained hard for this moment.
I spot Keyon as he makes his way over to me. A thin sheen of sweat coats his bare chest and arms. He’s breathing heavily as he approaches.
“I would have come for you, but I was sparring with Reece and didn’t notice the vessel until the horn sounded.”
“It’s okay.” I’m glad he didn’t come to get me. He would have seen Tao and me kissing. I don’t want to imagine how that would have gone over.
“We need to get you out of here.” Keyon tugs on my hand as he tries to lead me away from the oncoming trouble.
I pull back. “No. I’m not leaving again. These people are willing to risk their lives, and I should do the same.” My words come out fiercer than I intend them to be. “I need to do my part.”
His eyes become slits of anger. “There’s no one else who can heal our wounded like you can. They’re counting on you to be there for them when this is over.”
I don’t like his reasoning, but he has a point.
Allowing myself to keep my dignity, I say, “Fine, but I at least want to see what’s going on.” I avoid storming off and away from him.
His eyes soften, and he studies me. “Why don’t you go to Esther’s and I’ll meet you there when this is over?”
Tao’s fiancée’s home is the last place I want to go. My betrayal is like a slap in the face, especially when all she has ever shown me is kindness. I still can’t believe I kissed her fiancé. But, reliving the moment when our lips touched is all I want to do. Later, when I’m alone, I’ll torture myself with the memory. Without thinking, I press the tips of my fingers to my lips.
“Now would be a good time to head over there.”
Jostled from my thoughts, I lower my hand. “No, I’ll be fine. I’ll just go back to the hospital.”
Keyon smiles as if pleased that I listened to him. He leans down and kisses my cheek. The shock racing across my face leaves my cheeks hot and flushing.
“What was that for?”
A thin smile forms on his handsome face. “Do I need a reason?”
I’m not sure if he does or doesn’t, but the gesture is out of character for him. Or possibly, he hasn’t shown this side of himself until now. I lower my gaze from his. I wish I ha
d or could develop feelings for Keyon. It would make everything much easier. But, my heart couldn’t be farther from those feelings for him. Ironically, he feels more like a brother to me.
I shrug. “I don’t know.”
My answer causes him to step back. He straightens and grips the spear tighter. “I’m going to join the others,” he says.
What was he expecting my reaction to be? Does he think he has some claim over me because his father thinks we should be joined as a couple? I have no answers. My thoughts are interrupted when I glance at the crowd gathered on the beach. Through the swarm of protectors is a boat floating on the ocean. The bow of the boat is heading straight for Malalo.
The boat is still in the deep water, but the waves are carrying it quickly in our direction. As it gets closer to the shore, the bobbing heads in the water disappear below the surface. Clouds float over the sun. Shadows dissolve on the sand. The air immediately cools.
I can’t tear myself away from the developing scene being played out before me. The scent of rain grows heavy in the air. A few of the water people swim toward the approaching boat.
“Don’t you think it’s odd the boat is coming from the north?”
I didn’t hear Reece come up next to me. His body is bruised and blotched with red welts from sparring.
“I’m not sure,” I admit. “I’ve only seen one other boat arrive.”
Reece shakes his head as if trying to figure out the odd coordinates of the vessel and the direction from which it came. “Something’s not right.”
Gusts of wind from the oncoming storm propel the boat forward. It shifts sideways and then straightens out again. From afar, the boat looks like the same that had arrived a couple weeks ago.
The vessel enters the water people’s area. Hesitantly, one of the men in the water looks over into the boat as a wave tilts the boat onto its side. He glances back to the shore and shakes his head.
Nether Tears (Underwater Island Series Book 2) Page 5