8
Adan
—
The antidote is to save a life.
Yet that is not the whole truth why I’ve volunteered to retrieve it. I know this. If it were, I would have sent one of the guards to do the work. After all, it is not a hard task for a draki to kill.
No. I want to win even more favour with Xia. I like the way she looked at me before I left, her gaze filled with gratitude. As if I am her saviour and protector from absolute despair. Using the mission to foster this perspective is perhaps selfish when her friend’s life remains in question.
Though not entirely so. I’m doing this to spare Xia from the misery of losing her friend because I sense Xia has lost much already. I also want the human female called Tess to live because I am grateful to her. She brought Xia to me.
I retrieve my spear from my den, then remember I will have no need of the weapon. Now that I am in control of my dragon once more, defeating a cuhi will be a simple endeavour.
Heading to one of the entrances to Vyaka, I shift and take to the skies. The storm is close. I must be quick if I’m to fly to and from Yohai’s border with Seca.
I fly toward the caves where the cuhi usually inhabit and land at its mouth. It doesn’t take long for one of the four-legged beast with shaggy, grey fur to manifest. It growls at me, its hackles raised, ears flattened, its long teeth bared. It’s threatened by my size and the fact that I am encroaching on its territory. I’m about to burn it alive with my fire when I remember the medic’s instructions to return the sac inside in its stomach warm. I suppose he did not mean charred.
So I let the creature come near and when it leaps to attack, I swipe at it. It crashes to the ground but rises up onto its feet immediately, shaking off the brunt of its fall. It charges again, snarling and snapping. This time, my swipe is sure. I sink my claws into its neck, killing it instantly.
Retrieving the cuhi’s body, I take to the skies again with it and return to Vyaka just as the storm breaks. I carry the dead monster to the medic and Xia recoils from the sight of it.
“Is that the thing that attacked Tess?”
“One of its kind.”
“What do you need it for?”
“There is a sac inside its stomach that contains the antidote to its poisonous bite.”
I instruct Xia to place folded cloth on the floor then I set the cuhi down. Using the medic’s blade, I gut the beast and sink my hands elbow deep into its wet, warm innards. Xia’s upper lip curl in disgust but she doesn’t look away.
“I was perhaps seven or eight enur the first time I saw my toha do this to save the life of an Unshifted Secan,” I say as I search for the sac by touch. “I almost gave up the meal I’d eaten. My brother ran away in tears, screaming.”
I don’t usually speak about Dwen, but I feel compelled to share the memory with Xia.
Her shoulders relax, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Don’t be surprised if I follow your brother’s example. I don’t know how much longer I can watch.”
I find the sac and free it from the beast’s body. Slipping my hands from the cuhi, I set the sac in a bowl and Xia hands it to Medic Olhun.
Xia’s friend lay naked on the fur. She is tall and of a slim build. An attractive female, no doubt, but her beauty pales in comparison to Xia’s in my eyes. Wiping the cuhi’s blood from my hands, I’m aware my purpose is fulfilled and I should go about my usual business. I am not ready to leave Xia’s presence yet but my duties as Konai demands my attention elsewhere.
“I will return later,” I tell her as I gather up the body of the cuhi. It will add to the food stores. The beast is not a common meat to eat, but it will not be wasted.
She opens her mouth to speak, but is distracted when Medic Olhun presses a syringe to the sac then transfers the dark liquid inside to her friend.
I leave and head down to the kitchens. While there, I have one of the workers prepare something for Xia and her friend to eat and send it to them.
Much of my duties as Konai is nothing but dull work. It has taken me time to adjust to this fact as most of my life has been spent in battle or training for battle. The adventures of last night and this morning leave me distracted for most of the day. Now that I am no longer in Xia’s presence, the amazement of discovering she is my asafura begin to drown under the voices of doubt.
The voices that remind me of who I am and what I did to get here.
That as much as she is mine, my actions from the past is proof of my true character and therefore nullifies my right to have her.
Night has fallen by the time I visit Xia. She leans against the wall, her eyelids drooping from exhaustion. Her eyes spring open when I draw closer.
“You are tired. You should not fight it. Rest.”
She doesn’t respond right away. Rubbing her eyes and her face, she sits up straight, meeting my gaze.
“Why do you care?” she asks suddenly. “Why do you care if I’m tired or if Tess lives? Why have you gone through so much trouble to help us?”
Because you are my mate and I want nothing else than to please you.
But I cannot say that. We still know so little of each other despite what we’ve already been through today. She will not accept it if I tell her she is my asafura.
“Should there be a reason?”
“Yes.” She purses her lips. “We’re humans and you’re a rur draki. Not just any rur draki, either. You’re a Konai.” She breathes deeply, shaking her head. “Why didn’t you tell me that sooner?”
“I didn’t consider it would be important for you to know,” I say. “What would have changed if I’d told you?”
“I definitely wouldn’t have… done… what we did last night.” She rubs her lips together. “Now I can’t decide whether to hold onto this secret until my dying breath or write a tell-all book about my explicit adventures in Seca with their royalty.”
I smile. “Then I’m not at all apologetic I didn’t disclose my identity.”
She stands, hugging herself. In the quiet, she stares at her friend where she is still asleep. Neatly wrapped bandages cover her friend’s arms.
“The Andrasari never cared about humans,” she says quietly. “We were like ants under their feet. Whether we lived or died after they stepped on us were none of their concern.”
“The Andrasari and my people have been at war for several enur as well. They are not famous for their open-mindedness or fairness. However their new Konai shows promise.”
She comes closer, her eyes dark and glittering.
“Thank you, Adan,” she says. “Thanks for all that you’ve done.” She smiles tentatively. “I hope you don’t mind putting up with us a little longer. The medic says that Tess will not be able to walk for a while.”
“I don’t mind.”
It’s exactly what I wanted.
She sighs tiredly. “I do want to rest but I’d love a bath first.”
“Come.” I grasp her arm, eager to touch her again, and guide her further into the den where the pool of heated water sits. Steam rises invitingly from its surface.
“Kahafura’s tits, that looks amazing right now,” she says in excitement.
I chuckle. “Your creativity extends beyond male parts to curses too.”
“Put ‘tits’ in front of anything and say it in surprise… and there you go. Perfectly good swear.” She nods at the pool. “Where is the water coming from?”
“The pool at the bottom. The heart of Vyaka.” I say. “There are channels built into it serving as a water source to all the dens here.”
“Vyaka.” She enunciates the word slowly. “Is that the name of this mountain?”
“Yes. Yndirravyaka. We are in the largest of the two.”
She nods, her gaze fixed on the pool as she reaches a hand to the buttons on her clothing.
She unbuttons the first few then stops and looks up at me. She bites her lip as if in consideration before she resumes unbuttoning the strange grey suit she wears. Then she drops her hands at her sides.
Through the gap in the unbuttoned front of her suit, the curve of her bare breast and sternum tantalizes me.
I drag my gaze up to hers as the air between us thickens. She licks her lower lip. I wish it were my tongue tasting them.
It can be my tongue tasting her.
I step toward her, and almost imperceptibly she leans in closer to me.
Shouts outside the den interrupts us, stealing our attention. My people calling for me.
Xia frowns. “What’s going on?”
“Don’t concern yourself. Bathe then rest.”
She nods quietly and I hurry outside. I am accosted by a guard immediately, his visible terror dampening my arousal and driving away all thoughts of having Xia beneath me from my head.
“Ta Konai, there is more,” he says. “Three more drakila found dead.”