Kyna awoke, startled by her memories of the night before. How had she allowed herself to get so close to Cain without even being able to convince him of his true identity? And did that mean that he would be more likely to help her or less?
She groaned to herself, dismayed by how far she was from home and how badly she had failed at her mission. She gazed at Cain’s flawless, naked body wrapped up in the sheets. Kyna grew wet as she remembered the night before, and felt tempted to climb on top of him again to recreate it.
Cain let out a soft snore and she backed away, her thoughts returning to Kaldernon. She felt a sudden deep shame. Kyna’s mission had been to bring Cain back, not to sleep with him. What had she been thinking? She should have stayed back with the Kersh clan to try to unlock the secrets of the flashing lights.
Kyna didn’t need Cain to save her. The Kersh clan was full of survivors and had been long before he had come into the picture. She felt a surge of nausea as she looked at him, and she wasn’t sure if it was because of her head or because she had succumbed to sleeping with him even though he was sure that she was insane. Kyna couldn’t stand herself. She had to get back home as soon as possible.
Kyna’s body was sore and she squinted in pain as she gathered her crumpled clothes and pulled them back on as quietly as she could. She didn’t want anything else to do with Cain. He was constantly making her feel like she was some kind of an idiot when he was the one who was too stubborn to pick up the pieces of his past and embrace his destiny.
Kyna couldn’t wait for him to wake up to get back to the forest. She slipped out and headed back on her own. She knew Clayton would be disappointed, but if she told him that it was the way it had to be, he would accept it without too much protest. Kyna’s powers as an oracle were revered by the Kersh clan.
When she got to the sidewalk of the city, a group of people pushed past her. Horns were blaring on the road and she covered her ears.
“Love your outfit!” a woman with flowers stuck in her hair said. She winked and rode by on a unicycle. Kyna’s heart pounded and she turned back to the building. Maybe this had been a bad idea. She tried to push the door to the building’s lobby open, but it was locked firmly.
“Shit,” Kyna breathed, closing her eyes. If the door was locked, it was meant to be that she left and didn’t look back. She would have to go where fate took her.
Kyna squared her shoulders and turned left. The truck had approached from that direction; she was sure of it. She wandered through the city, making eye contact with all manner of people. Soon, she realized it was easier to keep to herself and kept her eyes on the ground. Everybody was confrontational and they looked cruel. She was glad they had gone around the city rather than through it when the Loni tribe had been in search of the Kersh clan.
She wandered for about an hour, and found herself in a lush park. It was comforting, a lot like a home amid the unnerving urban jungle. Kyna sat heavily on one of the swings, clutching a flower in her hand. She stared at it as memories of the night before with Cain flooded her mind. He had been so gentle. She had never realized her body could feel so good. It was a shame that things weren’t working out.
Kyna was distracted from her thoughts as a dark shadow fell over her face. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, so she looked up, frowning.
“Well hello there,” a male police officer said, peering suspiciously at her with his dark, beady eyes. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Um, looking at a flower?”
“To your feet.”
“But – “
Kyna’s heart began to pound painfully in her chest. It was one of the Guardian sympathizers on the police force. This wasn’t going to end well.
“What do we have here?” the officer asked, dropping a bag of weed on the ground. “Drugs!”
“You know those aren’t – “
“Shut up! You’re going to have to come with me.”
He forced her hands behind her back and she lost her grip on the flower as he handcuffed her. It fell to the ground as the officer led her away, nobody there to witness what happened or help her.
***
Cain was struggling with a fitful sleep. There were images flashing in his head. Things he didn’t understand. A language he had never heard and yet, he felt it resonating deeply within him. It was an unspoken language and he knew that by being with Kyna he had unlocked it within himself.
When he woke up, he couldn’t wait to tell her what he had dreamt. Cain was startled when he pulled his boxers back on and realized that he was alone in the apartment. He ran from room to room, checking to make sure his impression was right.
The search ended with Cain despaired. Where had Kyna gone? He didn’t even have to go to work to distract himself. He showered and dressed. Maybe he could catch her before she got too far.
Cain set off on foot in the direction they had come from, knowing she was probably heading back to the underground burrows where she lived. He couldn’t tell what that dream had been. All he knew was that it had been profound.
He couldn’t deny the fact that he was nervous. It was dangerous to wander around in the city. Especially if other people realized that she might not be all there. He was starting to feel guilty for thinking that. Especially because he was beginning to believe her. Especially after the dream that he’d had after they made love. He thought he was finally beginning to understand the lights he had seen in the sky above the tunnels. Why had she disappeared on him right when he needed her the most?
Cain walked past the park, slowing his gait. There was a wrinkled flower on the ground. He furrowed his eyebrows and picked it up, squinting at it. There was something about it that made him look twice. It made him think of Kyna. Suddenly, he knew beyond a doubt that she had been there. How he knew it, he didn’t know, but he did know he had to find her.
Cain tucked the flower gingerly in his pocket and took off running, trusting his body to take him where he needed to be before it was too late.