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“Sathior!” Wide arms greet our clandestine employer.
“Mazzy!” Try though I might, my jaw won't make contact with my upper lip. My face sweeps over to Alice to confirm that I'm not daydreaming.
“Maz Uldern,” she whispers. “I can’t believe it.”
The fashion world has many archetypes, with Sathior queen of her own little niche. Hers is a white world of red lips and untouched purity. The earthen, gritty luster of Maz Uldern, the king of new grunge, is a clash too big to be ignored.
Alice and I are stone-faced when Sathior lurches quickly around, studying our faces for any sign of judgment. Satisfied, she hands me her bag.
“Sit in the front with the driver.”
Orders were to be expected, Alice and I talked about that. What we didn't account for was the thankful opportunity to be out of earshot just long enough to explode with curiosity.
“Well, I’m floored.”
“We knew he’d be interesting, whoever he was, but Maz Uldern. Wow. I’d love to know how that came to be.”
“Imagine it!” she laughs, sitting back in her seat.
“The press would lose it.”
“I guess all the secrecy makes sense.”
As we pull into traffic, the buzz of Port City fades into smaller houses and towns until eventually, we find ourselves trudging through vast forests with no end in sight.
“Um, where are we going?” I finally muster the strength to ask the driver.
“Mr. Uldern’s estate is close by,” he says, pulling into a parting in the trees. Looking up, I see trunks as tall as fifty feet or more.
Eventually, the car pulls into a driveway marked with armed guards at the gate. The gates open slowly to a cleared open field with a large hunting lodge at the top of a hill.
“And that is a log cabin!?” Alice looks unhinged. I see a devious smile on my friend's face and can't help but share her curiosity. “Do you think she’s going to hunt?”
“At this point, anything’s possible,” I tell her as the car makes its way up to the top of the hill.
Dutifully, Alice and I wait for Sathior and Maz as they waltz into the lodge arm-in-arm.
“Come, my love, this way.”
“Goodness!” she exclaims, pulling the shades from her face. “That’s a lot of antlers.”
“The hunting is very good here, my dear,” he explains.
When a pout crosses Sathior’s face he rushes to soothe it away. “Never fear my love. You’re here that I may devour only you.”
Within minutes they fall into a kissing fit that leads to the most uncomfortable moment of my life. After what feels like an eternity, Sathior turns to us again.
“Girls. Mazzy wants to take us on a quick tour of the grounds before dinner. Do you mind coming with? This hat is rather prone to slipping and I may need help.”
“Of course, ma’am,” we answer, this time shaking off the dread of tending her for the excitement of exploring the living wonder that is Kalei.
Maz leads us out to a hover vehicle made for the woods and large enough to fit the four of us. Seconds later we’re zooming into the dense canopy so quickly that the trunks around us fade into a brown sheet.
Alice looks ready to hurl, her fingers white-knuckled against the bars inside the cab. Around us, however, are the rich screams of our hosts.
“Wahhhooooo!” Admittedly, I've never seen Sathior like this. It’s nice to see her happy. I might even be a little jealous.
Finally, the vehicle rounds near a cliff, with Maz screeching to a halt in the final seconds I think we’re done for. He laughs violently from the driver’s seat before exiting and helping Sathior to her feet.
