AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I venture a hesitant little wave, my heart pounding harder than it was just seconds ago. “Evening greetings, Keita,” I say softly, drawing his attention to me.
He doesn’t reply, but his eyes flicker over me, a slightly dazed look in them, as if he’s just been hit over the head with Britta’s war hammer.
“Deka,” he breathes, his voice suddenly hoarse. “You look…” He walks closer, takes my hands in his. He clears his throat as if trying to take control of his voice. “You look like a goddess. Like my goddess.”
My cheeks heat, and I glance up into his eyes. The fire there is burning brightly. It ignites a similar feeling in my body, and suddenly, I have to fight to keep from squirming. His hands are warm…oh, so warm….
“Thank you,” I finally manage to say. “You look amazing too. Like a prince. My prince,” I add.
“I will always be yours. You know that, Deka.”
I do. I’ve known it ever since he carried me in pieces to that lake two years ago so White Hands and the other Firstborn could heal me after the former emperor ordered me dismembered.
Before then, I’d never known a man, much less a boy, who would put a woman before his own safety. But Keita did that. He aided me when no one else dared. He defended me when no other man was willing.
He presses his forehead to mine, and I sink against him, savoring the feeling. The warmth. Ever since Keita received his fire, he’s become like a furnace, always boiling. It unnerves the others, but not me. Never me.
I like the heat.
“Angoro Deka…” It’s some moments before a hesitant voice interrupts the spell. I reluctantly pull back from Keita, then turn to find Nenneh Kadeh standing by the door in what appears to be her finest regalia, the white robes so sleek, they almost seem like a stream of fabric flowing over her.
“It is time,” she says quietly.
I nod, then look at Keita. He smiles at me, squeezes my hand. “No matter what happens, I’m here.”
“We all are,” Britta says, a sentiment that is repeated by the rest of my friends, who nod encouragingly at me.
I glance at them, gratitude shining in my eyes.
Then I nod back at Nenneh Kadeh. “I’m ready now.”
“Wonderful.” She gestures to the open door. “It is time to meet the gods of Maiwuri.”
12
I expected to meet Mother in a temple somewhere in the administrative district, but Nenneh Kadeh and Lamin escort me toward the mountains that loom in the center of the island. Lamin has recovered from our earlier awkwardness and is becoming more authoritative as we go, as if he’s remembering his time here, remembering the person he used to be before he was sent to Otera and forced to become a member of my group. I watch, disgruntled, as he taps the side of a jewel-green tree trunk and a staircase appears out of thin air, the clear, glasslike steps appearing one by one to spiral off into the evening sky.
Britta wrinkles her nose doubtfully. “Ye want us to get onto that?”
“Yes.” Lamin nods. “It’s the only way up.”
“That thing?” Britta is clearly still skeptical. “The one with no handrails that goes up an’ up an’ up?”
“It won’t allow you to fall. Watch.” Lamin demonstrates by walking up a few steps into the air and then intentionally stumbling sideways. Magically, more steps appear, and this continues no matter how erratically he walks. “See?” he finally says, satisfied.
“More demonstrations of power from the gods of Maiwuri. Wonderful,” Belcalis says with a weary sigh, taking a few steps up.
Keita, meanwhile, just turns to me and extends his hand. “Deka?”
“My thanks,” I say as I accept it, again marveling at the warmth of his fingers against mine.
No matter how much I resent these new gods who have imposed themselves on my life, I remain grateful to them for this body, which can, for the moment, walk and move without pain and accept the touch of others without fear of damage or agony.
I remain hand in hand with Keita as we ascend, leaving behind the streets far below, the rushing waterfalls, and the quiet, shadow-filled gardens whose flowers glow under the dim light. By now, it’s nearly night, and the moon swells on the horizon, a glowing yellow orb. Lanterns spark into flame, the glowing insects lighting them chirping a soothing melody. Ixa, who has already changed into his nightflyer form, trills along with their melody, bewildering more than one insect into silence. It’s all so magical, I’m momentarily distracted from the panic, the apprehension, building inside me.
I’m going to meet the gods of Maiwuri. I’m going to meet Mother. My journey may finally, finally, be at an end.
A thousand conflicting emotions stir inside me until the continued ascension of the stairs begins slowing. Then, finally, unexpectedly, we’re at water’s edge again—only this isn’t the beach we landed on; it’s a beach somewhere deep inside the sky. A work of divinity I would have never reached had the stairs not taken us there. No wonder Nenneh Kadeh told me that it was unreachable yesterday when I wanted to go. Even with Ixa and the gryphs, neither I nor my friends have found our way here.
