“Why are you getting out already?” Cecily grumbles, although her relief at stepping out of the water is evident.
“I only planned on being in there long enough to wash off the dust from the training arena,” he says.
She glares at him. “That’s dumb. You could have just gone back home and used the water in the basin. Why drag us all the way out here for less than ten minutes?”
Like Carter said, Cecily’s irritation is mildly entertaining. Talek shrugs. The young girl growls and snatches up her towel. She roughly dries herself off and with a dramatic huff stomps away. Carter glances over at me and we share a grin. Poor Talek stares after Cecily like he doesn’t know if he should go after her or not. Bazel appears completely unbothered by any of it. He’s probably gotten used to all this.
“I’m going to get something to eat,” Bazel announces and he too heads off.
Carter throws his arm over Talek’s shoulders. “Come on, let’s go.”
The older boy guides the younger away and in the opposite direction of either Cecily or Bazel. With any luck, Carter willoffer some insight. The way the young Tavikhi looks at Cecily is sweet. Makes me wonder though if she knows how he feels about her or if she feels the same. Did anyone have that kind of crush on me when I was her age? Probably not. Twenty years is a long time to try and remember. Not that I want to.
With the kids gone, the peace and quiet settles around me like a comfortable blanket. Being out in nature soothes my soul. Like always, any thoughts of the upper tier suffocate me. Smother me. It’s like everything is closing in, and I can’t breathe. Looking out over the water, I force myself to slowly and deeply inhale. To drag in so much air my lungs might burst from it all. I hold it for a two-count and just as slowly, release it. The claustrophobic sensation disappears.
The image of the way Talek looked at Cecily reappears. Sage mentioned they were best friends, but his crush was obvious to me. Somehow seeing it makes me think of Ortak and the way I’ve caught him looking at me. Or at least I think that’s how he’s looking at me.
It’s a bit more difficult to tell compared to Talek and not only because he’s a young boy who hasn’t learned how to hide his emotions very well. With Ortak, his expressions aren’t easy to read. He doesn’t smile—or at least I’ve never seen him do so. Not the way Gannen does. The way he watches me is intense, but maybe I’m reading something that isn’t there. Kala’s stare was intense, but there wasn’t any kind of softness like I’m probably imagining I’ve seen in Ortak’s gaze.
Everything is so confusing. Am I even attracted to him? Could I be? Maybe I’m all up in my head over nothing. He’s never given me any indication he has a romantic interest in me. Holding my hand at the evening meal yesterday doesn’t mean anything. We’re friends. Family.Platonicfamily, right?
Sure, Gannen has made it clear he wishes for a mother and that I’m a qualified enough candidate for him. But wouldn’t that mean I’d be Ortak’s mate? When Gannen was telling me all about their tribe, he said that when Iris agreed to be Sorin’s mother, she also agreed to be Kala’s mate. They’re definitely in love, that’s for sure.
I have no idea what I even want. The sun moves across the sky, but I linger. I’m not ready to sequester myself indoors quite yet. No matter how long I sit and think, though, no answers come to me. I’m still as confused about Ortak, Gannen, and myself as I was hours ago. Finally, the air grows chilly and the smell of the evening meal beckons me. I gather up my crutches and carefully make my way toward the central fire. Maybe tomorrow I’ll have a better idea of how to move forward.
Chapter 11
Ortak
“Greetings, Ortak.” Kala strides out of his tent with Jiasha on his hip.
“Greetings.”
His kit is a mixture of Krijese and human. Her coloring is a paler version of her gogo, and she has shoulder-length floks that are as dark as Sorin’s. That is where her resemblance to either of them ends. Her facial structure and features are entirely like her momo’s. Jiasha has a protruding nose and her mouth slit sits level with the ground like all human’s. She has no mouth claws and the claws on her hands are short and blunt. Yet, she is beautiful. It is as though she received the best of each of the two beings who created her.
“Walk with us.” Kala continues his steady pace, and I fall in step beside him.
We wander through the village and our leader greets those we pass, but otherwise he does not speak. I have learned to let himthink through whatever it is he needs to say. Kala is never one to have a serious discussion without thorough contemplation. It is one of the many reasons I respect him.
He did not desire to become the Krijese leader, but it fell naturally to him. The elders and few remaining females admire him and the other warlords are in awe of him. They look to him for guidance and he provides it.
“Will you be returning to the Tavikhi village soon?” he finally asks.
It has been two turns since I last saw Elodie. Gannen and I have spent the time since then hunting. I have also been teaching him how to throw a war axe. Before we left the Tavikhi village, I spoke with Benham about crafting Gannen his own axe. It will be my gift to him.
“Perhaps the next turn.”
“Iris likes Elodie.”
I glance at Kala, but he stares straight ahead. “She is easy to like.”
“Gannen has spoken of her non-stop.”
“Yes. He asked her if she had an interest in being a momo. We both know why he was asking her.”
Kala nods. “His first momo has been gone a long time. It is no wonder he hopes for another. He has seen the way Iris loves Sorin. It should not surprise you that your kit may wish for the same thing.”
“It does not surprise me. He showed an unusual interest in Elodie from the moment we found her. That interest has onlygrown.” I should have been discouraging it instead of ignoring it. “She offered to be his friend. I thought he would be satisfied.”
