Page 259 of Interion

“He’s watching, but I’m sure he already knows.”

“I would like to…” She fell silent and looked away, picking at the peeling black polish on her nails. “I’d like to meet him. I don’t know how you managed to get in touch, but if you could take me to see him, I’d be… grateful.”

The Yonserian seemed lost in her thoughts. There was a nameless sadness in her gaze, something hard and so solid it was almost palpable.

“That would be interesting. I think he’d like you.”

Adele narrowed her eyes at me, trying to understand the insinuation. However, I let the subject drop; I didn’t want to expose Serguei’s name or anything about him with the entire continent watching. As soon as I finished eating, my ally stood up and threw dirt on the fire, extinguishing the flames. The sun was setting on the horizon.

“So, where are we sleeping?”

I stood up and grabbed the bow and arrows, then pointed the way, and Adele followed me, silent as a ghost. As I walked along the trail bordered by lemongrass, I scanned the surroundings, hoping to find more ocean flowers. Instead, what I found was a mandrocina larger than the one I’d slept in the night before. I pointed to it, dramatizing the scene as if it were a divine gift.

“Welcome to your bed!” I examined the tree. This one also had an open top.

“Bed?” Adele narrowed her eyes, suspicious.

“It’s a mandrocina.”

“And how does a macocita become a bed?”

“It’s mandrocina, not macocita. It’s a hollow tree—we can sleep inside it.”

The forest was getting darker and darker. It was good we’d found a place to spend the night. After all, the nocturnal animals would soon come out to hunt. I went around a lower branch and hoisted myself up, bracing my knee against the rough wood for support.

“Whatever the name, Kyller. That doesn’t look comfortable.”

“Not only does it not look comfortable, it isn’t comfortable either,” I said with a smirk as I held out my hand to help her climb. “If you didn’t know about the mandrocina, where did you sleep?”

“I slept on a large branch full of vines. Tied myself to it.” Adele ignored the help and dragged her exhausted body up.

“And the snow?” The moment I asked, I remembered her genetics. “Forget it, that was a stupid question. You really don’t feel even a little cold?”

“Nothing. Pure-blooded Yonserians don’t know what that is. We know what heat is. When it’s 20 degrees, we feel like we’re in a sauna, but we don’t understand what cold means.”

“Could you go without clothes in the snow?” I dodged a branch, holding it for her, and continued climbing.

“Yes, but not feeling cold doesn’t mean we can’t die of hypothermia. We’re more tolerant of it. But at some point, the body starts to freeze. In Yonser, when we stop aging, there’s a walk to the top of the Ice Bone mountains. It’s a rite like the one you have here with the paintings, but there it’s not about rising to power—it’s about self-knowledge and rebirth. Unlike Interion, which worships all the gods, Yonser worships only Anabel. Normally, men make the journey barefoot, wearing only a black tunic, but some do it naked to show off their Yonser genetics. A few freeze along the way, but most make it to the top intact.”

“Naked in the snow? And you’re going to do that?” I asked, a little surprised by the tradition.

“Only men are allowed by the church.” She smiled in that irritating way. “But I bet if I did it, you’d watch! You’re dying to see me naked again.”

I laughed and kept going without paying attention to her teasing. When we finished climbing, night had covered the forest, and a snowflake landed on my nose, marking perfect timing. I entered the hole in the tree, making sure there were no insects hidden in the trunk. Adele dragged herself inside and lay down against my back.

The night would be long and cold. At least for me.

Chapter 64

I must have dozed off for a few minutes, because when I finally opened my eyes, the sky had already turned to night and the aurora borealis was lighting up the inside of our hollow trunk, casting the walls in green.

Careful not to wake Adele, who was sleeping soundly beside me, I sat up with heavy eyes and stared at the snow falling outside. Only then did I notice the unnatural stillness in the forest—and realized that silence was what had woken me.

I poked Adele, whispering softly in her ear:

“Do you notice how quiet it is?”

“What quiet?” Adele grumbled, unconsciously snuggling closer to me, but she didn’t open her eyes.