AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I meant the outlaw,” Dyanni says, losing her patience.
It’s the question I asked myself before I even knew his name. It seems ridiculous to have such strong feelings for someone I know nothing about. But the truth is, when it comes to Troj, I don’t need to know him. I feel him with every part of me. I’ve never been afraid of him watching me, never questioned why he came to me, because with him comes a familiarity that I can’t explain.
“I’m going to go see my uncle, and check on Tawk.” I start walking toward the door.
“Shaniya…” Dyanni steps around me and stops me from leaving. “You’re my best friend. I love you like a sister, and all I want is for you to be happy in this world. But the choices you make right now are shaping your future. You need to make them cautiously.” Her tone is much softer now, and she places a kiss on my cheek that reminds me she can’t stay mad at me for long. Smiling back at her, I nod her some reassurance before stepping past her and heading out the door to go to my uncle.
Crossing the village I see Calian, who smiles at me awkwardly then gets back to work fixing one of the animal pens. I step onto Tawk’s porch and take a nervous breath before I knock the door, and when my auntie answers she looks at the floor disappointedly. Opening it wider she moves aside so I can enter, and nerves dance in my stomach as I walk toward the bedroom.
My uncle sits beside Tawk, who’s lying on the bed with his arm in a sling and his chest bandaged. His face is bruised and swollen but I can see that he is breathing much easier now.
“I’m sor—”
“Don’t speak, Shaniya. Tawk doesn’t need negative energy.” Uncle’s eyes don’t lift off Tawk as he interrupts me.
“I want to explain.” I step closer, despite being angry at Tawk for what he attempted to do to Troj. I can see he’s been served his punishment.
I still care for him, and of course I want to know he’s going to be okay.
“We will talk later, Shaniya,” Uncle hushes me, and I back out of the room to the living area where my auntie waits for me.
“Your uncle is upset,” she whispers. “He doesn’t like having our fate balanced in the hands of those he has sworn hatred toward,” she explains, handing me a cup of her nettle tea.
“I don’t think the Souls are bad people, Auntie, I’ve seen kindness from them. They saved us the night of the fire. They got Uncle back.”
“Your uncle's a proud man.” This is something I’m already well aware of. “He thinks a lot of Tawk, you know how much he wanted a son.” She looks at the floor again in disappointment, she and my uncle were never blessed with children of their own.
“Tawk could have ruined our agreement with the outlaws. We have to play by their rules now, especially since we don’t know anything about the game. Ivan is dangerous, for some reason he wants to destroy what we have here. And if making a deal with the devil will save us from that, I’m prepared to do it.” Standing up from the table I make my way toward the door, and when I turn to say goodbye, I realize my uncle’s been listening.
“Shaniya.” He closes the door and lowers his voice so Tawk can’t hear us. “I made a mistake today. I should never have put Tawk in that fight. You’re right, pride got the better of me and it got the better of him too.” He gestures his head toward the closed door. “I understand that we need to keep our relations with the outlaws friendly but you also need to remember who you are. You are of us, Shaniya,” he tells me firmly.
“Shaniya stopped a war today.” My aunt surprises me, coming to stand beside me and taking my hand in hers. “She saved your life when she went to them the night of the fires. The Soul’s brought you home to me, and they are prepared to fight one of their own men to save our village. Any pride war ends here.” The warning look she gives my uncle doesn’t just shock me, but him too. I’ve never heard her talk to him this way before.
He nods his head in agreement, taking his pipe and pressing it between his lips.
“Fine, but there is no reason for you to sleep on their territory. Your home wasn’t destroyed. You can help them take care of the people they are housing but you return to the village at night. Ivan is no threat to us while his deal with the outlaws is in place.”
“Very well,” I agree, kissing my aunt on the cheek before I see myself out.
I haven’t seen much of Troj over the past few days, I’ve spent my days in the kitchen with Maddy and her mom, and I’ve heard from them that he’s busy training for the fight. He made it obvious how seriously he takes his fighting when he ruined Tawk, and I know that if he isn’t in the club’s gym, he’s been down at the village helping repair the damage from the fires. In fact, all the outlaws have surprised us. They have spent many hours helping us rebuild. Our people are desperate to come home. Life at the club isn’t easy for them to adapt to. But they’re all grateful for the effort the club is making to help us feel welcome.
I return to the village with some sandwiches that Marilyn has made for the workers. And my feet freeze when I notice Troj up on the roof of Tayen’s hut. He’s nailing felt to the rafters, with his white shirt tucked into the pocket of his jeans. Today he wears his hair tied up… I can never decide how I like it most.
His eyes seek me out and as soon as I realize I’m staring, I move quickly toward one of the benches and begin to unload the hamper.
“What’s Mar sent for us today?” Calian asks, looking excited. He’s been taking to her food a little too well. Especially her meatloaf. Tayen’s even asked for the recipe. It’s strange to see mine and Troj’s people coming together and working to rebuild our village. The women from my culture merging with theirs gives me hope that they might understand the modern way of living a little easier, and that we can still sustain a relationship after all this is over.
The hamper quickly empties when all the men decide to take a break, and my auntie brings refreshments outside of Tawk’s cabin where she and my uncle are staying.
“Got anything left in there?” Troj’s voice comes from behind me, and my skin tingles when his long arm reaches around me and grabs the last sandwich from the hamper.
“I thought you were avoiding me,” I say, daring to turn around into the tight space he’s created between him and the table. Sweat glistens from his chest and abs, and I notice his skin has tanned a few shades from where he’s been working in the sun.
“I have been avoiding ya,” he confirms, his voice raspy as he picks at the crusty bread and pops a piece inside his mouth.
Well, at least the guy’s honest.
“Why?” I try so hard to keep the hurt out of my voice.
