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We continue no more than a few steps away when the ground shivers, a low rumbling sweeping through the tunnel. I brace myself, and R’slind moans low. The rumbling stops as quickly as it starts, but it is too much for R’slind. My mate taps my shoulder.
“Need to stop for a moment,” she breathes.
Quickly, I set her down and she kneels on the floor, panting. I stroke her sweaty mane back from her face. “What can I do to help?”
“I’ll be okay. I just need to stand still for a moment. Motion sickness and all that.” She closes her eyes. “Water?”
I do not have any, but surely we did not set off with nothing. I turn to Set’nef and make a drinking motion, gesturing at R’slind. He looks impatient, but pulls a long, arm-length tube from his pack. He pulls a spongy-looking round material from the top that acts as a stopper and holds it out to me.
The water scent hits me before I lift the odd tuber to my nose. It looks like a plant of some kind, hard yet flexible, and filled with fresh water. I take a sip to test it for R’slind, and when I am satisfied that it is not poisoned, I kneel next to her and help her drink. Her face is pale despite the bright flush in her cheeks. “I know this is hard,” I tell her. “You can do this.”
“I’m sorry,” she tells me in a soft voice. “I feel like such a wimp. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
I do, but I do not want her to worry. I just stroke her cheek. “Drink more, and then I will carry you when you feel better.”
We sit for a little longer, R’slind taking small sips while Set’nef paces impatiently. He does not look happy to have stopped, but if I lose R’slind, I do not care if I escape or not. She is everything to me.
Set’nef stills, and pulls his blade from his backpack, stepping past us and eyeing the tunnel from where we came. “Someone is after us.”
I move to stand protectively over R’slind. “Is it your exile? Or your people have sent someone to retrieve us?”
He cannot understand my words, and does not acknowledge them. His long, furred tail flicks back and forth angrily, his color deepening to match the shadows instinctively. We watch the shadows—
And then Set’nef makes a strangled sound of frustration when another male emerges. “Tal’nef, what are you doing here?”
The other approaches, and I have not seen him before. He is a deeper tawny shade than Set’nef, his mane a few shades darker than the rest of him. There is something about his expression that looks familiar, and when he approaches Set’nef, I realize they are kin. They have the same frown, the same set to their eyes with the tilt up at the edges.
“Brother,” the newcomer says, a worried look on his face. “You are leaving, aren’t you? Are you coming back?”
Set’nef hesitates, glancing over at R’slind and myself. “You know I cannot let these strangers be killed. It is wrong.”
“Brother.”
“I know.” Set’nef scrubs his face with one hand, then rakes it over his mane, leaving tufts of it sticking up. “But we can learn so much from them, Tal’nef. They live above. They have fruit and furs. They know of the great water. They are not hiding under the mountain, waiting to die. They are living. Think of how great our people could become if we learn from them!”
The newcomer—Tal’nef—shakes his head. “You know the chief will not allow it. He sees the old ways or none at all.”
“He is wrong.”
“It does not matter if he is wrong or not. He is the chief.”
R’slind leans against me heavily. “This is awkward,” she whispers. “They’re arguing, but look. His brother brought a backpack, too.”
I study Tal’nef and she is right. There is a thin strap over his shoulder. Her keen gaze misses nothing. “Perhaps he brought supplies for his brother.”
“Which means he’s on his side. That’s good for us. Or he could be joining us.” She takes another sip of water and then hands the strange tube back to me. “But he’s not taking us back. They don’t need supplies for that. I think we’re safe.”
For all that she is new to this world, my mate sees clearly. I am so proud of her. I touch her shoulder to show my approval as the males continue to speak.
“We can make allies with them,” Set’nef tells his brother. “Think of what we can learn. I know it is a risk, but it is one we must take.”
The newcomer studies Set’nef. “I believe you, my brother. But know that Kin’far the Tainted is even now amongst the villagers, spreading lies. He says they have worked their dark magic upon you. If anyone finds out you have freed them, you will be seen as the enemy.”
