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Brief, short, now … something … maybe pretty?Jax tried to translate again.
Killian repeated her words. Raela smiled and tried pointing out the dirt, clouds, the sun, and after some confusion, the wind. He pointed to the bird yelling at them in the trees. “Blue jay.”
She giggled. Her face radiated amusement at their game. “Grun peket.”
Jax huffed a wolfy laugh.This language is very specific. That was ‘loud’ or ‘big noise.’
She grabbed Killian’s hand and dragged him around the meadow, pointing, naming, and pulling again. Killian said each word as she tugged him behind her, repeating her words. Her fingers were cool and slender and soft, but not velvety like those of the court ladies. He could tell she worked with her hands, but they were gentle, nonetheless. He laughed as he was yanked toward yet another new thing to identify.
After over an hour, she suddenly froze. Whirling back to look at the sun, she measured its height above the trees, then she threw Killian’s hand down and backed away. “Otu bet’at grigrun. Dela’aco arot’il ken nami. Na olit shum.”
Jax tilted his head.She is leaving. Someone she loves is searching.
Phineas rose from his seat on the ground. “We should get you back, too, Killian.”
“Okay.” Killian pointed to the sun, made gestures of a circle up and around, then pointed to the meadow. “Here. Tomorrow.”
She made a circle with her fingers and followed it by the other hand in a C shape. The circle shape rose again. She pointed to his feet. “Kainara hi, Nurenitam. Na olit arotonmaram ken ra laanma.”
A circle of the night, she said.Jax tilted his head before pawing at his maw.I think that we understand each other.
Killian nodded. She smiled and backed into the shadows of the trees. She waved with a flit of her fingertips, and then she was gone.
Phineas patted Killian on the shoulder as they stepped through the lush meadow grasses. “Well, you are crazy about many things, but I can see why you thought she was worth returning to. Hopefully, this escapade doesn’t get you into trouble. Or killed.”
As Killian felt the heat of the sun and the reality of his lateness to the meeting set in, he wasn’t so sure he wouldn’t end up dead from his father’s hand yet.
Chapter 6
What We Know
Raela
Shewasgoingtobe in so much trouble. She raced back home through the forest, cresting the hills and dales of the gently sloping earth which hardened to support her flight. Auntie Mo would know—she always knew. Raela had no idea what to tell her auntie she had been up to.
But what was really so evil about her visit? It had been a very pleasant information gathering event. She had deftly defended the forest against his … poor pronunciation. Raela grinned. If she was being honest, she’d had a wonderful time. His language was so clunky and full of hard sounds. Her mind flitted through all the new words. She would—she must—remember them.
Pausing before she approached the house, Raela settled her breathing. Snatching the basket, she began collecting the dried clothes off the line as if she had just returned from the irises. Auntie Mo was singing in the house. An excellent sign. Raela smiled. Maybe Auntie Mo hadn’t noticed after all.
Raela reached for the last dress. Behind it stood a wide-eyed, staring, finger-pointing Auntie Toru. In her surprise, Raela stumbled, tossing the basket as she fell backward. Thankfully, she didn’t shriek. Auntie Toru took one wobbly step forward as Raela lay sprawled on the grass.
Her voice, cracked as it was, grated on Raela’s frayed nerves. “I know where you’ve been, child.”
Raela tried to laugh it off, but her voice sounded strained even to her ears. “Oh, Auntie Toru. I was at the iris patch, then I saw some lightshrooms trying to circle up. They had almost circled all the way around. The haze was starting, but don’t worry, I got there in time. No evil today!”
Her auntie peered down at her. “These things are true. But they are not all.” Auntie Toru stepped forward and prodded Raela’s stomach with her cane. “You were in the pines.”
“Yes, the circle—”
“You were not alone.”
Raela swallowed hard and rose to her feet, turning to pick up her basket. “Auntie, you know the forest blocks the way,” she hedged.
“The earth is vibrating today. The stones are groaning with change.” Raela glanced back at her auntie’s face. The woman’s gaze fixed distantly to the Spires in the south. “There are things that were said. Things that were done. Things that were promised. Danger is coming.” She hissed after the last word as her black eyes flashed like obsidian and pierced Raela. Raela shivered. Her skin prickled. But before her next breath, Auntie Toru’s eyes glazed with tears. “And I don’t know how to stop it.” Her head thumped against Raela’s stomach as her shoulders rocked her with sobs.
“What? Auntie, it’s okay. Everything is okay.” Her hands trembled nervously as she patted her auntie.
“It wasn’t okay. You cannot know.” She sniffed and wiped her nose on Raela’s apron. “I want you to be safe. I wish I knew what will come. All I know is what’s been done.”
