Chapter 19

Zaidna

The Empire of Chalei

The Jungles

Anoth had spent hours moving beneath the wide suspended bridges that connected the cities and outposts throughout Chalei. There was no sign of Sorai’s passage either above or below. If she were able to find her way to a bridge, any passing warden would have quickly whisked her to the nearest outpost, but he could not fathom how she would have been able to do so without making a single track. Now, he followed this bridge in hopes of infiltrating an outpost, where he could learn Sorai’s whereabouts from the wardens by persuasion or force.

He had been stupid and careless to have left his rucksack with Zalas and Davim. It contained his carefully drawn map of the region surrounding Sayora, including the precise locations of all the outposts. Now, he could only make a rough guess at where he might be. He could have conveyed himself anywhere within the empire, but he didn’t want to expend the energy unless he knew exactly where he was going. He would need that energy to convey himself to Sorai’s location as soon as it was ascertained, and even more to convey her with him to Judath once she was found.

The rhythmic chiming of bells rang overhead. Anoth tugged his bandana low over his brow, and then checked the hood of his mantle to make certain his rounded ears were still concealed. More than one group of patrolling wardens had passed along the bridge during his search, and he had made sure to keep hidden as they passed. But this was no warden.

Anoth could hear the wheels of a wagon now, rumbling low beneath the bells. Merchants. A ride in a merchant wagon would get him to an outpost faster than on foot, and any passing warden would likely take no notice of him if he were with a group. Perhaps merchants would have news of Sorai as well.

Anoth jogged a little to keep pace just ahead of the wagon. He craned his neck and waved broadly up at the drivers. “Oy! How about some help?”

The wagon halted, the bells attached to the narus’ harnesses ceasing their rhythmic chime. Two eshtan men hopped down from their seats at the head of the wagon. They walked to the edge of the bridge and peered down at Anoth. “Hey! What are you doing down there? Don’t you know it’s mating season for the padus?”

Anoth cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “I’m a merchant from Judath! I was robbed on my way to Sayora. They took all my goods and threw me off the bridge. I’m damn lucky I landed in a bed of leaves!”

One of the merchants motioned to the other, who retreated to the wagon, returning with a large coil of knotted rope. “You able to climb?” the first merchant called.

Anoth smirked a little as the rope dropped a few feet from him. He moved closer and gave it a firm tug. “I can manage.” He used the knots as footholds, trying to make a show of physical exertion, despite knowing he could have used a pattern to levitate himself up to the bridge whenever he wanted. After he finished his ascent and allowed the men to hoist him up, he fell to his hands and knees, panting as though to catch his breath. “Thank the goddess! I thought I was going to die down there!”

One of the merchants, distinctly older than the other, gave Anoth a firm slap on the back. The younger one offered him a water skin. “You’re tougher than you look.”

Anoth took the skin, unstopped it, and brought it to his lips. He took a lengthy drink, even though he wasn’t thirsty. “Thanks,” he said as he wiped his mouth dry with his fist

“You said you’re from Judath? What part? You’re awfully fair-skinned.”

“I hear that a lot,” Anoth responded, rising and passing back the water skin. He shifted his feet to show embarrassment. “My father is from the northern territories—they’re a little fairer up there, you know. I’m half dalanai, too, if that makes a difference.”

“No kidding!” the older merchant exclaimed, grinning. “That’d explain your round-like eyes then, eh? You must favor your dalanai side!” He motioned for his partner to gather up the knotted rope. “I’ve never seen a mixed race before. Say, have you got a tail? I’ve always been curious if that passes down to your kind.”

Anoth merely grunted.

“Don’t mind my old man!” the younger merchant apologized, throwing the coil of rope back into the wagon. “You’re headed to Sayora, right? We’re going to Feijai, but we can drop you off as close as the Kamali outpost. Without a naru it’s maybe a five day walk to Sayora from there.”

Anoth bowed deeply as the merchants motioned for him to take a seat in the bed of the wagon. It was loaded with enormous bags of rice, and he found that they made a comfortable throne. “I’m Kajaz,” he said, offering up a common eshtan name, along with a broad smile.

“Nice to meet you, Kajaz,” said the older merchant. He introduced himself and the younger man—father and son, it seemed. Anoth forgot their names as soon as they were uttered. The merchants moved to their driving seats and jovially whipped the pair of narus, causing the wagon to lurch forward.

“It’s gotten hot, hasn’t it?” Anoth commented.

“It has,” said the older merchant, turning around in his seat. “Might be more comfortable if you took off that hood, don’t you think?”

Anoth tugged on his bandana. “Oh, it’s fine. The light is bright up here. I don’t want to burn.”

The merchant shrugged and turned back around.

That was enough small talk. “So, I’ve heard that the star empress has gone missing.”

The merchant nodded. “Yes, it’s got the dalanais all riled up. Imagine the stones on someone who’d sneak into their palace and steal their empress right out from under everyone’s noses. And what he did to their emperor . . . .”

Anoth smiled.

The younger merchant chimed in. “We’ve been on this bridge for a few days, so haven’t heard the latest developments, but I’d bet the wardens at the Kamali outpost will know more. I wouldn’t be surprised if the empress were dead, though. The palace is surrounded by jungle, and the jungle is full of hunting padus this season.”

Anoth frowned. If it were true that Sorai had not yet been found, either by him or the wardens, it confirmed his suspicion that the oath-breaking involved more than just sending Zalas and Davim dreams and setting Sorai free. He hadn’t wanted to admit it at first, but the evidence left behind showed clear signs of a conveyance pattern. If that were the case, Sorai could be anywhere.

This was all retaliation for killing Tashau, of that Anoth was sure. Any unjust murder he committed in this world merited interference, but of all people he had killed Tashau, a divinely sanctioned emperor in addition to being a useless mortal. He knew that gutting Tashau only gave his enemies an excuse to put additional obstacles in his path, but it was worth the risk. He would have regretted not taking the opportunity.

Now, he wished only to find Sorai and take her to the safety of Yalet. The keen senses of a hadir needed time to develop; without his guidance, he imagined that she could have easily accidentally killed herself by eating or drinking something she shouldn’t. Perhaps Verahi was right to have chastened him so harshly. And if Sorai did die, her psyche would be damned in the courts, sealed away in a place where Anoth could never free her, which was an unbearable thought. Failure was not an acceptable option.

It was already late afternoon by the time they reached the Kamali outpost. Anoth and the merchants had lapsed into a comfortable silence after some more pointless chitchat. As they approached the gates, the low drone of the jungle suddenly erupted with the sound of hundreds of flapping wings and a frenzy of caterwauls. Anoth looked up to see a swarm of furry winged creatures flying toward the wagon. Sazis! They swooped low, and Anoth prepared a pattern to shoot them all down, only suppressing it when they careened back in the opposite direction, echoing a disappointed chorus of “No fish! No fish!” The sazis all returned to their perches in the canopy and outpost itself, resuming their joyous eating, napping, and mating. The abundance of brown fur and blue feathers reminded him irritatingly of Rao.

The wagon pulled to a stop upon a large, level platform, and a dalanai warden, who tripped unceremoniously over a group of wrestling sazi cubs that had rolled into his path, approached. “Traveling papers,” he requested brusquely, withdrawing a ledger and a thin, spiraled writing shell.

The merchants passed their papers to the warden without protest, but Anoth issued a guilty sigh and held up his hands. Hopefully this wouldn’t cause him any trouble.

“He’s with us,” the old merchant offered as the warden glowered expectantly at Anoth. “We found him after he was robbed and thrown off the bridge a few miles back.”

“I lost everything with my naru,” Anoth added with a shake of his head. “Money, papers; they took it all.”

The warden arched an eyebrow at Anoth, handing the papers back to the merchants. “You look strange.”

“I’m half dalanai,” Anoth chuckled.

“Climb down from the wagon,” the warden ordered. He then waved at the merchants to move on without their guest. “You two are free to go on your way.”

Anoth hopped down from the wagon, making a show of wincing and wrapping one arm about his middle, as though he had cracked a rib when he had been robbed.

The warden, who stood almost two heads taller than Anoth, bent forward a little. “What’s that fuzz you’ve got on your jaw?”

Anoth’s hand darted up to his chin. None of the high races could grow a beard like he could, but he had been so concerned with Sorai’s whereabouts that he had forgotten to shear off his stubble for several days. “This?” he asked, sounding nonchalant. “I guess I must be all scabbed up from when I was thrown off that bridge.”

The warden narrowed his eyes, a hand inching toward his belt. Anoth clenched his fist, ready to kill if need be, but the warden whirled around toward that group of sazi cubs, who were now pawing at the skirt of his caftan. “Off with you!” he bellowed.

The cubs skittered off, screaming, “We saw his tail! We saw his tail!” in their own tongue, laughing maniacally as they went.

The warden kicked after them and made an irritated gesture toward one of the huts. “Come with me. We’ll need a report about your attack before you go.”

Anoth offered a smile and followed the warden toward the main hut. “Of course.” As they walked, he glowered at all of the sazis lazing about. Filthy, disgusting creatures that were best smashed to a pulp beneath his heel. “Where did all these delightful sazis come from?”

The warden scowled back at Anoth. “The empress made a deal with them. Fish in exchange for her safe return. They’ve taken over the outpost until they get their fish, and for whatever reason our lieutenant won’t let us drive them away. A trade is a trade, apparently.”

Anoth felt a muscle at his temple twitch. “Yes, a trade is a trade.” Sazis were known for being aggressive barterers, even violent if dealt with unjustly, but he had never heard of them taking hostages. “And the empress? Where is she now?”

The warden shrugged distractedly. “I just arrived here from my patrol.” He was looking toward the north-facing gates. A number of wagons carrying huge loads of stinking, salted fish rolled in and came to a halt on the main platform. There was a flurry of movement as the sky was flooded with feathers and frolicking. The sazis gathered and circled above the wagons like hungry buzzards. The cubs that couldn’t yet fly crowded around the wagons on the ground, attempting to climb up the wheels.

“It’s about damn time,” the warden muttered. “Wait here.” He left Anoth standing several feet from the main hut and entered.

Anoth frowned. He had already piqued the suspicion of one warden; meeting with several more would not gain him any more information about Sorai without bloodshed. If he could avoid killing them all, that would be best. Besides, Sorai’s sazi captors knew where she was, and now that they had their fish, he had only to follow them back to where they kept her.

Anoth moved away from the hut, intent on staying hidden outside of the outpost until the sazis decided to leave with their fish. As he passed close to the wagons, a particularly fat sazi flew low over his head and landed in a pile of fish, scattering the flock. Something gold and green glinted from the sazi’s collar. Anoth squinted. Sorai’s jade earrings!

Anoth turned and stalked toward the sazi. He repressed the rage that burned through his body. How dare these sazis show off Sorai’s jewelry like cheap trinkets? Once he reached the wagon upon which the fat sazi perched, he gathered as much congeniality as he could muster and asked, “Where did you get those nice earrings?”

The fat sazi, obviously a male from this close up, looked over his winged shoulder, growled, and then returned to his fish. “Find shinies on ground.”

Anoth glared from beneath half-lowered lids. He decided to ask again, this time in the sazi’s own language. “No, you didn’t. Where did you get them?”

The sazi stared at him, wide-eyed in surprise, but was not moved by the fact that Anoth could speak his language. Instead, he growled territorially, clutched at his bone collar, and snarled, “Mine!” before resuming his feeding.

Anoth’s hand lashed out, gripping the fat sazi by the scruff of his neck. The beast screeched, kicking and thrashing, while the sazis in their immediate vicinity crowed and flew to safer vantage points.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“Where is Sorai?” Anoth hissed. The sazi just glared and fought against his grip, digging claws into his forearm. Anoth sighed. “I wish you hadn’t done that.”

***

Rao pricked up his ears. Sorai was weeping again. She had cried all day, every day, ever since she had returned home, and she wasn’t at all interested in play anymore. He tried to ignore her bawling, but this time it was punctuated by moans of pain, and he certainly could not ignore those. He crawled out from beneath the stool under which he had been hiding and peeked into the bedroom.

His mistress was sitting on the bed, her thin robe pulled low off her shoulders, revealing pale skin. Sorai’s chief handmaiden, Aila—a sour-faced woman who always screeched at Rao for a variety of unjust reasons—was applying globs of nasty-smelling salve onto Sorai’s shoulders. As Sorai’s hair was moved to the side, Rao could see the awful scabs that ran all the way down her spine. Why had Fishman carved Sorai’s skin? The scabs were patterned like writing in a book, but Rao could not make any sense of the symbols. Oh, poor Sorai, Rao thought. This was all his fault!

Sorai shuddered and whimpered as Aila rubbed the salve onto her back. Her skin used to look so soft and smooth, but Rao knew that the scabs would leave behind awful scars. She didn’t have fur to hide them, and that was a shame.

Rao knew he needed to apologize. The guilt had tortured him for days, but he hadn’t really had the chance to speak with Sorai alone. Since her return, she had spent almost all of her time sleeping or rolling about in bed, mumbling and crying all the while. She hadn’t wanted to talk to anybody—not even Tashau. What would she think if Rao told her that he had helped Fishman lure her out to be captured? He would have never, ever done it had he known what Fishman was planning, but that didn’t really make things better, did it? Maybe he could apologize for stealing her necklace, which led to her falling into Fishman’s trap, but not say anything about being friends with Fishman. If his master ever found out the whole truth, Rao would be swatted to death and buried in a hat box!

The sliding doors of the suite grated open. Rao looked over his shoulder and glowered a little as he saw Faro enter, followed by Kia.

“I brought a guest!” Kia exclaimed as Faro toddled over to Rao and started stroking his head with unnecessary force. Rao wanted to bat him away, but decided it would be best to ignore how his eyelids were being dragged clear up his skull.

Sorai did not respond to Kia, nor did she even look up at her son. She simply pulled up her robe to cover her back and clutched it tight about her neck.

A moment later, a servant entered the suite carrying a large silver tray that was loaded up with all sorts of interesting-smelling foods. Rao darted from Faro’s grasp and scampered to the servant’s feet, sniffing the air. Ooh! The aroma of stir-fried poji steak was unmistakable even from the floor. And what else was up there? Could it be thick, saucy noodles?

The servant placed the tray on a low, round table across from the bed. Rao hopped up onto a nearby pouf, where he sat and drooled. Was this for him? If not, would he be able to wait for the leftovers?

“Sorai?” Kia asked.

Rao looked back over his shoulder, wiping the drool from his mouth, and found that Sorai was still just sitting there, motionless.

“Sorai—cheer up, dear,” Kia chimed, a broad smile appearing on her face. “Won’t you say hello to your little Faro?” She nudged Faro toward his mother.

Faro moved over to the bed and rested his arms and chin upon the mattress, looking up at Sorai in what Rao assumed was a manipulatively cute posture. Rao knew his game, and was far better at it. “Mama?” Faro whispered.

Sorai’s ears twitched up and down, and she lifted her head to look at Faro, actually managing a smile—the first smile Rao had seen on her face in days. She repositioned herself to face Faro and reached out to pick him up. But just as Sorai touched Faro, something glinted in her eyes, and for a moment Rao thought he saw something predatory there. The glint disappeared immediately as her hands wrenched back, the red of her cheeks spreading to even the tips of her ears. Her thin fingers curled like naru talons.

Kia jumped forward. “What’s wrong?”

Sorai stared at Faro without blinking. Her whole body shuddered as she finally covered her face with her hands.

Faro backed away from the bed, staring in rightful confusion. “M-mama? Why you mad at me?” he whimpered, his brown eyes beading up with tears.

Sorai said nothing in reply.

“What’s wrong?” Kia repeated, reaching for Faro as he began to sniffle.

“Take him away,” Sorai whispered hoarsely.

“But why?” Kia asked, placing a hand above her heart in surprise as Faro rushed to her and clutched at her skirts. Again met with no response, Kia gathered Faro up in her arms. “Very well, Sorai. I’m sure you have your reasons.” Kia turned to look at Faro, who had buried his face into her shoulder. “Don’t you fret now, Faro. Your mama is just a little upset right now. We just need to give her a few minutes to calm down, and I’m sure she’ll want to give you a great big hug!”

Rao gulped as he noticed the muscles in Sorai’s forearms twitching.

Kia continued, oblivious to Sorai’s odd movements, “There, there. Your papa is setting sail for Judath tonight, but you and your mama get to stay right here. Just think about all the fun you’ll have playing with her once she feels better.”

Sorai’s ears flattened against the sides of her skull. “I’m not staying. I’m going to Judath with Tashau.” She lowered her hands and looked up, a tense expression on her face.

“Oh?” Kia asked. “Did Tashau change his mind?”

“No.”

“Well, you really should stay. In your condition—”

“I will not stay here another day!”

“But you’re still healing,” Kia insisted. “Besides, you’ve made it quite clear that your attacker is going to the summit. It’s bad enough that Tashau must risk himself, but you don’t have to. You’re safer here with us. If you’re frightened to be without Tashau, I can arrange for you to have—”

“Do you ever stop nagging?” Sorai screeched, eliciting a startled yelp from Kia. “It’s not safe! Nobody is safe—least of all Faro—not—not with me!” She took a deep breath and then continued in a quieter tone. “I’m going to Judath, and Faro is staying here. That’s it.”

Kia’s expression softened, while Faro started to bawl. “You must reconsider. None of this is your fault. You have no need to—”

Sorai bowed her head, sputtering before she hissed, “Get out! I don’t want to see you or Faro! Just leave me alone!”

Rao scrambled under the table, while the handmaiden and servant made a hasty retreat. Kia lingered a moment, hugging Faro tight. “Why are you being this way? We only want to help you, Sorai. We can’t let you suffer through this alone.”

Sorai shook her head, unwilling to look at Kia or Faro. “Just leave!”

Kia turned and left with Faro without saying another word. Once they were gone, Sorai began to weep in earnest.

“Why, why, why?” she moaned. “What’s wrong with me? I keep seeing those things!”

Rao swallowed and crawled back out from beneath the table. This was the first time he’d been alone with Sorai in days. Maybe this was his chance to apologize. Maybe she’d feel better after that. “I don’t think anything is wrong with you, Mistress.”

Sorai jerked her hands away from her face. “What would you know?” she hissed.

Rao frowned, his whiskers twitching. Remembering the tray of food that waited on the table, he hopped back up on the pouf to eye it. “Well, I always get grumpy when I don’t eat, and you’ve hardly eaten anything. You should eat.” And give me the leftovers, he added silently.

Sorai rubbed at her stomach. Her expression was no longer wild but growing dull. “Yes. I guess I am hungry.” She rose from the bed and moved to sit down on the pouf beside Rao’s.

Rao greedily watched Sorai as she reached over and served herself a bowl of some of those yummy stir-fried noodles from the platter with a pair of picking sticks. “Mistress,” he began as Sorai brought some noodles to her lips. “I didn’t mean for what happened to happen. I’m—”

Sorai recoiled, jerking the noodles away from her face.

“What’s wrong?” Rao sidled up close to her.

Sorai held the noodles out to Rao, her nostrils flared. “Smell it. It smells strange.”

Rao grinned and sniffed at the noodles. “They’re perfect!”

Sorai looked shaken and confused. She brought the noodles back to her lips and held them there a moment. Finally, she put them back in the bowl, her whole body trembling. “You can have the noodles.”

“All of them?” Rao squealed in delight.

“Yes,” Sorai mumbled. She chose another pair of sticks and picked up a chunk of stir-fried poji.

Rao pulled his nose away from the noodles and followed the piece of poji with his eyes. He loved poji! He started salivating, his mouth opening as hers did, but she unexpectedly dropped the morsel and picking sticks onto the table and bent over to dry heave. Mourning the fallen piece of meat, he asked, “What happened?”

“Rotten!” Sorai gasped, her eyes flooding with tears. “It’s rotten! Everything smells rotten!”

Rao gawked. No, this food wasn’t rotten. It smelled delicious, perfectly fresh. “Are you sure, Mistress? Maybe you’re just smelling that icky salve that’s all over your body. Just lick it off. Then the poji will smell nice to you again.”

Sorai dissolved into frantic whimpers and looked at all of the lovely food. Each succulent noodle, tender lump of cheese, and boring piece of fruit seemed to frighten her more than the last.

“Do you not want any of it?” Rao asked, finding himself now hovering over the plate of poji, the pads of his paws stroking the edge of the dish the same way he had seen Tashau pet Sorai when they thought nobody was looking.

Sorai pushed herself from the table and stood, pacing back and forth, nervously clenching her hands and muttering to herself in a frantic sort of way.

Rao thought this was odd behavior, but started gobbling down the poji meat anyway. He only turned away from his meal when he heard Sorai wail. She had sunk to her knees on the floor and was now scratching at the scabs on her arms. “What did he do to me?” she repeated amidst sobs.

Rao left his meal and slunk over to Sorai. He’d never seen his mistress so upset, and it frightened him. “Mistress, don’t cry! This is all my fault! I shouldn’t have stolen your necklace like that. I was bad. You got hurt because of me! If you need to scratch something, scratch me for being such a bad pet!” He tugged at her sleeve plaintively.

Sorai seemed to snap out of her hysteria. She looked down at Rao, touching him lightly on his head. “No, no. It’s not your fault.”

Before Rao even realized it, he had been caught up in her arms and squeezed tight, his fur becoming thoroughly soaked with her tears. Well, that was easy, he thought as he allowed himself to be cuddled. He sighed and nuzzled close, breathing in the smell of her—ugh! What was that? That wasn’t salve; there was something beneath it! His mistress smelled like—like something bad!

Every instinct in Rao’s body told him to run. He struggled against her grip, finally springing from her arms and darting away as fast as he could, not stopping until he was well out of the palace and into the gardens.

***

Anoth wiped the blood-coated feathers from his hands as he stepped out of the fiery ring of his conveyance pattern. Now he stood at the very edge of the jungle, a steep mountain road at his feet. His caftan was singed, but not by the conveyance pattern. They shouldn’t have pushed him.

That fat sazi had been obstinate at first, but a pair of broken wings had been enough to get the little beast talking. Apparently, Sorai had suddenly appeared to the sazi flock and offered them fish and “shinies” in exchange for a safe escort back to civilization. They arrived at that outpost several days earlier and Sorai had undoubtedly left for the palace soon after.

When Anoth snapped the fat sazi’s neck and reclaimed Sorai’s jade earrings, he had not anticipated the immediate attack from the sazis and wardens on all sides. He knew he should have just conveyed himself to the palace without further action. But the frustration of having lost Sorai and having to put up with the insolence of that wretched sazi had been too much to bear. If there were to be retribution for killing these inconsequential mortals, then so be it; it couldn’t be worse than what he already faced for killing Tashau. Before he had known it, the air was thick with smoke and the stench of blistered flesh. And he hadn’t stopped until every warden in the outpost lay in charred pieces.

Now, Anoth looked up at the palace complex in the distance with renewed malice. He would certainly face consequences for what he had done, so there was no point in being careful now. He would blast the gates open, lay waste to the whole of the palace, and obliterate any mortal who stood in his way.

He initiated a veiling pattern in one hand and a destructive pattern in the other. He could not veil himself completely from view, but all he needed was to get just close enough to destroy the gates and kill the guards stationed on the walls. Then nothing would stand in his way as he reached Sorai’s chambers.

He rushed within a hundred feet of the gates, holding his arms out to complete the destructive pattern, but just as he took aim, the gates began to creak open. He immediately suppressed the pattern and crouched into the brush at the side of the road. A procession of wardens and guards in clean uniforms and shining armor began to march out of the complex, carrying the blue and silver banners of Chalei upon long poles. They meant to attend the summit after all. But who was the new emperor? Tashau had an uncle or some other close relative who would have likely taken his place while his brat was still young, but what of Sorai? Anoth could not risk an assault in the small chance that she was part of the procession.

Once the wardens and guards had fully emerged from the gates, dozens of servants followed, with a covered litter in the midst of them. Anoth moved forward, still crouching in the brush, and squinted to get a better look. Behind the litter’s curtains there was a glint of gold and the shine of refined sapphire. The kada! And the one holding that tall scepter was—the hell? There in the litter sat Tashau—that son of a whore—alive! The bitch had extended her oath-breaking to preserve that bastard’s life! “You play dirty!” Anoth hissed, spitting the foam now flecking his lips.

At least he had seen the kada in time. If he had followed through with his attack, Tashau would have surely used the kada against him, and likely had the protection of his enemies while doing so. Anoth would have easily met Naltena’s fate.

He considered sneaking past the procession, hoping to find Sorai alone in her chambers, but thought better as he spotted additional movement behind the litter’s gauzy curtains. Sorai’s small figure emerged into view, seated by Tashau and the kada. Damn it all!

No, this was a good thing. After being out in the jungle amongst all that decay, and in the palace with so much rotten food and drink readily available, Sorai was still alive. It meant that her senses were developing as expected. She would be able to preserve her own life, even if her body might waste.

Still, Anoth was uneasy about her proximity to the kada. She was vulnerable to it now, but with its glyphs inactive, it didn’t seem to be causing her any immediate harm. If Tashau were to ever wield it, however—Anoth could not reveal himself now. And yet, how could he sit idly by? As long as Sorai was near Tashau and the kada, her life was at stake.

As the litter drew closer, Anoth could see Sorai talking to Tashau imploringly, but Tashau was refusing to look at her. After a few moments, his expression softened and he took her hand in his own. He gave it the sort of pat one would offer a brainless child, before pressing his filthy, undeserving lips upon her perfect knuckles. If it weren’t for that damnable kada!

Sorai smiled at Tashau, but as he pressed her hand against his jaw, her smile faded, and surprisingly, she yanked her hand from his grasp and averted her eyes. This caused Anoth to nearly burst out laughing. Sorai might have thought she still loved Tashau, but their marriage was near death, even if neither of them knew it yet. The bond Anoth had formed with her was now unbreakable, eternal.

It would be best to withdraw for now, but keep watch. He had already waited decades for Sorai; what were a few more days to an immortal? The moment he found her alone and far from the kada, he would reclaim her. She would certainly suffer without him, and that was unfortunate, but her suffering would make her all the more eager to cling to him once they were reunited.