Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 91775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
“You are returning early,” he says, pointing out the obvious.
There is an oddly guilty look on his normally closed face. “I am. I cannot stay away. I must return and check on the female.”
“Mmm.” He seems distracted. “Do you think she is in danger?”
“Not…danger.” Not precisely. I only know that I cannot be away from her. “What of the others? The yellow-mane female and the male?”
Set’nef’s expression changes to one of distaste. “Kin’far the Exile watches them far too closely. I do not like it.”
I know the feeling. “Shall I complain to the chief? Have him removed from his post?”
The other male’s expression grows closed again. “No. I will handle Kin’far. Do not involve the chief.”
Interesting. I nod, wishing him well, and continue the journey back to the village, tucked into the belly of the largest cavern.
When I return to the village, I nearly run into the other brother. Tal’nef the Swiftest is the younger sibling of Set’nef, and the brothers are close. Tal’nef is well-liked around the village for his open, easy demeanor, and I greet him with a weary sort of pleasure. “Where are you rushing off to, friend?”
To my surprise, his expression grows as cagey as his brother’s. “I am visiting one of the more distant caverns with my brother, Set’nef the Wanderer,” he says after a moment, shouldering a large pack. “There is the potential for another garden to be established there.”
He looks as if he wishes to leave, which is precisely why I make him stay. I cross my arms over my chest and ignore my own fatigue. “Another garden? Tell me more.”
“Oh.” Tal’nef blinks at me. He adjusts his pack again, his tail twitching. “I do not know where it is, precisely. Set’nef said he found it in his wanderings and wanted my opinion on it. I have not spent time with my brother in some days, so I look forward to journeying with him. That is all.”
As he shifts on his feet, I eye him. “Your pack is enormous for a short journey.”
The smile he gives me is guileless. “We will leave extra supplies in the cavern for the seeding team if it is truly a good spot for a garden.”
It all sounds harmless. A journey into a deeper tunnel to explore a cavern that might be useful for farming the mushrooms that provide so much to our people? It makes sense. Teams regularly head out to the more distant caverns to harvest mushrooms and re-seed for the next harvest. We are always looking for places to grow more food.
But Tal’nef’s demeanor pricks my suspicions. Added with Set’nef’s uneasiness, and it makes me wonder what the brothers are up to.
Are they going to free the stranger R’jaal and his yellow-mane female? I know Set’nef the Wanderer is a quiet, lonely sort, but he is also a good male who will not hesitate to do the right thing. Tal’nef is younger and even more earnest than his brother. If I were going to free Tia, now would be the perfect time to do so. I could send her with the brothers and her suitor back to the surface…
The very thought claws at my spirit.
I…cannot let her go. Not yet. Not when I cannot think of anything but looking at her again, gazing into her eyes. Brushing her lips and tongue with my own in the strange “kiss” that was so pleasurable.
It is selfish of me, but I do not care. Tia is safe, hidden away. She is not threatened by Kin’far. After a few more days pass and we spend time together, perhaps…
I rub my chest again. Perhaps this anxiousness I feel at being apart from her will turn into something more.
“Good luck on your journey,” I tell Tal’nef in a gruff voice and head deeper into the village.
I contemplate returning to my home first, washing up and changing into fresh clothing. I should. I should sleep and eat something as well.
Yet I find my feet turning down the path towards my father’s dwelling instead.
I will visit quickly, I tell myself. Slip into the storage buildings behind my father’s large home and see Tia. She should be fed by my father’s men. He does not want her dead, after all. He wants her alive so we can resonate. There is no reason I should feel uneasy right now…
No reason except that I do not trust my father, or those he holds closest to him. If he listened to Cas’zor the Loyal more, that would be one thing. Instead, he lets Kin’far the Exile fill his ears with nonsense.
I slip behind my father’s house and my heart stops in my chest. There is no guard posted outside of the storage. I race toward the small building, knowing what I will find and yet I must see it for myself anyhow. The door to Tia’s cell opens with a single push and I stare into the now-empty interior.