by Sandra Lang
* * *
I wake to a light touch and the shifting of the bed. I groggily open my eyes and wait for them to adjust. “What time is it?”
“It is not yet dawn. Go back to sleep.”
“Why are you getting up?”
“I always get up this early.”
“You do not.”
“I do when it is not raining. Go back to sleep. I will be back by breakfast.” He lays a chaste kiss to my cheek and goes about getting dressed. I roll onto my side, facing away from him and go back to sleep.
My dreams are filled with an everlasting darkness. I feel it to my very core and am shaken by it.
Tarok returns at breakfast and I have barely slept since he left. He sees I am still in bed and crawls in with me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me to him.
“Did you sleep well?”
“No. I need to speak with Natoak.”
“Are you feeling ill?”
“I feel healthy enough. This is something that only a Shaman can help with.”
“I see.” I can hear the relief in his voice.
“I am sorry if I worried you. How was training?”
“All this lying around has made me lazy.”
“I would hardly call what we have been doing ‘lying around’.”
He chuckles. “There has been more laying than I am used to.”
“You have enjoyed every moment as have I.”
“I am not saying I have not.”
“Good-”
“I am saying I need to keep my training up. What good is a warrior who only lays around with his bond-mate?”
“About the same as a bond-mate who cannot cook.”
“You are doing fine, my love. The food has not been terrible.”
“Honestly?”
“Yes. And there is plenty more time to learn. By the time you are Pema’s age, you will be just as good, if not better.”
“I appreciate that, Tarok. I really do.”
After breakfast, I walk up to Natoak’s hut. It is more out of habit than anything, but the dream still clenches my heart. It was not something I could talk to Tarok about, he would not understand. Nura stays at my side, her ears constantly listening to the sounds around us. The hackles on the nape of her neck begin to rise.
“What is it?” I ask her.
“Lovely day for a walk, is it not?” My body cringes at the sound of his voice.
“A walk alone and in the quiet always makes for a nice day,” I say, emphasizing that desire for him to go away.
“I imagine you have heard by now that our ship was damaged. We will be here another fortnight.”
“I am sorry to hear that.” More so for the half cycle the traders will still be in our bay than for the damage to the ship.
“It is quite all right. More time to get to know the most interesting person living amongst these… people.”
“Sir, I am not interesting in the least and I would hope that you would remember that I am not a free woman who enjoys the company of men who are not her mate.”
“I remember that quite well. It still shocks me that you would marry into these people when there are many fine and eligible men on my ship.”
“Your ship? I thought Darien was the leader.”
“He is the Captain of my ship. I am its owner and his financier.”
“That is very nice for you, sir. Now if you will-”
“Arren. You may call me Arren.”
“My apologies. Please excuse me, I have somewhere I need to be.”
Nura and I walk away hurriedly. She settles down when we are far enough away to stop walking as fast. It is plain to see that she does not like him. Even I feel a foreboding sense coming from him.
Natoak works in his garden as he does every day around the time I arrive. He sits up onto his heels and smiles at me. “A pleasure to see you, Akari. A lovely day at last.”
“The day would be lovelier if I was not constantly bothered by that vile man,” I grumble as I sit down beside him in the dirt.
“He is still bothering you?”
“Apparently his name is Arren and he is not simply a common trader. He owns the ship and calls himself a financie.”
“What did he bother you about today?”
“They are stuck in the bay until their ship is fixed. He implied that he will be trying to spend more time with me.”
“That is very troubling indeed.”
“I thought so as well. He makes me nervous, Natoak. I do not like being near him.”
“Keep Nura with you and try to stay with Tarok as much as possible. Maybe if he sees the two of you together more, he will shake the idea from his head that you are a woman of the west.”
“Or further solidify my oddness to him. He already makes light of my binding to Tarok.”
“Perhaps you and Tarok should spend the day speaking with the villagers. Show him that you are part of the tribe and not part of his people.”
“I was actually going to spend some time with my parents. Tarok and the other warriors decided on some sort of training demonstration for our guests.”
Natoak smirks. “Tarok is trying to show them that you are not to be easily taken away. The men of our tribes have always done things similar. Prove your strength and the other men vying for the attention of your mate receive your warning loud and clear.”
“He is a man of the west who does not listen to anything I say. Why would he listen to Tarok?”
“Because Tarok is much larger than that man and he would be very foolish to go up against your mate.”
“He is a fool to try at all. There is absolutely no way I would leave this tribe willingly. My life is here now and I am here to stay.”
“I am glad to hear it, Akari. I am glad that you have finally found your rightful home.”
“I only had to go away for four summers and return ill to figure it out.”
“You also had to bind yourself to the future leader of our people as well.”
“That was just a reward for my decision to stay.” I wink with a little laugh.
“Well, you had best be off. You cannot keep your parents waiting all day.”
“Oh! There was more. I had a dream of everlasting darkness last night. The fear is something I have never felt before.”
“Is it similar to the dream of the cage?”
“Yes, only there is a greater fear in my heart.”
“Do you remember anything else of the dream?”
“I remember just being in the dark. I could see no light, not even my hand in front of my face.”
“If you continue to have more of these dreams, you must tell me at once. If they keep happening, we will need to take precautions.”
“I understand. If anything changes or becomes more clear, I will tell you at once.”
“Keep your dagger with you always.”
“Is there anything else I should know?”
“Akari, I have told you all that I can. The rest is for you to learn on your own. When you get to have as many summers behind you as I do, you will also be as wise and knowledgeable as I am.”
I frown at him. “Very well. Will I see you tomorrow?”
“I might venture into the village and check on you.”
“I will have a cup of tea waiting for you, then.”
