by Lani Forbes
Mayana wrapped her legs around his waist and deepened the kiss, her head swimming as if she had had too much pulque to drink. His tongue traced the corners of her mouth and her lips parted, meeting his tongue with hers.
Her hands slid up his chest and along his face, until her fingers dug into the short, wet strands of his dark hair.
Their mouths broke apart and she gasped as his kisses trailed along the side of her chin and down her neck. She shivered again at the sensation and his arms left the rock walls and wrapped around her instead, encircling her with their heat and strength.
She didn’t know how long it lasted, only that she never wanted this moment to end. His hand snaked up under the fabric of her top and she grabbed his hand to stop him.
He broke their kiss and rested his forehead against hers.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his chest heaving.
“Believe me, I don’t want to stop you, but I also don’t want to tempt you into defying the gods.”
“Hmm?” he said, still distracted as his lips moved along her collarbone. Her skin was on fire and her body ached for him, but she also knew the strict nature of the codex. There were certain … practices that would have to wait until after a wedding ceremony. And Mayana feared that if she didn’t stop them now, they would both lack the willpower to stop later.
She took his face in her hands and turned him to look at her. She could feel the rough stubble of his cheeks under her fingertips.
“I have to stop you.” She planted another soft kiss on his lips to show him that she didn’t want to.
“I know.” Ahkin pulled back. Without the warmth of his body against her, Mayana suddenly realized how cold the water was. Her teeth started to chatter, and her body began to shake.
“Come on, we should get you in a steam bath.” Ahkin directed her attention to a small stone bath house several yards down the path.
“I had a servant light a fire in it earlier,” he admitted, looking slightly sheepish.
“You knew we were going to go swimming?” It was Mayana’s turn to arch an eyebrow. So, he had planned this from the start.
“Well, I hoped.” He winked at her, heaving himself out of the water and soaking the path around the pool. Mayana followed, careful not to slip on the slick stones.
The carved face of the goddess Tlazoltéotl watched over them with suspicious eyes from the wall of the steam bath as they entered.
“You know, Tlazoltéotl is also the goddess of passion and lust.” Mayana moved her eyebrows up and down at Ahkin, trying to look serious. Her mouth twitched with suppressed laughter.
“Good thing we are alone then.” Ahkin wrapped his arms around her shoulders and planted a kiss on her cheek. Her pulse quickened, but he removed his arms and grabbed a jar of water from beside the wall. He splashed the water across the glowing hot wall of the steam bath and the water turned to steam with a loud hiss, engulfing them in a warm cloud of moisture. Ahkin moved to lounge upon one of the low stone benches encircling the perimeter of the small room and patted the space beside him. Mayana self-consciously tucked her hair behind her ear and went to join him, her grin as wide and bright as the moon outside.
Chapter
25
“Do you know what’s amazing to me?” Ahkin’s finger traced little patterns across Mayana’s palm.
“What?” She wished she could wrap her arms around his neck, but it was much too hot in the steam bath to do more than hold hands.
“I’ve only just met you, and yet I feel like our souls know each other already.”
“I know what you mean.” Mayana was surprised by the strength of her attraction to him, but something buzzed in the back of her mind, like a pesky mosquito that she had to keep batting away.
Buzz. He is grieving and desperate for a distraction. Buzz. He only knows the Mayana he wants to see. Buzz. He will eventually discover you aren’t as pious as you are pretending to be. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
But the adoring look in his eyes and the knowledge that being chosen would mean she wouldn’t be sacrificed to the gods kept her from giving the thoughts the attention they deserved.
“What’s your day sign?” Ahkin asked, pulling Mayana away from her internal battle.
“I was born on the day of the flower.”
“Hmmm, so that means you are creative, you appreciate beauty, and you like to dream. It also means you can be idealistic and stubborn.”
Mayana shrugged. “You know your day signs well, my lord.”
“I have studied the day signs and the stars since I was a child. Our priest, Toani, says that our destinies are written in the stars.”
“What’s your day sign?” Mayana asked him.
“Metzi and I were born on the day of the earthquake.”
Mayana squinted in concentration, trying to remember what the codex said about the sign of the earthquake. “So you are most dominated by intelligence and practicality. You have a tendency to put your head above your heart?”
She peeked at Ahkin, waiting for his confirmation.
“Usually, yes. But for some reason, I’ve been giving my heart the most attention lately.” Ahkin scooted toward her and put his head in her lap. Mayana’s breath hitched.
“Well, I believe that if you ignore the heart for too long, when it finally does grab your attention, it often screams and demands that you listen.” She ran her fingers through his hair and he closed his eyes at her touch.
“Spoken like a true flower. I feel like mine is definitely screaming at me to listen.” His voice was soft and sweet like melted cacao as he nestled the back of his head against her thighs.
Mayana continued to run her fingers through his hair, studying the features of his face. The dark circles under his closed eyes hinted that he hadn’t been getting much sleep, but the soft lips were curled up in a pacified smile.
“What do you like to do with your time back at home?” Ahkin asked her.
Mayana drew her eyebrows together.
“Nothing as interesting as studying the stars,” she said.
“I’m interested.”
“Well, mostly I help take care of my younger cousins. I help with cooking, cleaning. I spend a lot of my time swimming in Atl’s bathing pools. My favorite place to be is in the water.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” His body rumbled with laughter.
“And …” Mayana hesitated, wondering if it would be dangerous to tell him her favorite thing to do back home. Would it lead to questions she didn’t want to answer?
“And?”
“And I love to spend my time with … animals.”
“Animals? What do you mean?”
“Well, I love our dogs. I spend a lot of time playing with and taking care of our dogs. And rabbits. We have a lot of rabbits. And several turtles, and even …”
“It sounds like you have your own zoo back home. The naguals of Ocelotl would be proud. Which one is your favorite?”
“The dogs. I like that you don’t have to be a nagual to make them love you. They are so eager to please, so loving and loyal”—her voice grew faster and slightly frantic—“they never judge you or expect anything from you that you can’t give them. They love you no matter what.”
Ahkin had opened his eyes and was looking at her with a strange expression on his face, almost like pity.
Her eyes stung as she remembered the pain of watching the ashes of her most beloved dog, Ona, smoldering in the embers of the sacrificial fire. She could still see her father’s knife dripping with his blood. Mayana hadn’t cared that it was the month of the dog, that the gods demanded the sacrifice. She had still tried to hide him, to keep him away from her father once he had told her what he intended to do.
At only eight cycles of the calendar, Mayana had not completely understood. Nor had she been adequate at hiding Ona. Her father had foun
d him in her room not even ten minutes after she sneaked him out of the banquet hall. Mayana had thrown herself over the warm, dark body, her eyes locking with her father’s as she begged him not to take her friend. She hated the pain of slicing her own flesh and didn’t want Ona to experience it. She didn’t want to lose him forever. Her screams and begging had attracted almost every member of the family until her mother literally had to restrain her as her father summoned a nagual. The man from Ocelotl controlled Ona to walk right out of her room without a backward glance. Mayana had sobbed and dug her claws into her mother’s arms to escape.
The worst part was having to watch. Her father, believing she needed to learn the ways of their people, had forced her to sit and watch as he drew the blade across Ona’s throat. As long as she lived, Mayana would never forget those dark glassy eyes and the feeling in her stomach as the light behind them faded. She had sworn to herself, then and there, that she would never sacrifice another animal. Her heart told her that something about the practice was not right. How could loving gods demand this?
Her extended family was so large that her turn as designated bloodletter did not come up very often, but she never stopped dreading when it did. When she was twelve, she had refused to the point of hysteria to sacrifice a lizard at their evening feast. Her father held her hand and forced it through the motions, while she fought him through gritted teeth. After it was over, the lord of Atl had slapped her cheek with such force that it knocked Mayana sideways onto the floor in front of every noble and family member gathered for the feast. It was the first and last time he ever struck her. Mayana’s mother had rushed forward to stop her father from lifting his hand again, assuring him that next time, next time, Mayana would have matured enough to handle her responsibility.
That had been five years ago, and not until just days ago had her turn as bloodletter come up again. Her mother was no longer there to protect her from her father’s anger, from his rage at what he probably perceived was Mayana putting all of their lives in danger. Mayana tried to understand, she tried to believe that something like sacrificing an animal could protect them from disasters. It hadn’t protected her mother. Her mother always followed the rituals perfectly, and they hadn’t saved her.
Ahkin’s head tilted ever so slightly to the side as he studied her face.
“Your mind is somewhere else,” he said, reaching up to smooth the creases in her forehead.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s not important.”
“You miss your family?” he guessed.
Mayana sighed. It was true, she did miss her family. She missed her brothers, her aunts and cousins, even her father. It was not what was preoccupying her mind, but it would be a good answer to give.
“Yes,” she said, not meeting his eyes. “I do.”
“Well then, I am excited for when you get to see them again.”
Mayana’s breath caught in her chest.
“What? What do you mean, when I get to see them again?”
“I have an idea.” His smirk was playful, teasing again.
“Will you tell me?”
“What will you give me to tell you?”
“Give you? I’ve already given you a doll. What more could you possibly want?”
He laughed and brought his finger to his lips as he pondered. “I know what I want …” His hand slid suggestively up the skin of her leg and Mayana gasped.
“I can’t give you that, so you will have to pick something else.” Ahkin’s hand froze on her thigh, and he made a great show of frustration as he growled at her.
“Fine, I guess I just can’t tell you.”
“You are going to drive me to insanity, my lord,” Mayana huffed, the rate of her breathing steadily climbing.
Ahkin reached up and pulled Mayana’s head down toward his own.
“I disagree, daughter of water. It is you who will drive me to insanity.” And the world dissolved in the taste of his lips on hers.
Chapter
26
Mayana and Ahkin were both overheated by the time they left the steam bath. The cool night air soothed their flushed skin.
“I’m glad you came with me tonight,” Ahkin said, snaking his fingers through Mayana’s again as they walked through the darkened garden pathways back to her room.
“I’m glad I didn’t hurt you when I threw that pebble at your head.”
Ahkin lifted her hand and kissed it. “Me too.”
“So, what happens tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow we have a ball game competition in honor of the selection ritual and then another feast at sunset.”
“Will you dance with me?” Mayana couldn’t wait to watch his beautiful body moving along with the beat of the drums again.
Ahkin sighed heavily, but then smiled. “As much as I hate dancing, I actually look forward to it with you.”
A question quivered on the tip of Mayana’s tongue like an arrow waiting to be released, but she bit it back. She would not press him.
“I would like to make an important announcement at tomorrow night’s feast. One that I hope you will like.”
Hope exploded through her chest at his words. Did that mean he was choosing her? Would she indeed live to see her family again like he promised?
She was afraid to give into the dreams that were forming in her mind’s eye—dreams of a wedding and nights like tonight that were not hindered by the rules of the codex. Her cheeks burned at the thought.
Her joy was entirely complete as Ahkin pulled her in close for one last embrace. He pressed his mouth against hers, an air of promises hanging around them like the steam from the baths. He pulled away and kissed her one last time on her forehead before disappearing back into the dark garden.
Mayana mounted the steps to her room, biting her lip to keep the giddy giggle building inside her from escaping.
But as she entered, her body went numb and the joy drained from her heart faster than blood from the throat of a sacrifice victim. She was not alone.
Yemania stood before her, eyes red and puffy, an expression of horrified disbelief upon her face. Her expression screamed a thousand curses of betrayal without Yemania having to utter a single word.
Shame unlike anything Mayana had ever experienced burned deep within her stomach. She wished she could curl in on herself and never meet Yemania’s eyes again.
“Zorrah said … but I didn’t believe her … I didn’t want to …” Yemania backed slowly away from Mayana, shaking her head.
“Yemania, I know what this looks like.” Mayana held her palms out to Yemania in a gesture of peace.
“He’s going to choose you, isn’t he?” Her voice broke with the strain of her despair.
“I don’t know, I think so? I—”
“We were going to die together. You promised me. We both knew our chances were slim and at least we wouldn’t have to die alone. And now you’re going to stand there and watch. You will be crowned empress and I … I …” She couldn’t finish. The sobs that shook Yemania’s body broke Mayana’s heart into tiny fragments.
Mayana moved to embrace her but Yemania leapt out of her reach.
“How long do I have, Mayana? When will he announce his decision?”
Mayana folded her hands and dropped her head, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
“When?” Yemania screamed at her when Mayana didn’t answer.
“Tomorrow.” Mayana’s voice was barely louder than a whisper. “I think he might be making an announcement tomorrow night.”
“And you think he will choose you?”
“I—I do.” Mayana sank slowly to her knees.
Yemania’s chest heaved as she drew ragged breaths, but when she spoke again, her voice was quiet and resigned.
“Well, it is done then.” She turned on the spot and left, pushing the blue curtain of Atl aside. B
efore she disappeared back into the hall, she turned to face Mayana one last time. “I hope he knows the real you, what you really believe about the codex. If he is going to choose you, he at least deserves to know the truth.” And with that, she was gone.
Mayana felt as though her heart might cleave in two. Still on her knees, she hunched forward, hands clenched as she fought against the burning sensation in the back of her throat. She rocked slowly back and forth, unable to stop the tears from pouring.
Her heart had been so full, so complete, only moments before. Mayana was ashamed to admit it to herself, but she had forgotten about Yemania in the excitement of her time with Ahkin. She had only thought about what his decision would mean for her, not for everyone else.
Maybe she was selfish after all.
How could she stand to watch Yemania sacrificed when she could barely stand to watch a bird? Mayana had never seen a human sacrifice before. The practice only happened in Tollan. The smaller city-states sent any enemy warriors they captured to the Temple of the Sun as tributes to Ahkin’s father and to the gods. She had to find a way to save Yemania. She didn’t know how, but she would talk to Ahkin, convince him somehow.
When she had enough strength to gather some of her composure, Mayana forced herself to crawl to her bed mat and collapsed into the furs. She couldn’t wait to lose herself in the oblivion of sleep.
Without warning, a piercing, burning pain shot through Mayana’s right calf. It was as if she had been shot by a blow dart—a flaming blow dart. Mayana let out a high, uncontrolled scream. The pain was excruciating, and before she could react, it struck again, and then a third time. Throwing the furs off herself, she scrambled to her feet, trying to get away from whatever was stinging her.
The movement of the blanket revealed the jointed black body of a scorpion. It rattled across the stone floor, its stinging tail hovering over its beetle-black head.
