by SGD Singh
Kelakha laughed nervously. “Yes. That's exactly what I was gonna say.”
Lexi scowled. “I hope your Seer Talent doesn't require you to finish our sentences constantly. Because that shit is fucking annoying, just so you know.”
I guess Lexi woke up on the wrong side of the green fog? Aquila crossed his arms and took a step between Silas and Lexi.
You could say that, yeah.
Silas acted as if he hadn't heard Lexi. Everyone watched as he closed his eyes, his forehead scrunched in concentration. Finally he turned back to Kelakha, his smile beaming. “It… It feels like it's almost working.”
“Let's start with something easier,” Kelakha said, stooping to pick a flower. It looked like a blue rose, but with a center of a passion fruit blossom. He placed it in the Seer's hand as everyone stepped closer.
“All right,” Kelakha said. “We know you can heal. The Prophecy says so. And because of your connection with Asha—”
“You think I can take the life from this plant and transfer it to another person.”
“Right.” Kelakha nodded in encouragement.
Silas concentrated on the flower and Asha tried not to laugh. He was like an adorable child, his excitement contagious.
But instead of the flower in Silas' hand dying, it blossomed further. Its stem grew to curl around the Seer's wrist, while more leaves sprouted along its length, and the bloom seemed to shine with renewed color.
“I think you only healed the flower,” Kelakha said. “Try to…”
“Umm, you guys?” Lexi's voice had lost its edge.
Everyone turned and looked at Lexi, who glowed with renewed health.
“Well, I'll be damned,” said Ursala. “He can heal and, what, grow shit at the same time?”
Asha knew the look of pride on Aquila's face matched her own. “Very cool.”
Lexi did not look amused. “Very,” she said flatly.
“How do you feel?” Kelakha asked Silas. “Do you need to rest? Eat something?”
Silas placed the flower onto the ground, where its stem burrowed into the dirt even as they watched, and stood tall, as if it had always been planted there. “I feel great.” He beamed. “Better than great. Can you teach me more?”
“Sure,” Kelakha laughed.
The Seer glanced around at the tiny cottage and the surrounding trees, and clapped his hands. “Oh! I know! Let's have a bonfire and eat dinner outside. It can be like a going away party!”
Lexi let out a breath. “Finally, someone's talking sense. When do we leave?”
“Well… Let's see.” Silas frowned. “There's the wedding to plan. And we have to give people a day to gather. There's meetings to arrange…” Silas nodded as his voice trailed off.
“Forget it,” Lexi said. “He's not making sense.”
But Asha grinned. We're getting married. You. And me.
We are? I mean, yes! Of course we are! Asha could feel Aquila's joy threatening to explode from him, and she avoided meeting his eyes. If they were too happy Lexi was likely to stab someone.
But Lexi had already noticed. She scowled at their matching grins, then looked at the sky as if it had offended her. “Oh, beautiful. Congratulations. The world is coming to an end, but by all means! Let's have a fucking wedding!”
Silas straightened. “Oh, the world won't come to an end, Lexi. Don't worry about that.” His manner was so matter-of-fact that everyone else burst into laughter.
“I'm beginning to realize why no one ever wants to hang out with Seers,” Lexi said, pointing at Asha and then Silas. “I feel like I'm going crazy, and it's only been ten minutes.”
Does this mean she won't be event managing the wedding?
Dream on, handsome.
I'm not wearing some ridiculous cap thing. Let's get that straight right now.
Duly noted.
Ursala slapped Aquila on the shoulder. “C'mon, yaar, plan your wedding night later. How many chances will we get to train the savior of the world?”
Chapter 5
Four hours later, Silas still hadn't shifted. He informed everyone with matter-of-fact confidence that he would get it by the end of dinner, and then looked pointedly at Lexi until she rolled her eyes and agreed to call Zaiden.
The others took their training session into the forest, leaving her alone with Nidhan.
Zaiden.
Lexi. How… I mean, uh, how are you feeling?
Silas said to tell you to bring dinner to his house… thing. He wants to have a going away dinner and celebrate Asha and Aquila's wedding announcement.
Going away…?
Lexi's temper flared at the stab of sadness the prince felt.
He also said to invite you and your royal entourage to the wedding in Satya. So yeah. Over and out.
“You were mean to him again,” Nidhan said. “I can tell by the murderous look you got.”
“Mean? Me?” Lexi joined Nidhan as he gathered wood, and they started to stack it into a pyramid within the circle of rocks he'd made. “Tell me what you've been doing for the eleven days I was comatose.”
“Well,” Nidhan lifted a dead log and added it to the pile. “As a matter of fact, I met a dragon today.”
Lexi dropped the branches she was holding. “You're shitting me. You met a dragon?”
“Zaiden took me to this place called ‘The Valley of a Thousand Suns’ or something, where dragons go to die, and we—”
“A dragon. A real life, scaled, winged, dragon?”
“Yes. A dragon. Wait until you see what I made you. This stuff is—”
“A fucking dragon? Did you ride it?”
“Ride it?” Nidhan laughed. “What the hell are you talking about? We were lucky it didn't kill us. No, Lexi. You don't ride dragons like some flying horse. Besides, it was dying.” He paused. “I did touch it, though.”
“Oh, look at you, Mr. Dragon Expert all of a sudden.” Lexi went back to adding wood to the pile. “I bet I could figure out how to ride one.”
“I bet you could,” Nidhan said, his lips touching the back of her neck as he wrapped her in his strong arms and squeezed until she laughed. She wondered at how her bones had healed so fast, leaving no trace of the searing pain she'd felt when the giant spider Urnayu crushed her in its multiple pincher-like grasp. Lexi shuddered, grateful she couldn't remember anything beyond that initial excruciating pain.
She turned to meet Nidhan's lips with her own, and soon forgot the existence of pain.
Half an hour later, she heard Asha and the others returning. The sun had sunk into the horizon, but their group carried its own glow. Each Guard looked more radiant than the last as they laughed at something Silas was saying with his typical enthusiasm. The Seer's hair fell in glistening curls, and his blue-green eyes shone in the fading light against his olive skin.
Lexi felt herself smiling, just looking at him.
Damn it, I've caught the big sister bug as badly as Asha.
“Hey,” Asha called, turning to Silas. “You have to make Nidhan as healthy as the rest of us. I won't have him tarnishing my nuptials with that sleep-deprived zombie look.”
“Pass!” Nidhan shouted, but it was too late. Asha and Aquila cheered, and Ursala rushed forward dramatically and tried to kiss Nidhan, who now glowed with radiant health. Lexi hadn't even seen it happen. He was so beautiful now it was hard to look at him and not kiss him again herself. He seemed to see what she was thinking and wiggled his eyebrows at her, winking, and Lexi kicked at him.
“Okay, okay.” Silas raised his arms and bounced on his feet, and everyone turned to him. “Let me try something,” he mumbled. “I think… I can…”
The pyramid of wood burst into flame, and they applauded again. Silas was a powerful Illusionist.
“Okay,” Silas said, looking suddenly thoughtful. “That did make me hungry.”
Zaiden. Your illustrious guest has just expressed hunger.
Nidhan grinned at her, raising a thumb. Lexi suspected she must not have the
murderous look.
We're on our way. Zaiden's voice filled her mind like a melodious song, and she tried not to scowl. The band tried to, uh, give us crap.
Lexi felt one of her eyebrows rise. The band?
And the decorators.
What are you planni—
We'll be there in five. Over and out.
Lexi straightened. “He just hung up on me.”
Nidhan burst into laughter, throwing an arm around her shoulders. “Good for him!”
Four minutes and fifty seconds later, Zaiden landed gracefully beside the fire, with Satish and Dinesh at his side, followed by a crowd of about twenty more Upperworlders with skin in various shades of blue. They reminded Lexi of depictions of Hindu gods. Without a word, they began to lay out an elaborate feast, fitting containers of woven wood together to make a low table. As Lexi watched them, the Upperworlders seemed to actually command the food to their will as their blue skin sparkled in the firelight.
Are they… growing the food now?
They have a connection to life. They're… getting permission to cook.
Lexi crossed her arms. Nidhan doesn't eat meat. I hope you haven't been feeding him strange plant-creatures all this time. Because when he finds out, it won't be pretty.
“Everything is vegetarian,” Zaiden announced out loud. “It's just that we use all the elements to cook, to create a balanced meal of fire, earth, air, and water. It can appear… unsettling.”
Nidhan nudged Lexi with his elbow and jerked his chin toward a group of Upperworlders with glittering red skin who were settling on stools. They held what were obviously musical instruments, none of which Lexi had ever seen before. It looked as if they had grown organically, rather than being crafted by hands.
Lexi's eyes flew to Asha's, and she saw her smile.
Asha wants to try one of those things, the one that looks the most like a guitar.
Asha's grin spread as she watched Lexi. “Only if you sing,” she called.
Lexi shook her head, knowing her voice couldn't possibly hold a fraction of the beauty of the Upperworlder's. But Nidhan touched her arm. “Please, Lexi?”
There was an awkward silence, while everyone avoided looking at Zaiden.
Then Silas turned to the table, crossing his legs beneath him on the soft sand and said cheerfully, “Let's eat first.” Everyone hurried to join him.
Ursala rubbed his hands together, settling onto the ground next to Silas. “We're going home tomorrow, right?”
Silas looked thoughtful for a moment. “Actually, we can leave in a few hours, if you want.”
“Sweet,” Ursala said, slapping Kelakha on the back and grinning.
Lexi told herself the hollow feeling of regret filling her chest was from not having seen a dragon while she was in Tapas, and stubbornly avoiding Zaiden's gaze, she filled her plate with food.
Asha tapped her glass. “To begin the celebrations, I have a present for Nidhan.”
“Me?” Nidhan looked up from his plate, his wooden spoon pausing inches from his mouth. “We're not in Punjab, Asha. You can skip all the shagan crap.”
“Traditions,” Asha said, approaching him, “are not crap. Besides, this isn't only about shagan. This was meant to be yours all along, I think. And now… well, here.”
Asha crouched next to Nidhan, and pulled him into a hug. Then she took his hand, and placed her father's personal weapon and ring gently into it.
“Asha, no.” Nidhan's eyes shone. “I can't accept this.”
“You can and you will.” Asha hugged him again, slapping his shoulder. “Look, the inscription even has your name in it.”
Lexi remembered the words on Asha's father's sword and shivered in spite of the fire's warmth. When this treasure of life comes to its end, grant me this wish, that I may die in righteous battle…
Nidhan slipped the ring on his little finger, and Silas leaned across the table like an excited child to watch the sword shimmer to its full size, then exclaimed in delight, clapping his hands.
Nidhan reached into his pocket and produced a bundle, revealing a curved knife, its blade about five inches long. “Since we're exchanging gifts… Silas, I made you a weapon.”
Silas jumped to his feet and circled the table.
“I thought since you don't have any weapons yet, that…” Here Nidhan hesitated. “Well, obviously you won't need to use it.”
“It's beautiful, Nidhan,” Silas said, holding the weapon as if it were the most precious thing in the world. “I will cherish it always and forever. Plus, look! It's a dragon claw. Awesome Tapas souvenir!”
Nidhan produced a piece of coarse silk-like material and wrapped it around the blade in an intricate twisted design, his movements practiced. “That will keep it from cutting you until we get home and I can make a sheath for it.”
“Well?” Lexi demanded, unable to hide her impatience. “I thought you said you made me something too.”
Nidhan's grin widened, and he reached into his pocket again to place something on the table in front of her, moving his hands aside with a dramatic flourish.
The dagger was the perfect combination of deadly razor-sharp curves and intricate carvings she could look at all day.
“I thought you would appreciate it,” Nidhan said, studying her intently. “It's from a dragon's tooth.”
Lexi found it extremely hard not to kiss Nidhan and the silence became awkward as everyone turned to their plates. “I love it,” she said, giving in and kissing him just once, ignoring Asha's disapproval and Zaiden's averted gaze. Even Nidhan stiffened in startled protest against the public display of affection.
It was beyond cute.
He blinked rapidly when she released him, then cleared his throat and produced another weapon from his pocket. “Zaiden, this is for you.”
Zaiden started, pulling his attention away from the lake with apparent effort. “Me?”
“Of course,” Nidhan said. “You're the one who showed me the dragon remains. I'm still figuring out the hearts. Here. You wrap the cloth around your wrist and hand like this…”
Nidhan rose and crossed to Zaiden in two long strides. He took Zaiden's hand in his, and the prince glanced at Lexi in surprise. She couldn't take her eyes off Nidhan's fingers touching Zaiden's skin.
Lexi's heart sped and her mind scrambled against the certainty of what touching Zaiden would mean. What feeling his skin against hers would do to her, how it would shatter her precious determination to stay in denial.
Lexi shook the image away and focused on the exquisite weapon. Four claws of carved steel wrapped around the prince's hand, retracting with his movements, perfectly designed not to cut the wearer.
“See?” Nidhan said. “The claws will stick out of your knuckles, ready to slash unsuspecting Goblins! Plus, it looks super cool.”
Ursala raised a hand. “How is he supposed to wipe his a—”
Kelakha slapped the back of Ursala's head, and Satish and Dinesh took a threatening step forward.
Zaiden flexed his hand and burst into laughter, and Lexi gritted her teeth at the musical sound of it, turning to her plate.
“I love it, Nidhan,” Zaiden said, removing the claws. “Thank you.” He clutched one of Nidhan's broad shoulders, then held out his palm. On it was a familiar silver disc.
Lexi couldn't breathe as her temper flared.
It was the same weapon the Underworlders had used to paralyze and kidnap Nidhan only days before. A lifetime ago.
“And here is something for you.” Zaiden was saying, his reptilian eyes shining. “I should have given it to you earlier.”
What the fuck, Zaiden? Get that thing the hell away from him.
Asha had jumped to her feet too, her expression wary. Aquila glared at her side.
But Nidhan slapped Zaiden's shoulder and shouted something in Punjabi as if he were being reunited with an old friend as he grabbed the disc with a delight that rivaled Silas'.
“Awesome, yaar!” Nidhan crushed Zaiden in his
giant embrace and the prince staggered a little. “You have to show me how this thing works. It feels… complex.”
They fell into excited conversation, and Lexi rolled her eyes, returning to her meal. The knife Nidhan had given her lay by her plate, and she saw it had tiny musical notes carved into its edge. She glanced at Asha, whose expression filled with sadness for a split second before she turned away.
And just like that, singing was the last thing Lexi felt like doing. She realized Silas was watching her, his glowing expression filled with open curiosity.
“Life is a beautiful thing, Lexi,” he said softly, so only she could hear. “But true love cannot be found where it doesn't exist. Nor can it be denied where it does.”
“Don't quote Tasso at me, Silas,” Lexi hissed. “I will kick your ass. I don't care if you're the savior of the fucking world or not.”
Silas started to laugh, then his eyes grew large, and he said, “Oh…”
And shifted into a sand cat.
Everyone erupted into applause, even the blue and red Upperworlders.
Lexi blinked down at him, fighting the urge to lift the adorable cat into her arms and snuggle it, as Ursala slapped her shoulder. “Whatever you did to him worked, yaar!”
“All I did was threaten to kick his ass,” Lexi said, and Nidhan's smile was the opposite of Zaiden's look of horror. “What? You don't think he was traumatized into shifting… was he?”
Asha circled the table and scooped the cat up into her arms, snuggling it and making cooing noises that matched the look of idiotic glee on her face. Lexi studied the bundle of furry cuteness and kicked herself for not getting to the sand cat first.
“C'mon, yaar,” Kelakha said. “Stop babying him and give him a chance to shift back. That's degrading.”
“Let me hold him first,” said Aquila, scratching the cat's head. “Look how cute he is!”
Lexi thought they would start fighting over Silas, but Asha loosened her grip with a frown, letting Aquila take the cat from her.
“Hey,” said Ursala. “Maybe this means Silas' parents were from Egypt or some place. I mean, we shift to animals indigenous to our mother countries, right? There are no sand cats in Arizona, for Christ's sake.”
