“Whoa. We hit some white water on the river,” Matesh whispered, grabbing her.
“What’s white water?” she asked, letting him help steady her. She didn’t sit back down, instead straightening up to stand fully. She glanced at a silver ring where his ear tag once had been. She would ask about that later.
“Rough waters, or rapids. Rocky, dangerous. The Myriar River has huge patches of it. The guys know what they’re doing and will get us through it. It’s just a rough ride.” He smiled at her.
“Is that why they decided on a river to get through the Empire?”
“Yeah. This river is too dangerous for major trade. Most people unload in Myrsten and take the roads up to Elliar. Those were too populated for them to use.”
“Thank you for explaining,” she said softly. “I feel so stupid.” Admitting it was hard, but she wouldn’t get over it and learn if she didn’t.
Why couldn’t I just be a normal Andinna? Free or slave, it doesn’t matter. Why do I have to be me and stupid with it?
“Don’t. You just have a very specific knowledge base, one none of us have. You shared it with me and Rainev. I have no issue explaining other stuff to you.”
“Can I eat? Walk around? How long have I been asleep?” She touched the bandages on her neck and hissed. Those wounds were still very raw.
“It’s just past midday, so not nearly long enough. You should get back to sleep.”
“Don’t try to coddle me,” she ordered softly. She didn’t need to be treated like a child. She might have been the stupidest person on the boat, but she wasn’t a child. “Please. Just help me get up to speed so I don’t feel like an idiot. And food. I’ll eat anything right now.”
“Fine.” Matesh’s voice turned harder. “The aggravating female wants to do whatever she wants to do right now.” He let her go and she growled at him for the comment. Her neck was injured, but not her vocal cords.
“The arrogant male thinks he knows everything. Like always.”
“Both of you, shut up,” Rainev mumbled from his bed. She smiled at him, and he glanced up at her, smiling back. “You’re nearly free, Mave. Once we get out of here, your life as a gladiator will be history. But seriously, you two need to argue somewhere else. I want more sleep.”
“Fine, little brother,” she whispered, grabbing Matesh. Another hard rock of the ship as she tried to open the door had them falling into each other. Mat grabbed her hips, and she found herself pushed up to the door, with him pressed against her back between her wings. Hot breath washed over her ear. She could smell him, that delicious hot and spicy scent. His tail wrapped around her own, holding her there as their horns knocked together.
It felt good. She pushed her hips back, knowing his tail was pulling hers up. She ground her ass to his crotch, pulling a soft growl from him.
Well, I know one thing hasn’t changed in this new freedom.
“None of that, you two. Get out.” Rainev growled at them, but she didn’t hear any anger in it.
She grabbed the doorknob, elbowing Mat off her back, and yanked the door open. She was in the hall and walking away when she heard him chuckling behind her.
“You know you still want it,” he teased before they made it to the dining area. She turned back and looked him over. She did still want it.
“Now isn’t the time for it,” she reminded him. She knew they were still in the Empire. People were looking for them, to drag them back to the pits and the Colosseum. If they got caught now, distracted by a hot moment, then they would lose their wings and only have themselves to blame.
She had never dreamed of escape, of freedom, but she wasn’t losing the opportunity given to her now. No mistakes. She needed to get her head on straight, heal, and keep focused on getting out of the Empire.
“You’re right,” he agreed softly. He reached for her hips again and pulled her close. “But I don’t want you to forget what we’ve got going on either.”
“I won’t,” she promised. There was no way to forget how much she wanted him. “Introduce me to everyone?”
“We can do that. You’ll be getting to know them fairly well on the trip to Olost.” He walked with her into the dining area and they only found Zayden and another Andinna playing with some cards quietly. Mave knew they must have heard what she and Mat were talking about.
“You know me,” Zayden said, not looking up from the brightly colored cards. She didn’t know what they were doing, but she was intrigued by the artwork. “Rainev’s father. Grew up with Matesh. This is Brynec. He should be sleeping but he’s incapable of it.”
She looked at the other Andinna. He was leaner than average and his black wings were like hers, tight to his body. He had leather armor on, like all the others did.
“I don’t like boats,” he retorted. He had an uncultured accent, one that said country, rough. He dropped two cards on the table, gorgeous things with wyverns on them. “Now, give me yer money.” He grinned at her as Zayden pushed a pile of copper stars to him. Mave was even more interested in that. They had real money. “Those are mine, little miss. Keep yer eyes off ‘em.”
“I won’t steal from you,” she promised. “But I’ve never…”
“Never what?” Zayden frowned at her.
“Never touched money,” she admitted. “Or had any…”
“Ah.” Brynec considered her. He picked up a copper star and flipped it to her. She caught it, fumbling for a moment, but thankfully didn’t drop it to the floor. “Ya first coin, then.”
She looked down at the coin in her hand, mystified. Copper stars were named for the star emblazoned on them. It was Empire currency. Copper stars, silver moons, and gold suns. One hundred of each normally made the next. This was stuff she knew, having heard the guards talk about their pay on several occasions. She had never thought she would touch currency though. She held it back out to him after looking at it. “Here-”
“Keep it. I know how it feels to have nothing.” Brynec was still grinning, and she saw a glint in his blue eyes. They were like the light blue gems the Empress liked to wear, the same color as the sky. She continued to hold her hand and the coin out to him. “Seriously. Keep it. First coin and all that. Ya earned it for takin’ care of Mat and Rain when ya didn’t have to. Also, don’t call me Brynec. Bryn works.”
“Thank you, Bryn, but I don’t need any currency.” She dropped it on the table for him. She turned to walk away when he grabbed her wrist.
“You will-”
She wasn’t thinking. She spun and her hand wrapped around his throat, a snarl rumbling in her chest, her canines bared to him. The chair he’d been sitting in tumbled to the floor. Something sharp pricked her abdomen. They stood that way for a long moment, as Zayden mumbled curses, looking between them. Mat touched her back, calming, but not enough for her. A stranger had just touched her and that wasn’t okay.
“Little miss, keep the coin. Sorry for touchin’ ya, but don’t think to threaten me neither.”
She looked down. It was his hand on the dagger pressing against her stomach. He was as fast as her.
“Let go of him, Mave,” Matesh whispered in her ear calmly. “He’ll gut you.”
“He’ll die in the process,” she retorted. She let him go though, not intending to kill any of her rescuers. They weren’t there for her, that much she knew, but still, they had rescued her as well.
Shit. I can’t lose myself like that. These males are helping me leave. I can’t hurt them.
The dagger was sheathed quickly. “I won’t touch ya again, and I should have known better. Yer quick. I like that. Maybe I can teach ya work with the dagger.”
“I’m not one to slide daggers between ribs,” she said, looking to the two daggers on his waist. “I prefer open combat.” As she spoke, she picked up the coin from the table and held it tightly.
“Already got me pinned as an assassin?” Bryn chuckled. “Yer close to right.” He pulled down the scarf he wore over his neck, exposing a scar that ran around it. “But then, I really h
ate the Elvasi.”
“You were a slave like me.” She crossed her arms, considering the scar. Her eyes flicked to his right ear. He wore one of those small silver rings like Matesh now.
“Aye. For about six hundred years, from the end of the War until the Ivory Shadows accidentally freed me doing a mission against my owner. I followed them like a pup after that, sneaking around until they let me join. Even stowed away on their ship.”
“What did you do?”
“Fought as a small-time gladiator in Myrsten. Never saw the Colosseum, but heard a lot about ya. I always told ‘em ya were real.”
“What is the ring in your ear?” She pointed at it then looked at Matesh, pointing at his.
“Ah, a bit of a sign, a signal ya can say. Says we used to be slaves. If someone wasn’t scarred from the collar, or wants to hide that, the earring is just another way of showing it. We Andinna don’t pierce our own ears. Other things, sure, but not our ears.”
She was about to ask what other things Andinna pierced, wanting to know, but she didn’t get the chance.
“I have one for you. We hadn’t gotten to it yet,” Mat said quickly, pulling a small ring from his pocket. “If you want it. If you don’t, the hole should grow in…”
“I’ll take it.” She sat down next to Zayden on the bench connected to the wall. The male shifted away from her, as if he was scared. Mat removed her ear tag quickly and she felt the cold silver slide in. Her ear felt lighter for it. Another piece of freedom.
“There. Looks great.” Once again, Mat was too close. She slid away from him, closer to Zayden, who furrowed his brow at her but said nothing. Mat just got that arrogant smirk. He knew what he was doing. She narrowed her eyes at him. Now was not the time for him to want to play stud, no matter how much she wished it was. There was something undeniably alluring about the male. “Want something to eat? Zayden, what do you have on this boat?”
“Jerky, jerky, and more jerky,” he answered, escaping out the other side of the bench and moving to a cabinet. He pulled out a bag and tossed it onto the table.
“I’m goin’ to sleep,” Bryn said, retreating from the room. She watched him go, confused by his sudden retreat. She thought he was having a hard time sleeping.
“Bryn doesn’t like crowds, and this might as well be a crowd to him,” Matesh quickly explained. “Plus, you’re new.” He grabbed the bag of jerky and pulled out a piece. He chewed on it, holding the bag to her.
“Ah.” She could understand that. She took out a piece and bit into it, thinking she could just eat it, but it proved tougher than that. She tore off a section and chewed harder. Flavor exploded in her mouth, spices she hadn’t tasted before, not in her living memory. Pepper and salt, with things she didn’t recognize. She didn’t tear off a second piece as she came to terms with the first. It made her mouth hot in a way she didn’t expect either. Her eyes teared up. Food shouldn’t hurt. Why does it hurt?
“Based on the tears in your eyes, I think you weren’t expecting the taste. Andinna, being from the northern reach of the continent, tend to make spicy foods. They keep us warm,” Zayden explained, sitting down across from her. “You, growing up in Elliar, probably tasted a lot of bland shit, since they don’t know what good food tastes like.”
She didn’t know whether she liked how hot her mouth was getting. She breathed out and in quickly, hoping that would cool it down.
“Should have warned her,” Matesh mumbled. “You okay, Mave?”
“Yes.” She swallowed the piece and waved at her mouth a bit. “I need some water.”
“Can do.” He got up quickly as Zayden chuckled at Mave’s pain. She glared at him from her spot, and he only chuckled harder.
“I love this. I thought I hated it, but seeing this is like seeing a human try to eat our food, and that’s always funny.”
“Stop being an ass, Zayden,” Matesh ordered, smacking him as he walked by. Mave resisted a laugh, something that surprised her. Laughter. Not much ever pulled that sort of thing out of her.
“Oh, yeah. Let lover boy fight your battles,” Zayden taunted.
She narrowed her eyes again at him and bared her teeth. “I think you don’t want me fighting my own battles.” She meant it. She wasn’t sure how to feel about his teasing, which seemed a bit mean-spirited. She wasn’t sure what she’d done to earn his ire in such a way.
The boat rocked hard again, sending her to the bench, unready for it. Mat hit the floor and Zayden fell out of his chair.
“Skies, what are they doing up there?” Zayden was snarling as he got up and stomped out, up the stairs to the deck. Matesh staggered to her and fell on the bench next to her. She sat up and leaned on him.
“I feel so out of place,” she admitted. “In the pits, I was an outcast, but I was a gladiator just like them. Here, I feel like I just don’t fit.”
“It hasn’t even been a day. You, me, and Rain had a good unit in the pits. If you fit in with us, you’ll fit in with them. They’ll all help teach you about the Andinna, about what you are, like Rain and I have been trying.”
“I still want to learn Andena. And how to read and write.”
“Those will come. We just need to get out of the Empire. This is still a rescue mission. The Empress is probably screaming in rage right now in the palace and having the entire Empire searched for you, anywhere she can get word to.”
“She has sorcerers who can send out messages faster than we can move,” she reminded him. She knew about those. She had stood in meetings, a show piece for Shadra.
“She does. Myrsten will be on high alert when we get there. That’s okay, though. We’ll be fine. We’ve done stuff in Myrsten before, using traders from Olost as cover. The Company had just never gone up to Elliar before. It’s always been considered too dangerous.”
She appreciated and also didn’t like how he explained everything. She was a skilled warrior. She just wished she wasn’t so damn uneducated. One day, she promised, no one would have to explain anything to her. She would know it or be able to find the knowledge on her own. Never again would she be confused by water travel. She would learn to ride a horse.
She stretched her wings a little.
She would learn to fly.
“You’ve gone into your head on me,” Mat commented, tapping her thigh. “Get out of there and ask the questions you want to ask.”
“I’m not sure what to ask that can be done or answered right now. Much of it will have to wait until we have finished escaping the Empire.”
“I know something else we can do,” he crooned.
“I need something productive.” She stood up, running a hand through her hair. “In the pits, I trained. I liked my days off, but I also hated them because I had nothing else to do. Maybe I can clean my weapons. I haven’t done that yet.”
“I already did for you.”
She exhaled a long breath. There went that idea.
“They hit a fucking rock. We’re not taking on water, but there’s damage. We won’t need to stop unless they do it again,” Zayden explained as he walked back down. “Damn fools were trying to push too hard through a stretch of rapids. Matesh, play a game of Wyverns with me.”
“I have no money,” Matesh replied, chuckling. “Plus, that’s a fucking kid’s game.”
“No money. She wants something to do? We’ll teach her to play. And I know it’s a damn kid’s game, but it uses the same deck as Andinna poker and it’ll be easy to get her used to our cards with it.” He motioned for her to sit back down. She complied, looking at the gorgeous cards in his hand. “There’s three suits in an Andinna card deck: magic, beast, and warrior. They each have their own symbol.” He dropped three cards on the table and she looked them over. She ignored the symbols, instead looking at the stunning artwork on them. One was an Andinna warrior, blade raised high to the sky, triumphant. Another had a wyvern flying on it, colored like a dark emerald. The last was a Blackblood Andinna, blood pouring down his arm and turning black as it went.
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Zayden launched into more of an explanation about the cards, but she just watched the artwork. She had never seen work of her people. This was something an Andinna had made.
“Who painted the cards?” she asked softly, finally too curious to resist.
“Luykas, as a gift to me when Rainev was born. He spelled them to never wear or tear either. So I could teach my boy the cards as he grew up.”
“He can do this?” She reached out to touch one and they didn’t stop her from picking it up.
“Aye. He spent a lot of his childhood in Elliar, where his cunt mother apparently taught him art skills and how to play instruments. They stuck, but he doesn’t talk about them very much.” Zayden took the card back after a moment.
“How old is he?” She was curious. Half-Elvasi - he was probably born before the War. Any Andinna-Elvasi mutt now was either a slave in hiding or dead. It was illegal to breed with the Andinna slaves, and the Empress detested the idea of enslaving someone who was partially Elvasi. Her people weren’t meant to be slaves in her eyes.
“I thought you wanted to learn more about your people,” he retorted.
“Isn’t he one of my people?”
“Well, shit. Smartass,” Zayden groaned. “He’s somewhere in his eighteen hundreds. Older than everyone here at this table. Same as Alchan.”
“You seem older than you are,” she commented. He really did. He didn’t look past his prime, but he spoke like a man who was tired of the world, and tired of other people.
“It’s because he’s a cranky single father,” Matesh teased. “Seriously, he used to be a lot more fun.”
“Now who’s being an ass?” Zayden snapped, glaring at Mat. “I’ve always been a cranky shit. My Summer used to say I was too old for my body. Too serious. That Matesh lightened me up. Then Rainev came along and even that stopped working. He was a handful.”
Mave didn’t miss how his face softened at the name Summer. His Summer.
“You…married a short-lived woman?” Mave asked, trying to understand why any long-lived male would do that. Why any of the long-lived races would put themselves through that was beyond her. She had tried to be a friend to one, and it had nearly broken her to watch him grow old and die. It had stopped her from truly trying again.
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