Page 72 of The Delver
These were foods that the vrix of Takarahl ate daily. Foods that had seen them through their darkest days, when Zurvashi had denied most of her subjects fresh meat.
He gathered his harvest on his lower arm, keeping it tucked against his abdomen. In vrix, he softly said, “Thank you, Rootsinger, for your bounty. May your song endure forever.”
Callie had packed the waterskin away by the time Urkot returned to her. He lowered himself to the ground and laid the food out on the vegetation between them, telling her the name of each.
She picked up a bunch of shadowberries by the stem. “I guess it’s time for a game ofrushin roolet.”
“A game?” Urkot leaned toward her, unable to mask his eagerness. He’d always enjoyed games, especially when he competed with Callie. “How do we play?”
“It’s a game I would play myself. I assume you’ve eaten all these before?”
Cocking his head, he nodded. “Yes.”
“So you know they’re safe for you to eat.Rushin rooletis a game of chance between life and death.” Callie gestured to the food between them. “I don’t know which are safe for me to eat, or which could poison me.”
Both his mandibles and his shoulders sagged, and something heavy and cold sank in his stomach. “I do not like this game.”
Yet he knew she was right. Though humans could eat most of the same foods as vrix, they could not tolerate sweetfang root, a discovery Ketahn had made when Ivy had fallen terribly ill after consuming some. Her sickness had been so severe that Ketahn had feared he would lose her. Who could say what else might harm humans?
Callie chuckled. “Me neither, but without the food analyzer, there’s no way to really to know without trying.” She pointed at the whiteroots. “Those are mushrooms, so I’m not touching them. Unknown mushrooms are dangerous to fuck around with back on Earth.”
Urkot growled low, reaching out to take the shadowberries from her. “You will eat none of it.”
She pulled the berries away from him. “We don’t know how long we’ll be stuck in this place, and the food I have in my pack will only go so far. I can try a little at a time and wait.”
“Callie…”
“The injections they gave us should protect me against the worst effects.”
“Should,” Urkot repeated with a huff. He didn’t like that word any more than he liked this game.
“Look, I analyzed that root that made Ivy sick. The toxins it contained really should’ve killed her. Within a week, she should’ve been suffering organ failure. Instead, she was sick for a few days and completely fine afterward. Every time Ivy tried a new food, she was taking a risk, paving the way for us before she even knew we were still alive. But that’s what life is. That’s what survival is.”
She looked down at the berries. “Our bodies have changed,are changing, to better adapt to this world.”
Urkot caught her chin and gently guided her face to his. “And if you get sick? I do not know healing, Callie, and Diego is far.”
She curled her fingers around his wrist and smiled. “Had I not brought this up, you wouldn’t have known any differently. I wanted you to be aware just in case. Besides, most of the food we’ve eaten has been completely safe. All things considered, human and vrix diets are shockingly compatible.”
He grunted. “I still do not like this.”
“I’ll take it slow, okay?”
When he grunted, her smile widened, and something warmed inside him. That warmth didn’t ease his tension as he released her chin and watched her pluck a berry off the stem and lift it to her lips. He much rather would’ve had those lips pressed against his hide, against his mouth, instead of a piece of fruit that could cause her harm.
Those alluring lips parted, and she slipped the berry between them, biting down. She hummed in surprise and appreciation.
His insides felt knotted and tight. It was a strange conflict in him—he trusted her, trusted her knowledge, but that trust did nothing to diminish his worry. And she’d been right. If she hadn’t mentionedrushin rooletand reminded him of the risk, he wouldn’t have thought of it. He would’ve failed her as a mate because, to him, these were all safe foods that he had eaten countless times without a second thought.
They sat together, the remaining berries in the bunch resting on Callie’s lap, and let the waterfall’s sound and cool mist envelop them as they waited.
“No tingling, no numbness, no cramping or nausea,” Callie said after a time. “And as much as I do have a craving for another one of those berries, I’m going to wait. I’ll try the threadleaf later, or else if I do get sick, I won’t know which one caused it.”
She passed the shadowberries to him. “Eat, Urkot.”
Though he knew there was a chance that she’d be affected by the fruit, he couldn’t help his relief. He took the berries and returned them to the pile on the ground, instead taking up the mushrooms. If the shadowberries were safe for Callie, and she enjoyed their taste, he’d save them for her.
After he’d eaten, they bundled the remaining food in scraps of silk and packed them in Callie’s bag, drank some more water, and continued onward. The glowworms grew scarcer, and the tunnel dimmer, as Urkot and Callie left the waterfall behind.
