Page 37 of Beyond the Ruby River
Mahu rubbed his back. “I’m sorry I ordered you gone from my house that morning. I’ve regretted it ever since.”
The breath from Daka’s sigh ghosted gently across Mahu’s throat. Daka pressed a kiss there. “You shouldn’t apologize. This was all my fault. I’m so sorry. I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t know how. I’ve never told anyone before.”
“Would you tell me now? I’m afraid I still don’t understand.” Mahu’s mouth was dry. He turned away from Daka to cough.
Daka lifted his head. His stare turned scrutinizing. “You still carry an odd scent, Mahu. Did you see a doctor?”
He’d seen the priest, only because he’d thought himself cursed, but had come away with nothing but honey and directions to make a medicinal drink. “I’m fine. It’s only a cough.” Secretly, Mahu had begun to worry it was more than that, but he pushed those thoughts aside.
Daka stepped out of the embrace. “Come upstream where the water is clean, and you can drink.”
They ambled creekside until they’d gained high ground over the livestock, and Mahu knelt to scoop water into his hands. The cool liquid soothed his parched throat, and he remembered the questions he came here to ask.
Daka settled on a low, wide boulder. He looked fresh and young in his crisp white linen, black hair gleaming with hints of blue. How old was he really? And what was he, exactly?
Mahu thought of his family, waiting for him in the afterlife. If he was going to continue to see Daka, he had to know the new relationship didn’t threaten his old ones.
Joining him on the rock, Mahu looked Daka over. His expression carried worry, and Mahu had the urge to calm him.
“I’m all right now. I’m not angry with you.”
“I would understand if you were.” Daka’s shoulders slumped. “I will tell you everything. I’m afraid you’ll be angry again once you’ve heard it all.”
“I can’t promise I won’t be, but I came here to learn.” Mahu softened his voice. “I’ve missed you. I worried for you.”
“I missed you too. Desperately. How did you find me?”
“Luck, truly.” Mahu tucked one leg beneath him and crossed the other over his knee. “I knew only that you’d come from Rhakotis. So when you never returned, I thought to begin my search here.”
Daka’s lips parted. “You told me not to return. I would have come back if I’d thought you’d wanted me to.”
“I know. I overreacted. I was scared.”
“I’m sorry.”
Mahu smiled. “You must stop apologizing. What’s done is done. The priests have found nothing wrong with me. I don’t feel cursed. I believe you now, that you haven’t cursed me, but in the moment, it was all I could think about.”
Daka hesitated. “I don’t know any curses, Mahu. I promise. I’ve never wanted to learn them, and I’m only half incubus. Even if I did want more magic, I just don’t have the strength.”
The explanation only brought with it more questions. “Incubus?”
“Yes. We don’t usually call ourselves demons, as you do, though the term is fitting enough. My mother is an incubus. So too is my sister, Niya, who you’ve met. And my brother in the south. But my father was a human, and so I am half human.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m not as strong as them. Not as big either as I’m sure you could tell by looking at Niya.”
Niya had been enormous for a woman. No horns and no tail, but she would have trouble blending in, whereas Daka was the regular size, perhaps even a bit short.
“I have a little bit of magic, but nothing like the rest of my family. I can manage a simple spell to hide my incubus features from people, but as you saw, it’s easy to slip. I’ve never had to maintain the enchantment overnight before. I wasn’t thinking.”
Poor Daka. Mahu had been horrified, and Daka startled awake. It had taken him a moment to figure out why. His hand had come up to touch the horn, and his face had crumpled. At the time, Mahu was too afraid for sympathy, but looking back, he felt terrible for Daka.
“Are they there now?” Mahu glanced to where he thought the horns would be if it weren’t for the magic hiding them.
Daka nodded slowly, hesitant.
“Can I see them? And your tail?”
