Page 96 of Ashes of Gold
“It’s me, Rue.”
“Rojala?”
Our eyes lock and she exhales.
“Oh, hey, sorry! Glad you made it back safely.”
“How’s your ankle?” I ask.
“Better. Must have just twisted it. The camp is this way.” She leads us in the opposite direction of the fire. Apparently, it was a decoy. Smart. Maybe I don’t give the Macazi enough credit? It makes sense; they’ve been living in an entire world unseen, belowground. They’d know how to play the game of misdirection. And well.
Where the Macazi are actually holed up is tucked away behind a cluster of trees. Taavi greets us, her eyes smiling. She’s really relieved to see me. She takes one look at Bati and gestures to someone blended in with a brush of leaves. “Get him water and a shaded place to sit,” she says.
“Thank you, child. Careful out there. Remember what I said.” Bati squeezes my hand before hobbling off.
“How’s your mother?” I ask Taavi when she turns back my way. Bri and Jue share a look. What did they think—I was gonna wait to get to it? No, I need answers. Now.
“Good,” Taavi says. “Very good. Thank you.”
“I’m glad,” I say. “I need to see her. Where is she?”
She hesitates a moment, taken aback by the suddenness of my request, I assume.
“This way,” she says. We follow, ducking underneath a tangle of greenery, feeling our way through a thick knot of trees that look like they’ve been hooked together on purpose.
“You really hunkered down well,” I say. “Even had Rojala out scouting.”
“What, are you surprised?” She huffs. “This is our bread and butter.”
“Oh, no, not at all surprised. I’d expect nothing less from you.” It’s low-key shade, but if she senses it, she says nothing.
“You made it back okay!” Zora rushes our way.
“Good to see you too, Zora.” Warmth churns in me at the joy in her tone. We’re really in this as a unit.
“Jelani, Julius, so good to see you.” She slaps a hand on my back. “How did it go?”
“It was… enlightening. I’ll say that.” I update Zora on everything, out of earshot of Taavi. I want to approach Taavi on my own about it. See how she responds—what she admits to knowing. Because if the Chancellor is indeed her father… there’s a reason she hasn’t told me.
Zora asks tens of thousands of questions, down to where the access point was and how we broke through the wall. “So, the plan is still to get the hair from Shaun and cast the spell, yes?” she asks.
“Ye…”
“Good, remember, the Yakanna stand with you.”
Taavi clears her throat, and I remember she’s waiting. Zora rushesoff, catching up with Bri, and I follow Taavi through their camp.
“So, uhm, what did you want to see Mother about?” She turns to Julius before I can answer. “There’s some water over there and a few bites to eat if you want.”
“I’m good, right here.” He shoves his hands in his pockets, sticking close to me, but gazing in the opposite direction. Giving our convo privacy, I guess, but making it clear he ain’t going nowhere.
“She’s just been really tired is all,” Taavi says, tugging at her ear. “Out here the sun is on her skin and, well… it’s not going well. Sh-she’s eating though. And drinking lots. I made sure of that. We found her a nice, shaded spot. But this is… it’s just a lot for her.” Taavi rambles on, filling the silence, her hands fidgeting. She brushes the blood oath scars on her arm. I’m tempted to call her ass out right now for concealing that the Chancellor is her father. But this is chess, not checkers.
“I just wanna see how she’s doing,” I say.
“Ah, I see. Well, just try not to keep her too long. She needs her rest.” Taavi leads me to her mother without another word. But she’s smart. I have no doubt she read between the lines and knows something’s up.
The Seer sits up when she sees me, tilting her head as if she can see through me. She narrows her eyes and cold fingers walk down my spine. I swat at my skin but there’s nothing there. Just goosebumps. She sets back on the pillow of twigs and branches at her back and flaps a hand in the air at Taavi, who leaves without a word. But I can feel her hungry glare burning the back of me.
