Page 99 of The Gilded Ones

“Her uncle was an apothecary,” I say, remembering what she told me about that evil man. At least she learned one thing from him that turned out to be helpful.

“Britta gave some of it to me and Adwapa as a precaution. I sprinkled it on you as I— as I…”

He swallows, unable to finish.

“There was just enough of it to convince everyone that it worked. And then the deathshrieks burst through the ranks and everyone got busy fighting. No one noticed us gathering up your body parts or taking them to Ixa in the confusion.”

“Ixa?” I ask.

Keita helps me angle my head down, and I see what I didn’t before: we’re riding on Ixa, securely on his back, as he races across the desert sands.

“Ixa!” I gasp, relieved. “You’re all right!”

De…ka, Ixa replies happily.

“He came back for you once he delivered that deathshriek to safety.” Keita helps me angle my head back up, wincing again when I grimace. The pain is the strangest I’ve ever felt – fleeting and unconnected. “Sorry,” he whispers. “I didn’t know you could wake in such a state.”

Neither did I, I want to reply, but I remain quiet, smile down at Ixa. That’s my Ixa, I praise him silently.

Deka, Ixa says, pleased.

I glance back at Keita. He’s looking around us, his eyes wary, the same way they are when we go out on raids. But this isn’t a raid. This is treason against everything he’s ever believed in.

“Why did you do it?” I ask. “You and Adwapa, why did you take the solution from Britta?”

He shrugs. “Because we know you, Deka. When you use your abilities, you change – your voice sounds different and you look…inhuman. No matter how careful you were, we knew it was only a matter of time before you were discovered, accused of being some sort of deathshriek or witch, and executed. Of course we didn’t anticipate that it would happen the very next day.”

My eyes widen. “You knew all along – about the leathering, I mean?”

Keita nods. “Yes. I saw it once, in the moonlight, during a raid. And it doesn’t frighten me, if that’s what you’re thinking. I know you were afraid it would, but nothing will change how I feel about you, Deka… I know you’re not a monster.”

Warmth spreads through me, tears pricking at my eyes. Keita accepts me as I am – loves me. He doesn’t have to say the words, but I feel them. I feel them in the way he cradles my severed head so gently, even though the very act of holding it should horrify him. I feel them in the actions he took – the actions that he knew could well have ended his life. He defied the emperor for me, risked death for me – the only one he has.

Against all odds, he loves me.

Keita loves me.

How could I ever have thought he would betray me?

So much warmth flows through me now, I don’t even feel my wounds any more. Then I have a thought. “Wait – why didn’t you just stop when you took my head? You didn’t have to dismember me completely, you know.”

“Well, I know that now.” He sighs. “But I had to give you a death no one could believe you’d survive.”

“You had to make a spectacle for them,” I say, understanding now.

Keita nods, then looks away, his body trembling slightly. I’m not the only one the dismemberment hurt, I can see that now. I can only imagine how he felt, cutting into me. I suddenly wish I had the use of my arms, so I could embrace him and tell him it was all right.

“So what now?” I ask, trying to distract him.

“I’ve found a place for you to heal properly,” Keita says, turning me forwards as Ixa pads to a stop in front of our destination: a small cave mouth at the very edge of the mountains, hidden by mounds of glasslike black rocks covered in salt.

He takes me into a massive cavern, and my eyes sting as we pass wall after wall of that black rock, trails of salt running down the sides. The deeper we go, the more the salt takes over, until soon we reach the depths of the cave, which is now just white rock salt interspersed by the black rocks.

“Look up.”

Keita helps tilt my face up, so I can see the large hole in the centre of the ceiling, the moon and the stars twinkling brightly in the distance.

“How did you find this place?” I ask, gaping in awe.

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