Page 48 of The Alien Noble's Little Human

She smiles, and I notice her eyes are slightly glazed. “Yep. I already found it. You were ages in the bath.” She looks at me and giggles.

I’m not sure if it’s the brew already taking effect, but I’m suddenly filled with a warm glow and the feeling that everything will be okay as long as I have Zaya by my side.

“I was waiting for you to have something to eat,” she says, grabbing a couple of plates.

“I’m going to leave you two to your night,” says Rylan, clapping me on the shoulder. “Enjoy yourselves. But we’ll regroup in the morning to talk about the route. No more getting separated.”

Then he is gone, drawn away into the dancing.

We fill our plates, and then Zaya, with a wicked grin, fills both our goblets again with the sweet musky viscosity. “Come on, there are tables over here,” she calls, leading the way around the fire circle. I’m impressed that she seems to know her way around already.

Once we’ve eaten, I can definitely feel the strange effects of the sacred roots. I stand and hold my hand out to Zaya. “Let’s dance,” I say, drawing her to her feet and out into the medley of whirling figures.

The music has a hypnotic beat, and we lose ourselves to the rhythm of the night. Masked faces flash past in a blur, creating a kaleidoscope of color around us. I cling tight to Zaya and am relieved that she holds on to me with just as much conviction.

As the mushrooms take their hold more and more, Zaya becomes my anchor. The image of her is the one thing that stays straight in my mind.

I start to see the spirits they were talking about, and they seem as real as anyone here. Some of the clan are speaking with them.

I have a vague recollection of being escorted here by the Divine Ones themselves. It’s much later on, and we have found ourselves in a magnificent tent, lined with gloriously colored wall hangings and a magnificent bed made of furs.

“Oh, what a night,” sighs Zaya as she collapses onto the welcoming bed.

I throw myself down beside her.

“Zaya. You’re beautiful. The most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.”

She kisses me, and I tumble on top of her. The effect is like a fireworks show going on in and around my body. I swear my senses start outside of my skin as if I’m joined to the entire world by invisible threads.

“You are wonderful,” she says, running her finger down my cheek and sending ripples of sensation all the way down to my toes. “You shine. Like a star.”

I understand exactly what she means.

24

ZAYA

Meeting up with Rylan feels like fate, as so much of this journey has. It had seemed like such an impossible task that I don’t think it could have been accomplished without the help of fate. I think about everything that got us here. Climbing the mountains, riding out the storms, re-opening destroyed mines, finding the roxolite, and extracting it while outrunning a cave-in.

And today begins the journey home, one that I hope is also blessed by fate. The daylight is coming over the mountains when we wake up in the morning. Taurek’s arms are around me.

It’s all coming to an end, I know. When we first embarked on the journey, I had no idea how I would last for even a day with this entitled elitist. And now, I have no idea how I’ll be able to go a day without him. I’ve gotten so used to seeing him from the moment I wake up to the instant I fall asleep.

“Would you like some breakfast? The clan made it for us,” Taurek asks as I open my eyes, greeting me with a plate of anivara, the meat from a hardy creature like a goat. He also has yopra, a fermented food made from its milk. There’s also traga fruit, which grows deep in the mountains beneath layers of snow.

“That looks and smells absolutely delicious. I have no idea what it is, but I’ve never wanted anything more.”

Except for you, I think to myself. I could be imagining it, but I swear he makes a look that leads me to think he’s thinking the same thing. Wishful thinking, no doubt. In a stressful, high-stakes situation, of course you’re going to seek refuge in the only source of companionship. But once we’re no longer in the mountains, I have no doubt he’ll be thrilled to re-enter his old life. Every time he’s had the hint of it out here, I’ve never seen him happier.

I’ll never measure up to his wife, I’m sure. I’m a living, breathing person whose flaws are unmistakable. I can mess up, say the wrong thing, and make mistakes. We still can’t be sure that my entire idea for the trip isn’t a mistake until we’re back in Cygoth. If the roxolite doesn’t work, I’m not just an idiot. I’m also a murderer. I’d have put us all on the wrong course when we could have been finding the real cure.

And all the while, his wife remains young and, I’m sure, beautiful, in his memory. To win a man as gorgeous and alluring as Taurek, she had to be. She doesn’t have to face the ravages of age. Now, she is the memory of what could have been, never having the opportunity to disappoint expectations.

In my reverie, I feel the warmth of Taurek’s arms around my shoulders, warmer even than the furs wrapped around us.

“Can we just stay here forever, Taurek?” I smile to let him know that I don’t remotely mean it. Right now we’re at the precipice of not only the journey’s end but of Hanai being cured.

“Of course, Zaya. We’ll build a house here. We’ll have a summer palace, up in the mountains. When the Ice-Charred Peaks become a swimming hole.”

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