Page 15 of Unfinished

Sienna shrugged. “That sounds like an Edgar problem. I’ve got to go. I think I’ll throw my comm device in a drawer and forget about it until tomorrow morning. I’m not letting this ruin the rest of my weekend.”

“Okay, but don’t shut me out. I’m here for you no matter what you decide in the end.” Tasha waved and swiped off, her hologram immediately fading, leaving the air feeling empty where her image had stood.

Sienna unlatched her comm device, revealing a band of paler skin beneath it. She wondered if the Xithilene were so caught up in one another’s business. All she had to do to see an update on any friend or acquaintance was glance at their comm profile, and she could hear their latest thoughts on any inconsequential event.

The Xithilene were far more technologically advanced than humans, but from R’kash’s messages, it didn’t sound like tech was a big part of his life. Sure, some things he seemed to take for granted, like their ease of travel and their confoundingly simple medical treatments, but the way he described Evathi always made it sound so cut-off from all the drama and noise of the world. Right now that sounded just about perfect.

It wasn’t without a little sense of irony that she brought her viewscreen back to life. Of course that tech-free world wasn’t free of similar devices, ones that allowed them to communicate across a galaxy. She’d have to be careful not to build up a false image in her head. Just because he didn’t feel the need to talk about it didn’t mean that his people didn’t have plenty of their own gadgets and gizmos.

Still, she thought as she pulled up the photos she’d saved from his messages, those golden fields looked idyllic. The old stone facade of the temple made her want to press her hand to the screen, as if that might allow her to feel the sun-warmed carvings beneath her palm. Evathi looked like a place of rest, a true sanctuary. Was it really wrong to want a taste of that? To want a place of her own?

10

“Sire?”

R’kash almost tripped over his robes as he turned back at the sound of that small, soft voice. Veesha was standing behind him, waiting there with big eyes, as if she weren’t sure what he might do next. He supposed he did look a bit clumsy. It wasn’t the child’s fault she was worried he might topple like a felled tree.

“Hello, Veesha. What have you been learning with Faseeth this morning?”

The Lisseethi tutor had been Jesthi’s choice, but R’kash couldn’t say he regretted the man’s presence at Evathi. Although Faseeth didn’t have wings, he’d been raised in one of the forest villages, and he’d been teaching Veesha his music and telling her stories about his own family. From what R’kash had overheard in the hallway, Faseeth was no stranger to the mischief of winged children. He tried to tamp down the envy he felt every time he thought of the man.

“Drums,” she half-whispered. She still used her baby voice, as he called it. He knew she could speak louder if she wanted, but she always used that soft little voice around him, and R’kash was growing to hate it. He didn’t like what it denoted—fear, apprehension, skittishness.

“Ah, drums,” he repeated. “I should show you mine sometime. They’re not the same as Faseeth would use. Mine are for the dance—the rite at the sand field. You should learn,” he told her, and he could imagine it as he said the words. He could see her playing as his priests spun and thrust their staves for the Lady under the full moon. “Perhaps we will change things here at Evathi, and you will be the Lady’s priestess,” he added with a soft pat over her wings.

Such things weren’t done. The priesthood was all male, but there was no specific reason for it, as far as he knew. Why shouldn’t his daughter serve the Lady at his side?

Veesha peered up at him and smiled. Then she looked down again, but she stayed beside him until they reached the dining hall for a midday meal. It was working. He wasn’t failing. She was becoming more comfortable at the temple, more at ease around him. R’kash would need to be content with that much.

Suddenly the girl’s face brightened, crown feathers flaring and her small wings lifting. R’kash began to smile when a cheerful voice disrupted the moment.

“Lady Veesha! You’ve arrived.” Faseeth strutted forward, falling to one knee as he offered his arm out towards Veesha like he was planning to escort her to the table. He wore the leather trousers and vest that were ubiquitous in Lisseethi, and his green scales gleamed darkly as he flashed a bit of fang when Veesha ran up to him.

Veesha flung her arms around his shoulders and hugged the man. R’kash had to force his rattle to still. He had nothing to be angry about. It was a good thing that Veesha liked her tutor so much. He certainly wouldn’t want her to spend so much time with someone who made her uncomfortable.Someone like you, a little voice whispered. He just didn’t have that silliness about him, that way of making everything a pleasant joke. He felt his crown feathers flatten tightly against his scalp and turned towards the kitchen, determined to make himself useful since he was no longer needed in any other capacity.

When he entered the kitchen, he saw Jesthi and Villith conferring over one of the temple’s record-tablets. R’kash frowned. Although tech was allowed within the temple, it was general practice to refrain from its usage during public hours. Tablets and the like were a distraction from their work. He’d never noticed his men having a problem following Evathi’s practices before.

“Something interesting?” he asked, his voice coming out more sharply than he’d intended.

Jesthi and Villith looked up guiltily, the way their heads swiveled to face him almost comical.

“No, not at all,” Jesthi said, deftly tucking away the tablet. “Just making plans for this year’s harvest festival.”

“Already? That’s moon cycles away,” R’kash said as he moved further into the large chamber, heading towards the stasis cabinets. He’d grab a few items, including thej’lessifruit that Veesha now favored, and head back out to the dining hall, hopefully with his suspiciously behaving staff following behind.

“It’s not that far away. Only two moon cycles, high priest,” said Villith.

R’kash lifted his crown feathers and shot Villith a tight look as he reached for the cabinet’s handle. “We’ve never planned anything this early before,” he replied.

“What Villith is too scared to say, R’kash, is that we want to try a few things differently this year, maybe make it a larger celebration. Evathi could use a little more liveliness, don’t you think?”

R’kash turned to face Jesthi. “Perhaps, but why haven’t you spoken to me about these ideas?”

“I am now,” was his lead priest’s glib reply. “Come. I believe I heard Veesha’s voice in the dining hall. Let’s join them.”

He hurried to lift one of the fish trays from another compartment of the stasis cabinet before he followed the others. Veesha gave him a shy smile when he entered the dining hall. It wasn’t the effusive hug she’d shared with Faseeth, but it was something.

He smiled back as he set the food on the table. Maybe if he were a different sort of man, it would’ve been easier for him to invite her affection. He pulled a dagger from his belt and peeled thej’lessifruit before he sliced it and fanned the pieces out over Veesha’s plate.

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