Page 28 of Unfinished

She held back the small smile that wanted to slip free, but she readily placed her arm over his. She might not be fragile like antique china, but she liked how he treated her like she was. He opened the flyer’s main door and led them down the narrow ramp, pulling her in front of his body. She felt like someone had just pointed a spotlight in her direction from the way all of the eyes in the vicinity shifted to her face. Sienna’s mouth turned up in a tentative grin as she waved.

There were five priests that she could see, all of them wearing some form of red garments. Some had long robes like R’kash while others wore plainer versions that only went to their knees or hips. Two men wore kilts, but the rest wore loose trousers instead. They all stared.

The Xithilene men stayed where they were, leaving room for Sienna and R’kash to stand at the bottom of the ramp, but Veesha didn’t feel the same compunction. She ran so fast, her small black wings flapping, that her feet barely touched the ground. Sienna expected the little girl to go to R’kash, so she was shocked when Veesha slammed to a halt in front of her instead.

Flame colored eyes gazed up at Sienna, set in a narrow, heart-shaped face with the same bronzed gold scales as her father.“Lady!”

Veesha was the first Xithilene to actually speak their language around her. She’d caught snippets of it here and there while others had talked amongst themselves on the ship and during their way through Verkissat to reach the flyer, but no one had spoken to her directly in anything but English until now. Sienna didn’t have the second implant that’d allow her to speak their language without an accent, but she could still try.

She knelt down on one knee in front of Veesha and did her best to answer.“Hello, Veesha. I’m Sienna, but I’m just a human, not the Lady. I’ve been waiting to meet you.”She didn’t dare say how long she’d anticipated this moment after her discussion with R’kash earlier—she wanted to take things with Veesha at his pace.

“Lady Sienna will be living with us here at Evathi,” R’kash added in English, returning his hand to her shoulder.

His fingers were long enough that she could clearly see his smooth black nails and the glint of the rings that covered each one. She’d have to tell him later that it didn’t bother her if Veesha spoke Xithilene or not.

One of the shorter red-clad men stepped forward from the others. “Sienna, I’m Jesthi. Welcome to Evathi!” he said as he fell into a deep bow, one leg swung behind him like R’kash had done earlier that day. The remaining priests swiftly copied the gesture, until only she, R’kash, and Veesha were left upright.

“Hi, Jesthi. It’s nice to meet you, but please, get up. Why don’t you introduce me to the others?” she asked.

He grinned back at her, his face as expressive as R’kash’s was controlled. It was funny how at first glance, they could look so similar, yet still be so different. Most of the priests actually had the same coloring, with bronze hued scales and dark feathers, either in shades of black or brown. Jesthi had ultra-bright green eyes and a ready, toothy—or was that fangy?—smile.

“As R’kash has probably already explained, Evathi is a small temple. Not many people live in this area of the continent, so we don’t need a large staff. He’s our head priest and I’m his assistant. Then we have H’viss, Villith, Neevish, and Ivekth.” Jesthi motioned to each of the other priests in turn, but Sienna already knew she wasn’t going to remember those names anytime soon. “We have outside workers that occasionally come to Evathi to assist with larger festivals and events, but otherwise, it’s just us and Veesha, outside of her tutor Faseeth.” Jesthi glanced behind him like he expected the man to materialize out of thin air.

“Where is he? If he’d been doing his job, Veesha wouldn’t have run past you all and straight towards a lowering flyer.” R’kash stepped up to her side, one arm sliding against her forearm and trapping it at his side and the other settling behind the back of Veesha’s feathered head.

One of the priests towards the back of the group held up a slim device, and R’kash froze before he blinked twice and his lips pressed together.

“Sorry, R’kash, but we voted, and I was the one chosen to document Lady Sienna’s arrival at Evathi.” The man tucked the device inside his long robes before he trotted back to the temple’s open main doors.

“What was that?” she whispered to R’kash, pressing her face against his arm to hide her mouth. “Document—does he mean images or vids?”

“I believe it was just an image, but we can wipe it from his data if you’d prefer.”

“No! I mean, that isn’t necessary,” said Sienna. “I was just surprised, that’s all.” She turned her face back towards the others to find them eagerly observing their every move. “It’s a bit chilly,” she said as she mimed rubbing her arm. “Can we go inside yet?”

“Of course, lady!” the one who’d introduced them all said, sweeping out his arm towards the temple like he was rolling out the red carpet.

Sienna stifled the urge to laugh and tugged a little at R’kash’s arm to get him moving. “That was certainly a warm welcome,” she said quietly.

“Yes. My priests are all excited that you’re joining us.” He watched as Veesha hopped away and ran, wings extended behind her.

“She’s full of energy, isn’t she?”

“Always,” R’kash said, and she could hear the smile in his voice even if he didn’t let it show on his face. Sienna leaned into him a bit more, her misgivings from the earlier part of their flight born away on the breeze making its way across the plains.

“I can’t wait to see what Evathi’s like inside. I saw the pictures you sent of the courtyard and some of the crop fields, but I don’t have an image of it all in my mind. It sure is big—I guess if you gave me a tour of the whole thing it’d take us a few hours.”

“Ha! Yes, lady, you’re right, but you don’t need to see all of the temple today. We have everything setup in the main courtyard to celebrate your arrival.”

Sienna smiled at the priest whose name she’d already forgotten. “That sounds lovely.”

“We’re having a celebration?” R’kash’s voice lifted as he fixed his rather forbidding glare on the man.

“My brother,” said the one who’d identified himself as R’kash’s assistant, “would you expect any less? You’ve brought a mate home to Evathi.” The man looked at her fondly before he bowed his head in her direction.

“My thanks, Jesthi,” said R’kash stiffly. “Can you have Ivekth bring in Sienna’s baggage from the flyer?”

The other man grinned and tipped his head down briefly before he left them behind to join the other priests ahead of them.

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