Page 29 of Unfinished

“Is he always so enthusiastic?” Sienna asked once she was certain he was out of earshot.

“Jesthi? Often,” was R’kash’s dry response. “I hope whatever it is they’ve planned will please you. They didn’t discuss it with me.”

Did he sound a little miffed? Sienna thought so. They stepped through the open doors and into the temple.

The other priests were moving much faster, probably because her legs weren’t long enough to keep up. A flash of red fabric disappeared behind a column ahead, and Sienna finally looked around. She craned her neck back as she took it all in.

“There’s a lot of stone.”A lot.

She’d expected a mix of modern and traditional from such an advanced culture, but the interior of Evathi matched what she imagined a medieval castle would’ve looked like with its stone brick walls complete with a few woven wall-hangings. The floor was bare of any carpeting or soft coverings, but at least the tiled patterns were colorful.

“Yes,” R’kash agreed with a pleased hum in his throat. “It isn’t one of the great temples, but Evathi’s architecture is representative of our classical period temples. It’s a pity so few of our people make the effort to visit.”

“Well, maybe I can help with that if I’m going to be your event person. I can throw some public relations work in there too,” Sienna said with a grin. R’kash gave her one of his stony-faced stares.

“If you wish. I don’t expect you to serve the temple, Sienna.”

She wasn’t sure how to answer him, so she continued looking around the great entryway. The ceiling seemed to be about three stories above them, and they still had a bit of a walk before the peaked archway ahead.

“How far is the courtyard?” She probably should’ve tried harder to sleep during the nights on the ship to Xithilene, but she and her roommates had spent more time talking than resting. Sienna liked to think she was in decent shape, but she was starting to feel the strain of planet to planet travel and the challenge of trying to read R’kash.

“It’s located in the back section of the temple, but it isn’t much farther.” He glanced down at her with a slight frown. “Do you need to rest?”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of time for that later, right?”

R’kash treated her to another one of his unreadable expressions before he bowed his head to her. “Come, it’s this way,” he said as they passed beneath the archway and then turned right.

Four, maybe five, twists and turns later and she could see sunlight filtering through the archway up ahead. Apparently there was no clear path from one side of a Xithilene temple to another. At this rate, she was going to need a map to find her way around the place.

R’kash lifted his shoulders and flicked his robes behind him with his free hand as they reached another archway. He looked down at her again, this time with his tentative smile. “Welcome to Evathi, Lady Sienna.”

She leaned into his arm, getting lost all over again in his dark fire eyes. R’kash might blow hot and cold, but he knew how to deliver the swoon worthy lines when he needed to. Before she could thank him, he had her moving again, entering a large rectangular space that was open to the sky. Tall, narrow trees grew in large urns at each corner, and there were curved beds of plants filling the space between the paved pathways, but what really caught her attention was the center dais.

A short stone wall rose to about knee-height in the middle, and water rose in a bubbling center column. The fountain itself wasn’t so unusual, but the large plants growing up on either side of it were. They looked like giant orchids, but not the delicate dendrobium kind. Instead they resembled the strange ones she'd seen growing in the arboretum with names likejack in the pulpitandlady’s slippers. Thick, dark green stems rose out of the water, topped by curving, two foot long, red streaked green blossoms. Compared to the substantial flowers, the leaves were fringey and delicate, thickening towards the base of the stems where they met the dark water.

“Lady Sienna! Come, join us!”

She looked past the fountain and saw the red robes of the temple priests behind it. She waved as R’kash steered her down a path the cut straight through to the center of the courtyard. Now that they were closer, she saw several long benches placed near the garden beds and a curved table positively covered with food standing beside the fountain. Veesha’s eyes met hers, her small face the only part of her visible from the opposite side of the table. A slim hand darted out and grabbed what looked like a slice of fruit, and Sienna smiled.

Almost all of the priests who’d welcomed them outside the temple were standing there watching them expectantly. The only newcomer was a rakish looking man whose dark green scales and kiwi colored feathers set him apart just as much as his worn leather pants and barely there vest. With a gold embroidered tablecloth behind him, he looked about as out of place as she probably did. He lifted an eyebrow at her and tilted his head at an unnatural angle until his ear almost touched his shoulder. Veesha squeezed in beneath his arm, and she realized she must be looking at the missing tutor.

Recorded music started to play, a mix of high-pitched strings and fast paced percussion. They walked closer to the others, and the tutor stared at R’kash.

“Your priests say you have a human mate now,”he said in Xithilene.

“Yes, a human mate who can understand you,” Sienna replied, pulling her arm free and stepping forward. She held out her hand. “I’m Sienna. You must be Veesha’s tutor. It’s nice to meet you.” Veesha slipped away behind him, and she stood there with her hand hanging awkwardly in the air as the man tilted his head like an owl again.

“I’m Faseeth of V’alisk,” he answered slowly. He watched her like she was a snake that might strike at any minute before he frowned and snatched her fingers together in his hand. Then he raised them up to his face as a chilling rattling sound started up all around her.

In a flash of swirling red, one of the long-robed priests rushed forward and karate chopped Faseeth’s arm, forcing him to drop her hand. She happily pulled it back and tucked it in her pocket. It looked like she’d already made some sort of serious cultural faux pas.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed shaking hands was universal.” The others watched her, exchanging speaking glances with each other. “Well, the courtyard is gorgeous, and the food looks wonderful,” she added, hoping to move the party along. One of those long benches was looking pretty good right about then.

“Please, eat,” R’kash said from right behind here. He must’ve moved close again while she’d been distracted.

She glanced from person to person, but they all seemed to be waiting for her to go first, so she walked towards the table. She was about to take a skewer of some unidentified meat when she paused and looked for Veesha. “Veesha, why don’t you show me what you like the best,” she said brightly, hoping the little girl would come out.

A loud rustling sound signaled movement beneath the table. Veesha burst forth in a flurry of feathers, and the fabric caught on her wings.

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