Page 30 of Unfinished

“It’s okay—stay still. I’ve got it,” Sienna said as she lifted up the table cloth. “Go ahead. Show me your favorites now.”

Veesha moved more slowly this time, but once she realized she wasn’t stuck any longer she went right up to the edge of the table and pointed to the plate of fruit she’d been eating before. R’kash laughed behind her, and she glanced back, thrilled at the sound of it. He so rarely seemed genuinely happy that each time he showed it felt like a little gift.

“That’sj’lessifruit,” he said, smiling warmly at Sienna.

She looked back down at Veesha. “Good choice. I came on a ship from my planet, and that was one of my favorite Xithilene foods that they served us. In fact, all of the humans with me loved it.”

Veesha’s smile was shy as she held out her hand and offered Sienna the piece of fruit she’d taken. Juice ran between her fingers, and thej’lessifruit’s flesh looked a little bruised, but Sienna wasn’t going to complain. She bent down to Veesha’s level and let her place the fruit in her hand.

“Thank you,” Sienna said as Veesha gave her the sticky fruit. The short black feathers on her head lifted up, and the effect was more hedgehog than parrot, but she was still adorable.

Veesha grabbed another slice of fruit for herself and skipped away from the table, hiding behind R’kash’s long robes. R’kash didn’t even seem to notice she was clutching the luxurious fabric with her sticky hands, and Sienna was glad she’d gotten to see him with Veesha right away. He might not be the most demonstrative man, but that love she’d seen between them in his Mate Portal profile picture was real.

One of the priests in the long pants suddenly appeared at her side. He had one of the dishes from the table in his hands. “Here, lady. Try these. We made them especially for you.”

Sienna smiled, her hand still full of fruit. “Thank you. What was your name again?”

“Villith.” He pushed the plate closer. “These are maize, prepared in one of the human ways.”

“Oh, really?” Sienna took one of the roughly shaped yellow rectangles and turned it side to side. She could feel some sort of oil coat her fingers, and she brought the odd looking tortilla to her mouth. It half crunched in her mouth before she had to tear the chewy middle with her teeth. She swallowed as quickly as she could.

“Do you like it? Should we make you these chips often?” Villith asked her.

Sienna had to do a little more swallowing before she could answer. “I wouldn’t want you to go to too much trouble.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all, Lady Sienna. We’re all so happy you’re here with us, with R’kash.” Villith beamed at her, and she smiled back weakly.

“In that case, maybe I could help next time,” she told him as she looked for somewhere to surreptitiously dispose of the rest of the so-called chip and wipe off her greasy hand. Maybe the flower beds would work. “I’m no expert though—you should request more updated information. There are lots of ways to prepare corn, and if you want it to be like the Mayans would’ve made it, you’ll need to get your recipes from the people who live in those regions now.”

“We grow a lot of maize here at Evathi. That’s the primary crop we’ll be harvesting before the upcoming festival. Your suggestion is helpful,” Villith told her with an earnest frown. “I’ll submit a research request to the Human Affairs Cultural Collection.”

Sienna raised her eyebrows. “What’s that?”

“A collection of human media and known information that’s accessible for all Xithilene. With the great influx of humans on our planet, many of us want to know more.”

“I guess that makes sense. I definitely wished I had access to something similar when I was writing to R’kash,” she replied, wondering why Villith’s feathers started flicking wildly up and down. “Is something the matter?”

“No, not at all, lady!” he said hurriedly before he set the plate back on the table and rushed away.

The man who’d knocked down Faseeth’s hand stepped into his place and gave her an abbreviated version of the kneeling bow they’d all greeted her with earlier. “I’m H’viss, lady. Would you like to make an offering?”

“An offering?” She felt like she was doing a lot of repeating, but the changes in her life during the last forty-eight hours had been monumental, and now that her journey was at its end, it was finally starting to hit her.

“Yes, an offering to bless your arrival at the temple and your new life here. The sacred pool is behind you.”

“I’ll do it.”

She glanced over her shoulder to see R’kash approaching, head held high.

“Lady Sienna doesn’t know our ways yet. If she wishes to participate in the next ritual, she may, but I believe it’s most fitting for me to perform it with my own sacrifice. I’ve gained the greatest blessings from the Lady, after all,” he said as he slid the back of his hand against her forearm in a casual caress. Even that simple touch was enough to leave goosebumps in its wake.

“What kind of sacrifice?” she asked. She’d heard stories about Xithilene religion, but she hadn’t delved too deep, which was probably a bad idea seeing as she was now the proud resident of one of their temples.

R’kash smiled slightly. “Nothing too grievous, just a little bit of my blood from a cut that will be easily healed.”

Sienna was glad she wasn’t squeamish. What R’kash described didn’t sound so bad, although most of what he’d written about being a Xithilene priest before had made it sound like just a lot of gardening and prayers.

He walked closer to the pool with the fountain and pulled a dagger from his belt. She hadn’t even realized he’d had anything concealed beneath his robes. The handle caught the light, little pieces of pearlized gray reflecting it back. She’d have to ask him later if the decoration had some symbolic meaning. He extended his hand and brought the edge of the blade close to his palm.

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