Page 42 of Unfinished

R’kash snucka glance at the line of supplicants. Still nine more to go before he’d be free to close the offering grove to the public. He held the ceremonial cup as the current worshiper nicked the tip of their finger. The next supplicant wouldn’t be up anytime soon with that kind of half-hearted effort. Just as he’d thought, the man was pinching his finger to try and get some blood flowing, but R’kash would be lucky if more than a few drops joined the rest in the chalice.

“May the Lady bless your words as they journey to the spirits, and may your blood sustain our gods,” R’kash said, giving the final blessing, hoping to hurry the man along.

There was certainly no chance of his offering sustaining much of anything, including thej’kavigrowing hungry in the sacred pool, but at least R’kash’s words prompted the man to place his offering scroll in H’viss’ outstretched hands. H’viss inclined his head to hide his grin, but he flicked R’kash’s robe when the man turned to leave.

“Eager to return to your mate?” H’viss teased as the next supplicant came forward. “Try not to let your rattle sing if you don’t wish to threaten our next visitor.”

R’kash opened his mouth, set on a snappy retort, but he realized that H’viss was right—his rattle was humming with irritation. He quickly silenced it and inclined his head towards the woman who came to a stop in front of him.

“Please present your offering,” he instructed, the familiar words spilling effortlessly from his mouth, “and know the Lady’s peace.”

Time crawled by as he and H’viss blessed each person who came forward. Finally, the last man left. The prayer scrolls needed to be taken to the fire pillar and burned, and then he needed to complete the offering at the sacred pool. Theirs might not be like the true sacred pools at the larger temples with their sky bridges and caverns, but it still took long enough to complete the full ritual.

“Let me take the prayer scrolls,” said H’viss. His lower priest was giving him a knowing look, and he was doing a poor job of keeping his smile hidden.

“I should complete my duties.”

H’viss made his crown feathers ripple dramatically. He let them settle before he bothered with a verbal reply. “R’kash, stop being ridiculous. You always complete your duties. You arrived in time for morning offerings today even after your first night together with your mate. Not one among us is worried that you will shirk your responsibilities here—we’re concerned you won’t take enough time away from the temple to please your lady!”

R’kash lowered his head, pushing away a sudden remembrance of just what it’d been like to give Sienna pleasure the night before. The last thing he needed to do was saturate the air between them with his mating scent.

“She isn’t my mate, not yet,” he said instead of addressing H’viss’ main points.

H’viss’ raspy, buzzing return hiss made it clear what he thought of that statement. “She will be. We all saw the way she looked at you, and don’t think I didn’t notice you looking back. You brought her home, didn’t you? And that was after you swore up and down yesterday morning on the Lady herself that you wouldn’t be bringing any human woman inside the walls of Evathi.” H’viss pushed down the prayer scrolls in their basket before he tucked it beneath his arm. “Allow yourself to receive this blessing. Give her the chance to accept you. I truly believe she is the mate meant for you.”

The hopeful part of him believed it too.

“Just this once,” he said, giving the grove a sweeping glance to check for anything out of place. He lifted the chalice and inclined his head towards H’viss. “I’ll go complete the ritual, and then I’ll leave Evathi to my priests.”

H’viss’ smile broadened, and he bent his head in acknowledgment. “It is good to see you happy, R’kash.”

R’kash dipped his head again slightly and opened the door to the main temple. Cool air kissed his scales, a refreshing change after standing so long in the sun. H’viss and the others seemed to think it was all so easy to accept Sienna’s arrival on Xithilene as a blessing. The more time he spent with Sienna, the more readily he could imagine her as his mate, but it was wrong of him to keep the truth from her. She’d be angry—no, she’d be furious—if she found out what his men, and now what he, had done.

The blood in the chalice sloshed alarmingly, and he forced himself to steady his grip. He’d tell her. Soon. They weren’t mates until he gave her the claiming bite, and this was her first full day spent at Evathi. It wouldn’t hurt to wait just a little to determine whether it was likely she would stay before he made a fool of himself. It was early yet. The solitude of Evathi, the loneliness of the plains, they could all easily drive away even the most eager initiates. He’d seen it before. It wouldn’t be so wrong to wait just a little while longer to tell her.

* * *

“She’s always been fascinatedwith those since the first time I walked out here with her.”

Faseeth’s green-scaled fingers plucked the blossom from one of the nodding sprays of violet blue flowers drifting above the thigh-high grass.

“Can we cut some to take into the temple? Do your people like flower arrangements? We could use them to decorate for Veesha’s birthday party,” said Sienna. “I could probably even manage a flower crown for her since her feathers aren’t long enough to knock it off if they move.”

“Birthday party? Is that a human custom?”

“Where I was from, yes. I know it’s a human thing from what R’kash wrote, but we thought it’d be a fun way to show her how happy everyone was that she’s here now at Evathi.”

Faseeth tore off one of the petals from the blossom pinched between his fingertips before he looked up. “Perhaps the Mate Portal truly works. I didn’t believe they would be genuine—the feelings inspired solely by written messages—but I’ve watched you with her. You’re here for Veesha as much as you are for him, aren’t you?”

Sienna looked at Veesha. She was a good ten feet away, twirling with her arms and wings spread wide, shining bronze face lifted to the sun. She looked like any other little girl playing outside on a sunny day. The fact that she was an alien and this definitely wasn’t Earth didn’t seem to matter. Watching her was like tasting a dream and knowing it was within her grasp.

“I don’t know if I would put it that way. R’kash and I wrote to each other every day, sometimes more, while we waited until I could come to Xithilene. It’d have been impossible for me to feel the same connection to Veesha, but I did come prepared to love her, and I hope one day she’ll love me too.”

“Are all humans so free with their affections?”

Sienna laughed. “No. Not at all, but that’s probably the reason I am. I grew up in a family where it felt like you had to earn every scrap of attention and love, and for a while, I was in romantic relationships that were the same way. I hated it, but it’s easy to think it’s normal if that’s what you’re used to. So no, not all humans would feel the same, but I promised myself I wouldn’t hold back anymore, that I’d make sure the people in my life knew I loved them.” She glanced at Faseeth. “Probably more than you wanted to know, right?”

“You do talk a lot, but I find it interesting. You’re my first human, you see. I’ve heard a lot about your people, but you’re the only one I’ve met in person.”

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