Page 26 of Theirs to Crave
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Trudging through the jungle without shoes or lights wasn’t any more fun a second time. Although, remembering that all the bugs were dead and their ship a smoking ruin helped the frustration when I stepped on a pointy rock or tripped on a root.
Which I did. A lot.
The pounding, jittery adrenaline from the crash and the fight drained out of me as we slogged through the thick, wet foliage. I was left feeling empty and exhausted. Every step took all my concentration. I was worn out, clumsy, and couldn’t see for shit.
I think we all were suffering, because no one tried to talk. We just followed the person in front of us and kept on.
The weather had gotten worse. Before, the trees provided some relief. Now, the rain sheeted down so hard and fast, we could have been standing in a field for all the good they did. Lightning crashed, the booming thunderclaps rolling over one another. The storm was getting closer.
I slipped on the uneven ground and stayed down, breathing hard. The mud was soft here, and it was tempting to just curl up and stay. The storm would stop eventually. Or something would eat me. Either way, I wasn’t seeing much of a downside.
The pound of rain on my back stopped abruptly. Around me, it continued, as if someone had covered me with an umbrella. Ahand touched my shoulder. I looked up, using a forearm to scoop the tangled, sodden mess of hair from my face.
Litha hovered there, sheltering me, and when I met her eyes she chirped an inquisitive sound. “Estrella,seh lit?”
I shook my head, not understanding the question.
She growled, her eyes narrowed in thought. “Hellt?” she tried, shifting back to offer me her hand.
I blinked against the water streaming into my face. Wiping off as much of the mud as I could, I took her hand. It closed around mine completely.
I expected her to help me to my feet, but when she tugged, I popped out of the mud like a cork from champagne, slamming into her with awhoomph.
Litha made a startled sound and wrapped her arm around me, keeping me from falling back onto my ass.
I felt like a puzzle piece slipping perfectly into place. Her long arm enfolded me, tucking me against her without any sign of effort. Wet as she was, she still radiated heat, and I wanted to curl into it and let her carry me like a baby. After everything that had happened, suddenly being swamped with this inexplicable feeling ofsafetybrought everything inside me to a screeching halt, and all I could do was hold on and tremble.
“Hermana?”
Mariano’s worried voice pulled me back, and I tensed. Litha set me back on my feet, and I pulled self-consciously at my tunic. “I’m okay,” I told Mariano. “Just tripped.” And then, shyly, I looked up at Litha. “Relyat.”
“Sahvon,” she replied, nodding.
The others had stopped too and were gathered around us in a ragged circle. Before I could dive too far down the “oh, god, everyone was watching us” rabbit hole, Zaffet—who’d been leading our little convoy—pulled aside a giant-leafed bush and flourished his hand at the bit of jungle he’d revealed.
“HyunanlaKyusalk,a’ashalaytuh,” he announced, as if he was introducing us to someone.
At first, all I could see was more jungle. Then I caught a shimmer of light through the pouring rain, and my heart leapt.
We moved forward eagerly, and the closer we got the more excited I became. A fire blazed cheerfully in the center of what looked to be a round hut, the shapes of furniture scattered around it visible through the open walls. Shelter!
Dios mío, all I wanted was to be dry. After a month of praying for a bath, I was now being punished by the shower that wouldn’t end. If the Teterayuh would let us curl up next to the fire and sleep, I’d be grateful forever. If they were willing to feed us...well, there wasn’t much I wouldn’t do for that.
A flash of lightning cast the world in sharp relief, and I gaped. It wasn’tjusta hut. It was part of the jungle. The conical roof was supported by a ring of living trees at least twenty feet across, their branches forming a woven lattice at the eaves. On the far side of the fire, between two of the trees, a doorway hinted at a second space, its opening covered by a hanging cloth.
“¡Qué chido!” I breathed. Mariano grunted in agreement. I grabbed his hand, and together he, I, our new family, and the Teterayuh jogged forward, exhaustion briefly pushed aside by the promise of that fire.
???
The eight of us huddled together, dripping on the floor, watching as the Teterayuh puttered about. I didn’t see Svixa, but guessed she was sleeping in the other room. We didn’t talk much—too tired for that, and what would we say? None of us had answers for the questions that were our future. As for me, I couldn’t take my eyes off our hosts.
In the flickering firelight, with no rain to blur my vision, I could finally see more than vague shapes. Their eyes were large and set wide in their faces, and although they were all yellow, no two pairs were alike.
Revik’s eyes were so pale they were almost white around the vertical slit of his pupils. That brightness radiated outwards, as if they’d been struck by lightning. Zafett’s eyes were rounder, darker, a rich buttercup yellow with speckles of some darker color. They looked freckled. It was weirdly adorable. Litha had honey eyes: clover in the middle, darkening to buckwheat at the edges.
Ha. All those mornings carrying bags for Nana and Tata at the farmer’s market were paying off.