Page 39 of Joy Guardian
“Is that why you rebelled against the queen? For the greater good?”
He glanced at me, then quickly looked away.
I didn’t mean to pry. But I wished I knew what those treason charges against him were all about, if only to understand him better.
“Whatever it is, Kurai,” I spoke when he didn’t answer, “I just want you to know that I far prefer having you alive to any greater good out there. Besides, a living man can continue to work towards a greater good, right? A dead one isn’t of much use to anyone anymore.”
He squinted at me, shaking his head.
“The way you look at things amazes me, Ciana. Becoming a martyr is the highest honor and the greatest legacy a Joy Guardian can aspire to.”
“Alright, I’m not arguing with that.” I shrugged. “All I’m saying is that I can’t hold a dead man’s hand whenever I want.” I squeezed his hand tightly. “Or kiss him whenever I feel like it.”
I tugged on his arm, making him lean down to me, then placed a quick kiss on his lips, stunning him into silence.
“What I mean is that maybe the greater good is really a whole bunch of little things like this,” I said. “Because they are what really matters at the end of the day, aren’t they?”
KURAI
Ciana’s words about “little things” wouldn’t leave my mind as we continued to walk through the underground tunnels.
I tried to think of all the little things that mattered to me, mindful of every moment spent at her side. I couldn’t identify them all easily before because the little pleasures were just as unattainable to me as the big ones. But with my tendrils connected to her now, I could see the world through her senses.
She was tired and sore. Hunger clawed at her insides, demanding food we didn’t have. But Ciana’s emotions came from a cornucopia of smaller sensations that she constantly collected along the way.
The warm glow of comfort must be coming from her hand resting in mine. The flutter of curiosity shimmered through as she slid a finger along a glowing vein in the dark stone of the wall to our right. And then…there was that pulsing light of attraction—intriguing and tantalizing. It sparked brighter every time she cast a glance my way.
All the little, trivial things that I’d been taught to ignore andforsake for my one true purpose were incredibly meaningful to her. She lived for right now, mindful of every moment of her twenty-two years.
Whereas I had spent a century in this world, with all my moments blended into each other in pursuit of one goal. I had skills. I’d gathered knowledge. But my entire life so far felt like a preparation for something big that would never come.
Ten
CIANA
Our water supply ran dangerously low, but the underground tunnel wouldn’t end.
Seeing the skeleton of the scorpion lifted our hope. The creatures apparently lived on the surface, rarely descending underground. We hoped the exit from the caves was near. But the longer we walked, the more apparent it became that we had to spend another day without seeing the sky.
As we settled down for sleep, I insisted on taking the first watch. Kurai left me a chronometer that counted down time by sifting sand through a glass tube. Every hour, all sand would reach the bottom of the curved tube, then with a soft click, the chronometer would flip upside down and a tiny hexagon would mark that an hour had passed.
I couldn’t remember exactly how many clicks I’d heard, with my head bobbing and my eyes closing from exhaustion. Kurai’s soft breathing and the warmth of his body pressed to mine eventually made sleep impossible to fight.
I tilted sideways, then dropped on top of him.
“Sorry,” I muttered, giving up.
“It’s fine. I’m awake,” he replied, releasing me from my watching duties.
I snuggled against his chest, and he hugged me to him.
His scent surrounded me. It was fresh and warm like the desert under the open sky—a dark night sky with green stars in it…green like his eyes.
Suddenly, we weren’t in the caves anymore but in a tent somewhere. Strings of golden lights shone under the tent’s roof. We sat on the cushions on a thick rug with trays of food in the middle.
“We made it?” I gasped, looking around. “Did we find the well with the oasis?”
“We did.” Kurai smiled, lifting a golden carafe to fill my cup.
