“My queen,” Oh’nil said in a clipped tone. His eyes stared firmly at the ground at his feet.
But Qalae couldn’t tear hers away from him.
“Warrior,” she acknowledged him breathlessly and had to clear her throat. “It is good that I came upon you. I am yet to share how grateful I am for pulling me to safety at the overpass.”
Oh’nil’s face tightened. “I live to serve you, my queen.” Suddenly, he looked at her, and his gaze burned. “You know that.”
Qalae hastily looked away and fell silent. Her hand, behind her back, clutched the pouch in a death grip.
Addie only half-heard their exchange. Her attention was absorbed by Zoark. She’d only been able to catch sight of him from afar for days. She knew he was avoiding her, knew she should stop her useless preoccupation with him, a man who didn’t want any help or compassion help, and she couldn’t.
He looked exhausted, almost frail, with skin dry and parchment-y, the texture like that of an old man’s except he had no wrinkles. His animal eyes lost what little sparkle remained there and were now flat and lifeless. Uninterested. He was tired, indifferent, and waiting out his life.
Chele was sick, and now Zoark.
Zoark caught her scrutinizing him, and his eyes hardened. He didn’t want her pity. He didn’t want her help, either. It was okay for him to catch her when she was about to fall, but she had no right to do the same to him.
“Have they finished with the meat, Addie?” Vircea’s voice broke the awkward haze that had surrounded the group.
“Yes, they did. But we ran out of spices to pack the meat with.”
“We can collect more. I should go now,” Vircea offered.
“No,” Qalae stalled her. “The High Counselor wants everyone to stop working and be present at the assembly. All but the sentries.”
“The meat will go to waste,” Zoark stated the obvious.
Qalae raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you questioning the High Counselor’s wisdom, Zoark?”
He closed his eyes briefly. “I follow the High Counselor’s path like everyone else, my queen.”
A slight thump disturbed the ground near Addie, and dirt bulged at her feet. Addie’s breath turned to a frozen mist in her lungs. Her heart tore off and started a freefall deep inside her chest. Without laying her eyes on the monster, she could see it in her mind, the dribbly body, the saggy gray skin, the terrifying mouth. Two mouths.
The underground activity went on. Two more weak bumps from below ground were followed by something traveling under the surface, rising the top layer, pushing through. Small rocks skittered and a handful of dirt was flung at her knees.
She jumped three feet up in the air and screamed. She wasn’t ready to die, not now! And what about Zoark? The others?
Galvanized by fear, she rushed over and grabbed Vircea by the hand. “Come on, let go, run!” Addie gave Vircea’s arm a frantic tug nearly wrenching it out of its socket.
More dirt got tossed in all directions from a small hole that appeared in the ground. Yes, it was small, but it would grow. The monster was coming out, she could see a creature wiggling inside the mound.
Eye wide, she turned to Zoark and Oh’nil who remained immobile. “Do you have weapons? Spears?”
Instead of replying, they looked at each other and then back at her, their expressions unreadable. Why weren’t they moving? Why wasn’t Qalae?
“Wrennlins! We need to run! What’swrongwith you?”
And then Qalae giggled. The sound, so unexpected, so wildly out of character for the queen, penetrated the fog of fear in Addie’s brain, and she stopped moving. Vircea pulled her poor arm out of Addie’s grip.
“It isn’t a Wrennlin, Addie,” she said quietly.
Confused, adrenaline pumping hot blood through her body, Addie made herself look at the cone-shaped mound of dirt being constructed in front of her eyes. A furry animal was busily crawling out, bottom first.
She frowned, not sure of what she was seeing. The animal, meanwhile, got out and shook the dirt off revealing a brown body the size of a rabbit. It even looked a little like a rabbit, with an oval head and a twitchy little nose. It sniffed around, oblivious to the people standing nearby, and started rooting for something under a big clump of grass.
Another giggle sounded, and Qalae pressed her hand against her mouth in a vain attempt to smother it. Laughter burst forth from behind her hand, and finally, she gave in, roaring up, clutching at her sides, crying from the force of her amusement.
Addie looked helplessly at Vircea and found her laughing too, silently, almost hiccuping from it. Oh’nil’s lips twitched as he fought valiantly to hold in his own amusement. Zoark simply stared at her.
