Page 34 of The Garnet Daughter (The Viridian Priestess #3)

Chapter

Twenty-Five

W e run for so long, the pain in my legs turns to dull numbness, putting as much distance as possible between us and the creatures that made those terrifying sounds.

Every time I think night has finally spread across the birthlands and the last purple hues of conjunction light have transformed into pitch black, the darkness somehow continues to deepen.

Sav takes us to another rock formation, letting us know it is finally night and travel is too dangerous.

We’re not able to see even a small distance in front of us now.

She seems familiar with the resting spot, having us follow her up a grouping of rocks to a flat area surrounded by cliff-like walls.

It’s tucked away and cozy after being in the open for so many hours.

“Will that not be seen?” August asks as we watch her arrange twigs for a fire.

“The walls are high here, and even if it was seen, not even thieves travel this time of night and animals do not care.” Sav strikes two pale-colored rocks together, stoking the embers in an established rock ring from a previous camp.

“How far are we from the bird beak?” I ask, observing her fire-starting technique that is not so far off from my own.

“When dawn comes, you will see it on the other side of that cliff.” She tilts her head to indicate the one behind her.

August stays close to me against the base of a bumpy rock as we settle in for the night. At first, I thought it was too hot for a fire, but just like Frith, the temperature drops to a dangerously low level.

“I won’t be able to sleep, but you can if you want. I will keep watch,” I say, sitting shoulder to shoulder next to him.

“Not tired yet, and we should come up with a plan for tomorrow if we are as close as she says.” He rests his forearms on top of his bent knees, attempting to make a sort of privacy barrier between us and Sav, who has made herself a bed facing away.

He leans in so near, I can feel his breath against my neck, the orangey glow from the fire dancing in the whites of his eyes.

I force myself to avert my gaze, only to notice his strong hands and corded forearms just inches from me. I have the sudden urge to reach out and lace my fingers with his.

“Calliape?”

“Yes?” I blink away the wandering thoughts.

“You sure you don’t want to sleep?”

“I don’t want to fold again,” I confess and then realize the difference. “It wasn’t across the space between this time. I’m not nearly as exhausted as before.”

“Where were you?”

“Looking out a cliff’s edge. It must have been here. Something was moving out in the darkness, in the fog,” I whisper.

“There is no fog here.”

“Clouds maybe. I could have been high up. It was colder.”

“Did you hear anything, water or anyone speaking?” He leans in expectantly.

“No,” I lie. “But the clouds moved, pulsed in a sort of . . . rhythm, like something was moving through them and making swirls in the fog.”

“Omnesis?”

“I don’t know.” I considered it, but it doesn’t explain the voice I heard.

“I wish I knew what it wanted. The spell book said nothing of weaknesses. I wish we knew more. Ferren said she was able to bargain with the Albright because it wanted to return back to the moon. I wonder if Omnesis wants the same thing.” I trail off.

August studies me, eyes narrowed like he doesn’t like where my thoughts are headed. “We will just have to kill it.” His joke is halfhearted.

“You can’t.” Sav’s voice cuts across our campsite from the other side of the small fire. She stays in the same relaxed pose that made us believe she was sleeping.

August shifts uncomfortably, like he wishes he could block us more.

“You are looking for the temple of Omnesis. You cannot kill an old god,” she continues and nestles into a better position, as if she can finally sleep now that she has delivered the intruding news.

It’s silent for a long time, neither of us wanting to engage with her about the topic.

“I’ll be right back,” I tell August and stand, brushing the sand from my backside.

“I will go with you.”

“I need privacy, and I will only be a moment. Stay here.”

I keep close enough to the camp that I can still view the dancing orange light of our modest fire from my spot behind a tall rock. I linger a bit once I’ve done my business, taking advantage of the calm place to gather my thoughts, now that we are no longer on the run and in constant danger.

We are close to the temple. This time tomorrow, we may even be standing in it.

August is right, we need a plan, but figuring it out with Sav around will be difficult.

She doesn’t trust us, and there is something unnerving about her as well.

She fell for August’s friendly routine but now she is suspicious.

It’s as if she wanted us to believe she was sleeping so we would talk freely.

She clearly knows of the old god that lives in her desert, but I’m unsure if the answers she could provide are factual or folktales passed down from her people.

However, she is correct. We can’t kill Omnesis.

I’ve considered trapping it again so that it cannot hurt the priestesses it considers abominations. Maybe I could find a way to fold it back to its moon, where most of First Mother’s children call home. Bargain with it as Ferren did on Frith with the Albright.

Footsteps sober my ranting thoughts. Small, crumbly rocks rustle against the orange sand as August walks in the direction I left our camp. He approaches slowly, like he is unsure I’m done.

“It’s fine. You can come over,” I whisper in his direction when he stops briefly.

He turns the rocky edge of our camp and smiles just a little when he sees me sitting on a small boulder. “There you are.”

The air is growing even more brisk as the night continues, but the chill that spreads across my skin at the sight of him walking toward me is for an entirely different reason.

The hard peaks of my breasts rub against my tunic shamelessly and I hunch my shoulders slightly to prevent it from happening again.

What is wrong with me? I used to have so much control over myself, but ever since he confessed he doesn’t see me as a friend, I can’t picture him as one either.

Even in the heart of the birthlands, when creatures and carnivorous sand is all around us, I can’t restrain myself from thinking of kissing him again.

“You alright?” He angles his back to the tall boulder across from me, his entire lean form on display, his biceps pushing out as he crosses his arms followed by his strong legs, reminding me exactly how they felt under me when I sat in his lap.

“Yes.” I can’t tell him that I am not, that I must be delirious from the miserable day or so fatigued and overwhelmed with what we will face tomorrow that my own mind is trying to calm me and use him as a distraction.

“I think . . .” He tilts his head in the direction of Sav. “Isn’t going to let us go so easily. I have a feeling she will stay until I can make good on our end of the bargain.”

“Keep it down,” I scold him. He is speaking too loudly and our voices bounce off the rocks.

“Then come closer.” He grins.

He didn’t say anything near to what normally makes me blush, but I can feel the heat rise to my cheeks. I move to his side and press my back against the boulder and lean in, convincing myself it’s for secrecy and not because he smells good, even after a long, sweaty day.

“If we can truly see the rock formation in the morning,” I whisper so low he tilts his head to the side to listen carefully, and it takes me too long to continue. “Maestra said the temple was in a dense tree line. I could fold us to it if you don’t trust her.”

He tucks his chin down at me with a dubious smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. “You would leave her out in the desert like that?”

“She lives in this desert, August. Don’t make me feel bad. You’re the one who is so suspicious.”

His crossed arms fall to his sides and I automatically scoot closer, the unspoken response between our bodies sending me into such a foggy space, I forget how to form my next words.

“It’s my job to protect you. I take it very seriously.”

“Is it?” I furrow my brow. He’s being ridiculous on purpose. “I’m pretty sure we protect each other and it is my turn.”

He huffs a laugh and then settles into the rock more, leaning his head back to look up at the sky, exposing the cords in his neck the Viathan armor normally covers with the missing helmet.

“We should wait until first eclipse light, see our surroundings before we decide,” I reason and join him, looking up at the impossibly dark sky.

He nods.

A comfortable silence falls between us. The temperature may be cold, but my side touching his is on fire.

Finally, he shifts a little, clearing his throat like he wants to say something. “Are we going to talk about what happened?” he asks without turning to face me.

“What happened?”

“You kissed me.”

“No . . . you kissed me , August.” I straighten, more defensive than I mean to sound.

“Sure felt like you did. Would you like to not-kiss me again right now?”

“Don’t be a child,” I groan

My answer isn’t exactly no.

He raises his palms in surrender and looks back up at the sky like he has finished speaking and we are going back to the peaceful company we were keeping before. But then I see a devilish smile he is trying desperately to hide.

“Alright, what about what I said on the ship?” he continues, voice lower.

I stare at him, a little lost. It takes a long moment for him to look back at me.

But when he does, the smirk on his face fades, replaced with such genuine yearning it takes my breath away.

I know what he means without the need for clarification.

I did not let myself remember until now, perhaps even convinced myself I had heard him wrong.

But that’s a lie. I know he thought there was a chance his hasty plan could go horribly awry and in the last moment before my pod left, he said he loved me.

He loves me.