OKSA COULDN’T MOVE OR SAY A WORD. SHE WAS ROOTED to the spot, her arms by her sides, the blood raging through her veins like a tempest.
Tugdual was standing three yards away, equally still, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his black trousers and his head slightly cocked to one side. His chilly eyes stared at her with a disturbingly neutral expression.
What was he thinking? What was he feeling? Had she ever known?
Then he gave that tiny familiar smile and she launched herself at him and began pummelling his chest.
“You, you!…” she roared.
Tugdual caught hold of her fists to stop her and folded her tightly in his arms, as Oksa furiously tried to struggle free. The sound of a violent storm could be heard distantly in the underground chamber, as a shower of earth fell to the ground.
“Calm down,” whispered Tugdual. “Please.” He tightened his arms around her as if to force her to obey and Oksa could feel his heart thumping against her. Her resistance crumbled as a wave of warmth washed over her.
“I missed you so much!” she growled. “I hate you!”
Tugdual laughed softly and, putting his hand on the back of her neck, he urged her to rest her head on his shoulder. She did so, then put her arms around his waist. Everyone tiptoed out, leaving them alone in this strange root-lined room.
Everyone but a slender silhouette, which stayed hidden in the shadows, watching them intently.
“How could you leave like that, without a backward glance or word?” asked Oksa softly, a lump in her throat.
“If I’d looked at you, I wouldn’t have had the heart to go,” replied Tugdual, a shadow passing over his face. “And if I’d stayed, Ocious would’ve given me to the Diaphan.”
His eyes hardened and, trembling, he took Oksa’s face between his hands.
“And I’d have lost you for ever.”
He kissed her forehead gently, stroking her tangled hair.
“Oksa… Oksa,” he sighed.
His lips brushed Oksa’s.
“It was Zoe who saved me,” he said softly. “She was the one who chose to sacrifice herself for you. For us. She was bluffing when she said all those horrible things about me and it worked. Orthon thought he might be taking a risk by giving me to the Diaphan: if I really hadn’t been in love with you, the Diaphan wouldn’t have been able to feed on my feelings and it would have ruined everything. You’d have become very sick and eventually died, and that would have made it impossible to leave Edefia.”
Oksa took a step back to study him closely.
“Tell me the truth—did you know Zoe was bluffing?”
“No! She’s good. Very, very good. I couldn’t compete. She threw me completely. It was sheer torture believing she really thought that badly of me. I couldn’t bear it. But she was so convincing, she had everyone fooled.”
“I wasn’t!” protested Oksa.
“You didn’t want to believe it, that’s different,” corrected Tugdual.
Oksa didn’t reply. She couldn’t tell Tugdual about the nagging question that had tormented her since that awful day: had Zoe been in love with Gus or Tugdual before suffering Beloved Detachment? “But Zoe… you can’t be sure about anything,” Oksa had argued, trying to dissuade her from abandoning any chance of romantic love forever. “You don’t know how things might turn out, you don’t know… what your life will be like! There are other fish in the sea—Gus isn’t the only one!”
“Gus? Who said anything about Gus?” Zoe had answered.
Oksa had felt like she’d been hit by a bombshell. Until now she’d always thought that Zoe was in love with Gus and that she was voluntarily sacrificing this love. Gus would never love her because he loved Oksa, so what was the point? That’s what Zoe had said to Ocious and the Runaways. But perhaps she was just pulling the wool over their eyes? If Zoe had been in love with Tugdual, then letting him offer up his heart to the Diaphan would have dashed any hope that he might one day fall in love with her. Which changed a great many things. Oksa groaned, poisoned by her doubts. No longer about Tugdual, but about Zoe, her secretive cousin. She buried her face in the crook of Tugdual’s shoulder, stroking his back. She loved him so much…
“So, apart from all that, are you okay?” asked Tugdual suddenly, his casual tone at odds with the present situation. “There’s a rumour going round that you saved the Heart of the Two Worlds!”
“It’s true, actually. I did that, and a couple of other things too,” replied Oksa in the same tone.
“Well, you certainly took your time. Do you realize how long I’ve been waiting for you?”
“Oh, that’s all down to the Fairies. We had such a blast in the Cloak Chamber! They were such fun, and then they invited me round to their place, but it was a real mess so I had to tidy up a bit. What about you?”
“Oh, nothing special, I moved around a bit, I met some cool people and we decided to go and rescue a few Runaways in Thousandeye City.”
“I didn’t think it was very good for their health to stay cooped up in the Glass Column all the time.”
They burst out laughing, then stopped at the same time and gazed into each other’s eyes.
“Even filthy, you’re still a babe, you know,” said Tugdual, stroking her dirty cheek.
“You smell like a wet dog but, hey, I’m quite fond of you all the same,” she replied.
A little dimple appeared when she smiled. Tugdual wrapped his arms around her and they clung together. Oksa felt light-headed as their lips joined again, the way their hearts had done.
“Ahem, ahem…”
The Lunatrix was tactfully pulling on Oksa’s tee-shirt. Oksa looked down, embarrassed.
“Does my Young Gracious experience the will to make a lending of attention?”
Some twenty people had appeared behind the small steward.
“Sorry, Dad!” murmured Oksa, running over to her father and giving him a smacking kiss on the cheek.
Pavel, who clearly didn’t mind, glanced covertly at Tugdual.
“I can’t believe we’re all here, beneath this giant tree, it’s unreal!” said Oksa, looking around.
“Miraculous, you mean,” remarked her father. “And the only reason we’re here today is because of our powerful allies. I wanted to introduce you, but Tugdual has been monopolizing your attention,” he added with a smile.
Unfazed, Oksa replied: “I want to hear all about it!”
Pavel led her towards some huge, multicoloured cushions as thick and soft as quilts, arranged in a circle around the centre of the room. In the glow of torches protected by round, opaque glass shades, everyone followed them and sat down, their attention riveted on the Young Gracious.
Before satisfying her own curiosity, however, Oksa had to tell everyone in detail about her experiences, which were greeted by numerous cries of surprise and wonder.
Sitting hunched with elbows on knees, Tugdual was staring at her with an intensity that was both gratifying and unsettling. Beside him, Zoe was listening gravely with her legs folded to one side, and Oksa couldn’t help noticing the immense sadness in her eyes, as well as her fierce intelligence. As for Pavel and Abakum, who became more and more engrossed with every word Oksa spoke, no one could fail to be aware of their heartfelt sorrow and relief when Oksa mentioned Dragomira, followed by her brief visit to the Spurned. Abakum’s eyes welled with tears and he hunched over, as if trying to make himself smaller, while Pavel clenched his fists, looking ashen-faced and tense.
They were the only four people Oksa knew. From time to time, when her gaze came to rest on someone else, she was flustered by their intense expression of enthralled admiration—being the focus of attention really wasn’t her thing. When she’d finished her story there was a respectful, contemplative silence, interrupted only by the snuffling of her Lunatrix. Oksa put her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands, feeling embarrassed.
“What an incredible story!” eventually said a girl with long chestnut hair.
This remark acted like a trigger—people began talking at once and waving their arms around enthusiastically. Everyone was having their say, cheeks flushed with excitement.
Unable to add anything further, Oksa watched these men and women talk about her, darting the occasional captivated glance in her direction. She raised her hand to her mouth, feeling the urge to bite her nails.
“You know the girl who just spoke?” asked Zoe suddenly, leaning towards Oksa.
Oksa nodded.
“You’ll never guess who she is,” continued Zoe mysteriously.
“You know I’m no good at guessing games!” protested Oksa, sitting up straighter. “Tell me.”
“Well, her name’s Lucy and she’s a Getorix groomer.”
Oksa’s smile quickly became a roar of laughter.
“A Getorix groomer!” she spluttered. “That’s so funny, I love it!”
Seeing her amusement, everyone stopped talking and Oksa again felt completely isolated.
“Um,” she stammered. “Hello Lucy, I’m delighted to meet you.”
She gnawed the inside of her cheek, worried she might have been tactless or, worse, rude to this girl, who seemed so nice. Lucy didn’t look offended though: she came over with a broad grin and bowed, Oksa fidgeted restlessly.
“I take my hat off to you for working with those unruly creatures!” she said, throwing out the remark the way she might throw a lifebuoy into the sea.
“Thank you, Young Gracious,” said Lucy. “Those little monsters certainly do give me the runaround!”
She looked reverently at Oksa.
“You probably won’t remember, but I was there when you arrived in Thousandeye City. You were Vertiflying between Ocious’s guards.”
“I remember it clearly,” broke in Oksa. “You were in the street, you waved to me.”
“You saw me? Really?” exclaimed Lucy, in delight. “My grandfather was sure you were the New Gracious. And he was right!”
Her voice broke.
“Lucy’s father is Achilles and her grandfather is Arvo, two of our staunchest allies,” explained Abakum.
Lucy immediately buried her face in her hands. Abakum stood up and put his arms around her.
“Achilles and Arvo were friends and supporters of Ocious,” he explained, helping Lucy sit down beside him. “They swapped sides and paid dearly for it, like all the men and women here today. Oksa, I’d like to introduce you to your most steadfast supporters, those who for nearly sixty years have been preparing for your return.”