The Summer sun warmed the berries, causing their juice to remind Eya of the fruit tarts she loved as a child. It was the only comforting thing in this dirty, crowded cave. Still, it wasn't enough for anyone. The only thing breaking the exhausted silence among them was the growling of their stomachs. Eya's stomach wasn't the only part of her complaining. Her head throbbed from withdrawal. That's what Rhin explained to her anyway.
Drugged daily on ulah tea with doses reserved for soldiers struck by magical attacks, Eya developed a dependency on the chemicals in the drink. Now that she hadn't sipped the brew in days, her aching body quivered uncontrollably at times. If not for her severe pain, she would have flown into a rage learning all this. Daijah explained the betrayal against her brothers that his father orchestrated. They briefed her on how Terald and Hat came to join them and, subsequently, that Novem was alive and now the King Consort of Pescel. She understood they were on the lam and headed over the Land Bridge to meet her brother.
This last bit of news should have made her feel happy, relieved even. Soon enough, there would be no more nights spent in a musty tent or dirty cave only to wake before dawn so that she could call on storms to strike Pescelean camps. However, she knew better than to think anything was that simple. The only way to cross the Land Bridge without walking straight through an enemy camp was by scaling the North's active volcanoes. If they survived that, then what? The war with Pescel might end, but it was just going to be another war, this time with Kandum. What about the prophecy? How was she supposed to destroy the seat of Pecu's power now?
With an agonized sigh, Eya muttered, "Does it even matter anymore?"
"What?" Daijah asked, looking up from the berries he counted in his hands to ration out.
"Sorry," Eya replied, "I'm just talking to myself."
Guilt cut through her exhaustion and discontent. At least Eya got to sleep through most of the drama of their escape. Daijah gave up his country, title, and family. He risked his life, and for what? A woman who opened her legs to the enemy because she was so desperate for love that she couldn't wait for Daijah's? She knew she should tell him about Mal—Farek. She rationalized that telling him would cause him pain but shook her head. No, she already hurt him with her actions. He just didn't know it yet. What was genuinely intolerable was seeing the realization that his sweet, innocent Princess shared her first, second...twentieth...experience making love with someone else.
Once everyone finished their unsatisfactory breakfast of berries, they exited the cave to wash up and continue their hike North. They were trying to keep to the most challenging paths in the hopes that it would keep them away from the Kandumes search party, surely expending every resource to find their storm bringer. They couldn't win this war against Pescel without her.
It was evident that days of travel wore Cefa down. She looked older than Eya ever saw her before. Eya wondered if this was from the physical exertion or if she had been using her limited magical reserve as well. The goddess teetered with every unassisted step. So, Daijah carried her on his back. Even for a man as strong as he was, holding a woman on his back while trekking the mountains all day was difficult. Eya saw the sweat beading on his brow, even in the shade where the sun didn't beat down as hard. Within a few hours, he needed a break, and they sat down near a small waterfall.
"Time to forage for some food," Cefa grunted as she stretched her stiff joints.
"I'll help," Eya offered, taking Cefa's hand.
She hoped for something besides berries, which were plentiful in Hicares during the Summer. She would kill for some nuts or mushrooms. Though the boiled oats and vegetable mush had no flavor, at least those meals filled her stomach. They needed something more substantial soon. As they grabbed another handful of berries, Eya's stomach growled.
Cefa's stomach chirped in response. The two women laughed a little with sad, worried half-smiles on their nervous faces.
"I wish we could at least find a way to catch a fish right now." Eya sighed.
Cefa's chin shifted back and forth contemplatively.
Eya caught a flash of guilt in Cefa's eyes as they darted in the direction of the stream they could hear from their position.
"We have a way, technically," Cefa replied.
"We shouldn't use your magic," Eya said, shaking her head. "You're weak enough as it is."
"Bound to get weaker if we keep starving like we are." Cefa scoffed. "Just a simple spell. All you'll need is a sharpened stick. I got a little knife for gathering on me to help you make a fishing spear."
"I don't know if I have what it takes to catch a fish with a spear." Eya laughed.
"You will with this spell," Cefa responded while hunting out the perfect stick.
"Cefa…"
"Stop it," Cefa spat out. "I'm hungry and cranky. We're getting some fish now!"
Cefa's eyes lit up, and a big smile spread across her face. She took a few steps forward and bent over to retrieve a long, thin stick that was still firm. She shoved it and her small gathering knife into Eya's hands and then turned in the direction of the stream.
"Follow me to the stream and carve a pointy tip on the end of that stick," Cefa instructed. "I'll need some time to carve out the spell." Cefa walked briskly for a worn-out old woman who spent the day riding a man's back up a mountain. Eya almost had a little trouble keeping up with her. Soon enough, they stood beside the stream, which seemed larger at this point than where they'd left the rest of the group by the waterfall.
Eya expected to find Cefa sketching waves or something watery in its appearance. That's not what happened at all. Cefa would mutter something to herself while scratching her head, nod, and jab a hole into the mud by the stream. She did this over and over, in seemingly random locations. Cefa caught Eya staring when she finished and cackled.
"You're wondering what this is," Cefa hooted. "This is a Hicarean Trout love song! Once I draw a line to your spear, they'll all line up to get poked."
"Cefa, you really are a genius!" Eya exclaimed with a laugh.
"I know! That tip looks good enough. Now, just hold it like so." Cefa showed her how to hold the spear with the tip pointed so that any fish flowing downstream might run into it if they were close enough to the bank. Once she was certain Eya was keeping it held just right, she drew a line as close to the tip as she could. Nothing happened.
"I was sure that song was right…" Cefa muttered. "Has it been that long?"
The water swelled upstream. A flash of silver leaped off the top and back in again. Before Eya could react, the fish slammed onto her spear so hard that she lost her grip. Jumping up, she ran to catch it, only to slip on the mud and land flat on her back.
"Pecu!" Eya cursed. "My back!"
"The fish!" Cefa cried out and cackled.
Five fat fish flailed on the bank. Quick as a rabbit, Cefa snatched them up and tossed them into a bag made from the skirt she wore. Even out of the water, these fish were desperate to reach the spear carried further and further downstream. Eya slowly got to her feet to help. One fish already flew out of Cefa's skirt, and Eya jumped on it as fast as she could.
"Slap it against a tree!" Cefa cried out. "Maybe it will kill it. Hopefully, the rest of these will just die already if I keep my skirt closed up."
Doing as Cefa instructed, Eya slapped it against the trunk of the closest tree repeatedly until all of its fight gave out. She turned around, holding the dead fish high triumphantly, only to see Cefa lying on her side in pain. Dead fish surrounded her, and her skirts scattered about in total disarray. The next thing Eya noticed was Cefa's oddly bent ankle. Eya ran to get a better look at it.
"Don't touch it!" Cefa gasped out. "Just grab my staff and draw a normal looking foot on the ground."
"What?" Eya scoffed. "I'm not a priestess, Cefa. I can't do what you do."
Cefa hissed in pain and gave Eya an impatient stare. "Child, I have seen you kill men with lightning! You also helped me dry that tent. Just give it a try, all right!"
Eya nodded and grabbed the lightweight staff with trembling hands. Drawing had never been her strong suit, and she tried not to think of the many times her mother failed to successfully hide her disappointment in Eya's artwork. She drew a rudimentary shape that somewhat resembled a foot if a foot had no toes and was a bit wobbly.
"Good enough," Cefa said through a wince. "Now draw a line to my foot from that drawing."
Eya did precisely that and heard a crack.
Cefa cried out in pain.
Eya cursed herself, thinking that she injured her friend further. “I’m so sorry.”
"Why?" Cefa said. "You fixed my foot."
"Really?" Eya asked.
"Well, sorta," Cefa answered. "It's going to hurt for a while still. Can you get the group down here for our meal?"
"Definitely. Let's make you more comfortable, though."
Eya helped Cefa sit on a pile of leaves she gathered together against a broad tree. Then, she retrieved their fellow travelers.
Daijah looked very concerned when she explained what happened but was relieved to see Cefa enjoying a nice nap when they returned to her.
Rhin and Hat worked on building a fire and cooking the fish while Terald looked over Cefa's foot.
"It looks like just a slight sprain," Terald said with a nod. "We should be able to get moving again in the morning."
"We don't have that kind of time," Daijah said, stress all over his face. "I can carry her on my back again."
"That would still put undue strain on her ankles from lack of blood flow,” Terald explained. "She's not in good enough shape, even without a sprained ankle."
"We can tent up here tonight," Eya interjected. "This is a secluded spot. We're unlikely to be found here."
"I hope you're right," Daijah conceded and sighed.
"The Kandumes would have to be very skilled indeed to find us here." Eya laughed.
Their empty stomachs appreciated the delicious, fire-roasted fish. Terald showed them how to build a trap for fish using branches from the nearby bushes, and they caught some more to eat later. Eya wished that Terald had joined them on their hunt for food earlier. Perhaps, they wouldn't be stuck in one place so early in the day. However, what he said earlier was correct. Cefa needed more time to rest. The endless hiking took its toll on her. Looking at Cefa now, she could see the color returning to her cheeks as she laughed over stories with Rhin.
"Now, my sweet girl," Cefa said, turning from Rhin to Eya. "Rhin here told me all about your experience in the cave. Seems you saw a prophecy?"
"Yes," Eya replied with a nod.
"Was there anything besides talk of an enemy?" Cefa asked.
Eya thought back to the images of her working magic on plants, fire, water, and wind. "I think I can do more than controlling the weather."
"Well, yes, that's what I keep trying to tell you," Cefa said. "You should have all of my sister's gifts."
"So, if I wanted to, I could make the flames from this fire dwindle or leap?" Eya asked, and Cefa nodded. Eya then turned to the fire, concentrating hard on it but seeing no difference.
Rhin placed a hand on Eya's shoulder. "When you came out of your tent ready to murder Farek," he said, "you had flames spreading across your arms along with your lightning. I think a sense of righteousness is your key to this power."
Eya recalled her realization that Farek used her. Then, she thought back to the Duke, sending her brothers away to die and drugging her up with ulah tea. A quick flame came and appeared at her fingertips, but left the instant she gasped with wonder.
"We'll practice that more when we're somewhere safe," Cefa said.
"I wish I knew what I could do all these plants here and what would trigger that gift," Eya said. "This would be the perfect area to experiment."
That mid-afternoon, the group grew drowsy from their full bellies. They put up their tents and laid down to rest, all but Eya and Daijah.
It dawned on Eya that now was the best time to talk with Daijah about their relationship and what she did with Malphesent. He stood by the stream, wiping away Cefa's spell with the bottom of his shoe.
"What are you doing?" Eya asked, approaching him now.
"It doesn't seem fair to the fish," Daijah answered. "Making them think that love is just a little further downstream."
Eya's heart sank with his words and joined him in stamping out every dot. Once every part of the spell cleared, Eya breathed in and out, intent on telling Daijah everything.
"Daijah, I need to talk to you about…" she began and stopped, seeing the pain across his beautiful face.
"About us?" he asked when she paused. "Maybe about Farek Malphesent, too?"
"Yes," Eya whispered. "Can we take a stroll away from the camp for a bit to talk privately?"
Daijah nodded, and they walked side by side down the stream. "How long?" he asked. "How long were you in love with him?"
"I don't know," Eya answered. "I don't even know if that was love or just feeling nice to be wanted. He wanted me, and I let him have me."
"There has never been a day that I didn't want you," Daijah replied, his eyes shiny with the promise of tears. "Even the day we met at your ball, I wanted the life promised to us. You have always been so strong and beautiful to me. Why would you need him to feel wanted?"
"Because you didn't want me as much as I wanted you," Eya stated. "You couldn't even tell me you did. You never stood up for me against your father. It seemed like you were trying to get rid of me."
Daijah stopped walking and grabbed Eya's arm to pull her close. "I want you so much that the idea of losing you held me back. At first, I settled for tastes of you. Then, my father took notice. He would have sent me away. I wouldn't have been there to protect you from..."
"From what?" Eya asked.
"From him," Daijah answered. "Yet, he hurt you anyway."
"That's not your fault. It's mine. If I hadn't..."
"He would have hurt you regardless of your outburst that morning," Daijah interrupted. "He got rid of your brothers. He was looking for any excuse to keep you subdued. You have to have seen what everyone else saw. Your brother was a king, but treated like muck on the bottom of my father’s shoe.” Daijah stroked the scars on her cheeks, remembering another time when he almost lost her. He leaned his face in closer, nearly kissing her but stopping himself to rest his forehead against hers.
"You gave up everything for me," Eya whispered.
"You're worth everything to me."
"He made love to me."
"I know," Daijah replied, failing to hide the sob rising in him. “It’s been all over your face, ever since that day I let you go. I’ve slept with dozens of women. I can't fault you. I only worry that you could be—“
Daijah stopped and jerked his head up. His eyes opened wide, and he turned his head in the direction of the camp.
"What is it?"
"Did you hear—“ Daijah began to ask when they heard a scream from their camp.
After sharing a frightened glance, Eya and Daijah ran back to their friends. They found the Duke and a small group of Kandumes waiting for them, having already tied up Rhin and Cefa. Terald and Hat stood nervously at the end of the Duke's blade.
"Father, let them go!" Daijah called out.
"You don't get to call me that anymore, you traitorous fool," the Duke hissed at his son. "Give me the girl."
"Father, please," Daijah begged, "I don't want to fight you."
"Because you would lose," the Duke growled.
“I’ve looked up to you my whole life, loved you,” Daijah said. “I let you treat the woman I love like a nuisance and use her whole family for King Retam. I’ve been loyal to the wrong people.”
Duke Kojun lashed his scimitar at his son, but Eya pushed him away. The Duke grabbed Eya by the hair, turning her around to face Daijah, who looked confused and terrified.
"Please, father, no," Daijah cried, his face flooding with tears.
"You've always cried too much," his father hissed. “Never able to stand up to anyone. I would be impressed with you speaking back to me today, if I didn’t know it was just because you’re so weak over a woman. You should have been the one to die, not your brother."
Looking around at the eight other Kandumes surrounding her friends, Eya knew a storm would be too dangerous to call on now. She looked to Cefa to see if she could save them, but they had her hands tied in such a way that she couldn’t even draw out a spell on her hand. Yet, in her eyes, Eya saw the answer. Eya wasn't the Embodiment of Storms. She was the Embodiment of the Goddess Winds. That meant she should have all of their powers, just as Cefa had described, just as Meraz had shown her. Fear brought on storms, and fury ignited flames. What was she feeling now? Looking at Daijah, she could only feel one thing; a deep, unending love.
Eya allowed her love for her handsome soldier with a healer's heart to overwhelm her. Letting go of her sense of self-preservation, she allowed all the ardor she felt for Daijah to spill out of her like a flood. Instinct took over. Somehow, deep down, she knew to dig her toes into the soil beneath them, thinking of Meraz's tree sisters.
She pictured herself rooting in, becoming one with the forest. In an instant, she was acutely aware of the constant communication among the plants of the woods. In her mind, her spirit whispered and then yelled, interrupting nature's incessant chatter. The woods grew silent for her message. Nakta's enemies are here. They want to keep my friends and me from setting your mother free. Save us!
She almost felt the world around her gasp before a branch flung itself forward to whip the Duke onto his knees. The Kandumes had no time to respond before roots from below burst upward to wrap around them. Daijah, mistaken as one of the Kandumes due to his uniform, found the soil below him giving away.
"Not this one!" Eya cried out, pulling him up from the muck. "He's a friend! He's just in the wrong clothes!"
Just as the ground gave up its hold on him, the force of her pull sent her falling backward onto the now rising Duke. Blood spilled from the wound the branch gave him on his temple. His face twisted up with angry, murderous lines.
"You witch!" he roared. "You think you can kill me with a plank of wood?"
She saw him reach for his scimitar and knew there was no reasoning with him now. He no longer cared about his king or this war. He no longer saw her usefulness. All that he wanted at that moment was to rid the world of another Hicaron noble. Still on the ground, Eya rolled for the scimitar as quick as she could, sending lightning through its blade, just in time to knock him out with a quick shock.
Scrambling to her feet, she checked his pulse. He was alive, but just barely. She looked over at Daijah, who sat in horror. She knew it looked like his father was dead. She didn't have time to explain that wasn't the case before a thunderstorm dangerously crackled above them with the promise of destruction.
"No, no, no," Eya repeated like a mantra, only becoming more terrified.
Then, she felt Daijah's hand on her arm and looked up into his black eyes. She felt like she could drown in the depths of the love she saw in those eyes, but it did nothing to calm her now. His other hand stroked her scarred cheek.
"Are you all right, Eya?" he whispered.
"No," she answered honestly, tears streaming down her face, just in time for the rain to join them. "The storm is coming. I'm so sorry."
Daijah scooped her up over his shoulder and released Hat with his one free hand. With Hat's help, they released the other two, and the party ran to the nearest cave to shelter from the storm. As soon as they were inside, lightning hit the ground at a distance. Everyone jumped from the shock of it, though they were all safe from its scorch. Daijah settled Eya in the corner to recover, and Cefa came closer.
"Eya, did you call on Nakta's daughters?" Cefa asked.
"Yes," Eya answered. "She has so many…"
"Yes, well, Nakta has always been a little bit of a slut, if you ask me," Cefa muttered. "Those are my nieces out there. That storm could kill them."
"I don't know how to stop it," Eya explained, panicking again.
"You have to fill yourself up with something besides fear," the healer told her.
"I was feeling love, but then the fear took over," Eya said, trembling and crying.
"Let them help you," Cefa said, placing a steadying hand on Eya's shoulder. "They're Nakta's daughters. They can calm you. Talk to them like you did before."
Eya nodded. They could help her feel love again. She closed her eyes and folded herself against the cave wall. She dug her toes into the soil below, feeling for the roots and the trees, hearing their frantic echoes. Once again, she interrupted, and they listened sooner this time.
"I need your calm," she explained. "I can't stop this storm without your calm. Please, help me save you."
There was a moment of quiet, and then she felt it pass from the tips of her toes up through her body. She sensed it rush down her arms, and out of the crown of her head, a warm peace flowed. It felt like thousands of years of accumulated love. Her body longed to touch and be touched. Her eyes opened to look over the faces in that room.
"Your eyes—“ Daijah whispered and gulped. "They're so green."
"That's Nakta," Cefa explained, turning away from Eya's gaze. "She's got Nakta's love flowing through her now. Better not look directly at her, or you'll be feeling it too."
Rhin, Terald, and Hat took Cefa's warning, but it was too late for Daijah. Eya already had his full attention. Lust pulsed through his body, and it took everything in his power to restrain himself. The storm outside subsided, replaced with a familiar warm wind.
“Oh, no you don’t!” Cefa cried out, seeing the expression on Daijah’s face. She turned toward the other men in the cave. “Get him off her and away from her until he looks normal again. I’ll try to keep her in the cave.”
Even with Rhin, Terald, and Hat working together, they still had to struggle to pull Daijah out of the room.
Cefa drew a spell on the cave floor to keep Eya stuck on the floor. The young woman kicked, grunted, and wailed like a wild beast, but couldn’t move from her spot. “Knock it off!” Cefa yelled, banging on the cave walls. “Listen to your Auntie. You didn’t need to give her so much of your mother’s love. That’s just too much for a person to go through in an afternoon.”
The green glow subsided from Eya’s eyes and her chest quit its desperate heaving. Her breaths became softer and more even. Cefa knelt down by her side and stroked her hair. “That’s better.”
“What happened?” Eya asked.
“Nakta’s love was filling you up,” Cefa said, “and by love I mean lust. She’s a big one for procreation. If you two had made love under her power, you would be with child for sure.”
Eya let out a pained laugh. “All those times you wanted me to lay with Daijah, and now you stop us. Why?”
“Because it should be your choice, not a compulsion.”
Once Eya recovered a little, the two headed out. They found the rest of their party discussing their next move. The Duke and his soldiers disappeared from their spot in the woods.
"They'll be back with reinforcements," Daijah said, no longer wild with passion. "We can't be anywhere near here. We have to leave now."
"But, Cefa—“ Terald began.
“I said now," Daijah commanded, surprising everyone.
After a beat, Cefa said, “Well, I’d rather be tired than dead, plus my ankle feels fine now."
Daijah helped Cefa onto his back, and the group hiked North right away. Hours later, they found another cave, bigger than the last, with room to have whispered conversations in corners.
Eya sat with her back against the wall, watching Terald, Hat, and Rhin discuss what their next steps should be. Daijah walked over and joined her.
“Daijah, about what happened back there…” Eya said, discomfort punctuating each word. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t me. It was Nakta. I would never make you—“
“You would never need to make me,” Daijah interrupted. “I know what I’ve said before, but that was back when I thought Kandum would give you back your normal life. We could die tomorrow, and all of my holding back would have been a total waste for both of us.”
Eya looked up into black, glittering eyes, and knew the truth in them. “But I could get pregnant.”
“Then, we would have a family. A better one than I left behind.”
Eya brushed soft, petal lips against his, and he returned her kiss with all the love he had kept trapped inside his heart. He pulled away and stood up, offering his hand to her.
“Follow me,” he said. “There’s a whole cave system here. Let’s sit someplace a little less crowded.”
Eya took his hand and they walked down a few dark paths before finding a space just large enough for the two of them.
Daijah took off his coat and they lay on top of it together. He stroked her scar. "I almost lost you again," Daijah said. "I've almost lost you so many times, and you're the person I love most in the whole world."
"I almost lost you, too,” Eya replied.
"How do you feel? Are you hurt?" he asked, inching closer.
"I feel like I could run a thousand miles," she answered, her body thrumming with how much she ached for him. "Then, dance a thousand more."
"Good," he responded, his face almost touching hers, his hands wrapping around her waist, "because I'm not going to hold back anymore."
Eya wore nothing but her flimsy, cotton nightgown for their hike that day, preferring its airy fabric to the hot leather armor Rhin packed for her. The shift was nothing for him to pull off of her. Eya rushed to tear off his armor while his mouth crushed against hers and his hands roamed over her curves. As soon as his pants were off, Daijah had her legs around his waist.
"I love you, Eya," he whispered with agonizing hunger against her ear.
"I love you, Daijah," she replied between tender kisses across his face.
"You're mine," he growled before claiming her body with his, their moans echoing around the cave.
Eya enjoyed sharing a bed with Farek during their time together. She had craved it night after night. His incredible skill never disappointed her. However, not even Farek's best had been any match for what she felt with Daijah in that cave, and she knew why.
"I'm yours," she whispered the moment their lovemaking ended. "I always will be, Daijah."
Daijah collapsed on top of her, breathless. They felt no more pain nor regret. They only felt relief and the peace of a love fulfilled.