2. Kuret

2

Kuret

I don't realize that Samke is still speaking until he slaps a hand on my back and laughs at his own joke. I laugh with him, even though I have no idea what he just said.

I pretend I've been listening. "So, what happened next?" I ask, and he bellows once more before grabbing my shoulders and turning me to face him.

"What do you think happened? Her clothes fell right off, and she joined me," he exclaims, and suddenly I'm more interested in his words.

The blue-yellow sky is blazing hot from above us, and my ears twitch, tuning in to his words. "What was it like?" I urge, expecting him to throw my questions to the wind or laugh at me, but he leans in closer until our foreheads are nearly touching and begins to whisper.

"It was incredible. It felt like shedding my burden and just letting myself fall into something warm and welcoming," he explains, every word stressed as if to let me know exactly what he meant.

I can only imagine.

"Something you have to experience for yourself to understand," he emphasizes as I pull myself from his grasp.

"Well, we should take a moment of silence for the poor female you ensnared with empty words," I tease, and he throws his head back in laughter, scratching the strip of piercings on his ear, especially the fresh one at one of the points.

One I may never have.

"I did no such thing. She is forever my friend," he exclaims, and we fall into silence, our eyes pinned to the ground.

Regardless of his flippant tone, we both take that moment. Afterward, I go back to teasing him, setting the foundation for a barb with a compliment. "You are my closest friend, and I value you."

The glow of his marks undulate to show how much that means to him.

Then I call him out for being ridiculous. "No one is friends with a female, Samke Big Ears, and it would be wise to remember it. They are ours to protect, not to be friends with, no matter how good you are at talking."

His braids shift as he huffs out a breath, but he wipes a hand along the top of his other hand to acknowledge the truth of my words. The wind picks up sand and blows it away from us. My gaze follows and when it calms, Samke places his hand on my shoulder again.

"I will use my talking to find out which are mine when they release them," he jokes, and I shake my head.

"Your ears are the size of a whole child, Samke. The biggest of the qendi. I know that once she pushes out your sons, the entire world will figure it out," I joke and Samke waves me off.

He bumps his shoulder against mine, our marks flaring at the contact. "Forget that now. You should experience this too."

I tap a finger on my hand in disagreement, get up from my cross-legged sitting position, and dust the sand off. He joins me, and we stare out into the horizon, the fiercely partitioned sky looking back at us.

"I think about it sometimes, to be honest. You all describe it as some once-in-a lifetime experience, but I just think maybe it isn't for everyone." I glance at him. "Maybe it isn't for me."

"Nonsense, Kuret. If you want something, go out and get it. Do not think all these thoughts," Samke says, but I tilt back my head, the clinking of my braids soothing me.

"I have already decided it would probably be best if I don't take part in the selection," I inform him, and I can see his face fall from the corner of my eye.

Immediately, I look away.

His tone turns more serious. "You can't continue to keep yourself closed off, Kuret. Join the selec—"

I don't let him finish. "Samke, males and females are kept separate for a reason, and when they get together, the women only want one thing. I don't think I'm ready to give that," I explain, and Samke nods in understanding.

I give the horizon one last longing look before letting him know I'm off to patrol the cloister.

He stabs the air with his spear as he dips his body into an odd stance, eliciting a laugh out of me. "Me too. Predators have been a little too brave these days. They need to be taught a lesson."

We part ways, and I patrol along the walls, then inside the outer halls, listening for any signs of trouble. It's silent, except for the chittering of conversational voices. I walk out into the courtyard and look up at the sky for a few minutes before making my way back in to continue my patrol.

It's monotonous, but some things take priority, and right now, this is it. I walk along all the walls of the outer cloister, the brown stone reminding me of the rest of the desert. I make my way back to the courtyard and see a small crowd gathering.

They are mostly males, and they are not supposed to be here. I attempt to weave through the crowd, then spot Samke talking intensely with another guard.

I interrupt them. "What's happening? Why are there so many males here?"

He doesn't get a chance to answer before we hear cries of alarm, most of them talking about the sky.

We all look up, falling silent for a long moment as a silver and pink… object descends toward us before landing in the inner cloister. The place where no one but females may go, except when there is an immediate threat.

The screaming of women and younglings gives us a clear reason to intrude where we are normally not allowed. I know what I must do, as do my fellow protectors, and we roughly push open the forbidden gate, rushing toward the strange vessel.

It becomes a battlefield, with screams and loud crackles ripping through the air. I follow my brothers and Samke as we screech out our battle cries.

Horrific blasts of green lightning cut through buildings and people, leaving smoking ruins and bodies behind.

Still, I continue on, stepping on the dead bodies of my fellow protectors as I sprint through the inner cloister, unfamiliar with its halls and turns. Another lightning bolt goes through the air, and I hear a pained scream as another body adds to the pile on the ground.

I can taste sand on my tongue as I step on another singed body and almost lose my footing. I look down and recognize him instantly, watching with horror as his glowing cheeks come to a weak end.

I look up, glimpsing gray skin and bulging eyes through some sort of viewing area of the vessel. It sears into my mind, this strange sighting of our enemy.

My chest hardens with hatred for these beasts and the horrors they have brought upon my people. I turn around to search for Samke, hoping he will help me destroy them, but something hits me on the neck and I reach up with a hand to pull it out of me, the cold metal of it feeling smoother than seems natural.

My vision blurs and my legs give out. I fall on my side and try to use my hands to drag myself forward, but they fail me too and I lie limp in a pile of bodies, fighting against myself to just move, to do something.

Forcing all my strength into the only mobile part of my body, I struggle to turn and catch sight of the amorphous figure, bleeding pink as it makes its way toward me.

It makes a honking sound as black dots bleed into my vision.