Chapter 21

Kayla

An older sirret female stood among the group gathered around the fire. She wore a black tunic with a white hood and a purple rope tied around her waist.

“They will not try to flee under my watchful eye.”

She walked toward us with a slow but steady gait. As she drew closer, her face came into view. She carried herself with a calm assurance and a sly smile that made her look like she knew a funny secret and was just dying to tell someone about it.

“Surely you need your rest,” Dameron began, but the older woman held up an authoritative hand to silence him.

“My acolyte will assist me in watching over our guests.”

It was then I noticed a female who looked to be in her thirties walking behind the elderly woman. Acolyte. This woman must be the priestess.

The elder female didn’t wait for Dameron’s permission. She walked right up to us and invited us to go with her.

“Come, join me in my cabin. I have space for you all.”

She paused only a moment before walking past us with the expectation that we would follow. I looked over at Drovo, whose jaw was hanging open in shock. I squeezed his knee to get his attention, and he snapped his jaw shut.

“Is that the priestess?”

He nodded his head. “It is rare for her to go against the will of the Savrix. Come, we must follow her.”

He helped me up from the bench and took my hand as we walked along the path through a densely wooded area.

Off in the distance, there was a cabin on a hill with smoke billowing up from the chimney. Being the only house around it gave off wicked witch waiting to eat the children who wandered into her forest vibes. Maybe that was intentional. I know if I had to work with Dameron, I would try to put out wicked witch vibes too. I wonder how much work she had to put into her persona in order to keep her authority alive, especially her authority over the Savrix.

We were led to an ornately decorated door. On it were etched two moons, one large and one small. A third moon had been crossed out and covered with a cloud. The nervous acolyte opened the door and ushered everyone inside.

The warmth of the fire greeted us from the hearth, that was nestled into the far corner of the cabin. The furnishings inside this house were well-worn but cozy compared to the lavish furnishings of the Savrix’s home.

The priestess sat down at a large table that could easily seat ten people around it, and she started plucking leaves off a dried vine she’d grabbed from a basket. She hummed to herself as she picked the dried leaves and once she was satisfied, she placed them in a water pouch and placed it over the fire.

“Please forgive me, we don’t have guests very often.” The shy acolyte invited everyone to sit at the table. Drovo and I took our places on two floor cousins side by side.

“Why not?” Taylor asked as she sat across from us next to Brexl.

The acolyte glanced over at the elderly priestess who was humming to herself as she gathered cups off a shelf and said, “Kahina believes we need to be seen to be believed, but a commonplace priestess is a powerless one.”

Long ago,” the priestess cut in. “I happily lived among the dekes. My authority as the priestess was unquestioned back in those days, but then Dameron rose to power.” Her soft features took on a harsh, pointed look when she mentioned his name.

“The more I lived among the people, the more he questioned every move I made. Once he started to publicly question my judgments, I withdrew to this cabin in the woods. I only come out when necessary and only when I could wield my authority as the hand of the goddess herself.”

“That sounds lonely,” Taylor mused.

“Holey and I have each other for company,” Kahina smiled at her acolyte. “And I had my mate with me up until a few seasons ago.” She turned her gaze to a painting on the wall of two young women holding each other and smiling, one of whom resembled the priestess very much.

“Tea anyone?” Kahina set out bone cups for everyone and Holey got to work pouring tea for everyone.

“Thank you for standing up for us,” Drovo said as he placed a cup in front of him.

“Of course,” she smiled down at him in a way that only the elderly could do as if he were a young boy and not an adult hunter. “I couldn’t leave you in the hands of that lunatic.”

He bowed his head in gratitude, and we all drank our warm tea.

The priestess sat at the head of the table and peered down at us over her cup. Once she set it back down on the table, her grandmotherly warmth was gone, replaced by an authoritative stare.

“Tell me the truth. Are you luminescence mates?”

Drovo and I looked at each other, and I gave him a weak smile as he grabbed my hand under the table.

“No,” he confessed.

The priestess seemed unphased by this news. “I assumed as much,” was her only remark before she took another sip of tea.

“I will help you if I can, but I can’t make any promises.”

“Why?” Brexl asked with a perplexed look on his face. “Why would you help us?”

“Because you’ve done nothing wrong.” Her face held a severe expression, as if she were waiting for him to challenge her on this topic.

“What do you mean, we haven’t done anything wrong?” Brexl’s face held an equally severe expression laced with pain.

“Are you not among those who believe we caused the stiffness?” Drovo asked.

“No. The idea that you caused that horrible disease was foolishness from the start. The goddess does not curse people.”

“No? Why didn’t you save us then? Why didn’t you stop the Savrix from exiling us?” Drovo continued his questioning with a hardened expression of his own.

“You think it was a choice between being exiled or not? They wanted blood. It was exile or death.”

Drovo looked like he’d taken a punch to the gut as he digested her words.

She continued in a softer tone. “We had just lost half our dekes. The people wanted someone to blame and you can’t hold an invisible disease accountable. They wanted blood and Dameron was ready to give it to them. I had to use all my authority to convince everyone death was not the answer. I am sure to this day there are many who are disappointed that death did not take you before you found your home in the mountain.”

“The Savrix isn’t going to let us go this time.” Brexl stated his assumption as if it were a fact.

Kahina sighed heavily, looking very tired. “No, I don’t think he will.” She pinched the bridge of her nose as she slumped in her chair and thought for a moment.

She let her hand drop to the table and eyed us with an assessing look. “If you can figure out a way to get out of the valley, I will create a cover story for you.”

“Why can’t we leave right now?” I asked, looking out the window at the night sky.

Kahina shook her head. “There will be hunters lurking in the shadows around my cabin. Dameron will undoubtedly be expecting you to try to flee in the night.”

She sighed again and continued, “You must escape soon, but it can’t be tonight. It’s too risky.”

“It’s getting late,” Holey interrupted. “We should get some rest. Maybe a better idea will come to us in the morning.”

“Yes, I think that’s a good idea.” Kahina got up from the table and made her way to her room.

“Follow me, I’ll show you where you will be sleeping,” Holey said as she rose from the table and the rest of us followed suit.

She opened the first door on the right and motioned for Taylor and Brexl to step inside. Once they were settled, she led us to the next bedroom.

She opened the door to a cozy room with a pallet bed and a small fireplace. “I know it’s not very big, but I hope it will do.”

“It’s perfect.” I said with a smile. “I’d take the smallest room on Valo Prime over being separated again.”

I squeezed Drovo’s hand and his cheeks turned a dark blue.

“Thank you, Holey,” Drovo took me into his arms and the acolyte left us alone and closed the door behind her.