Chapter 8

How could she not have been afraid? That’s impossible. The wild orcs had appeared out of nowhere, coming down the mountain and spreading across the village like a plague.

But it’s true that Vavi hadn’t screamed when they barged into the house. She hadn’t fought. Could she really have known then?

“Then why?” I finally ask. “Why did you lock me in the cellar if you were so sure they wouldn’t hurt you?”

She looks down at the floor. “Because I didn’t want you to have to watch them take me away.”

“But Vavi, they’re…” I search for the right word. “They’re monsters. You couldn’t have known!”

“I don’t know how else to explain it. I just understood that they weren’t going to hurt me.”

My sister’s always been a bit of the fanciful sort, but this is surprising even for her.

“Simka.” Vavi looks deep into my eyes, and I return the look firmly. “I know it seems strange to you now. But I was led here for a reason. A very important reason.” She pushes a stray lock of my short hair away from my face. “I am a guardian. I was brought to Gorren so that he could be one, too.”

“A guardian?” I ask cautiously. “Of what?”

“Of the secrets these mountains hold,” she says. “The clan came here to protect those secrets. That’s why they siege the Grand Chieftain’s mine. They’re trying to keep him away from the power underneath the stone.”

I stare at her. “What are you talking about?” It sounds like she’s truly lost her mind. “What kind of power?”

“Something far greater than you can imagine. Something ancient and…” Vavi trails off, looking thoughtful. “It doesn’t matter. I’m here so that together, Gorren and I can save the world.”

My mouth falls open. Vavi never had delusions of grandeur before. Something has changed in the time we were apart, and now she’s lost her mind.

“And you’re here for the same reason, Simka.” Vavi’s happy, carefree demeanor fades, and she’s serious as she regards me. “Jar’kel, too. I know you hate being away from Dad, but right now, this is where you’re needed. To help protect the mountains’ secret. To keep power out of the wrong hands.” She sighs sadly. “I wish there was some way we could tell him where we are, that we’re safe, but there just isn’t. I hope you can understand.”

No, I don’t understand a lick more than I did before, except now I’m sure that my sister’s crazy.

“What is this all-important secret?” I ask, my voice rising as my anger gets the better of me. “I want to know what you gave us up for. What was so important that you let us grieve you.”

She looks into my eyes for a long time, so long that I start to wonder if she heard me. But then, Vavi stands up. “I’m sorry, Simka. You’re not ready yet.”

I get to my feet, too, glaring at her, and gesture to the door. “Fine. When you finally trust me enough—your own sister—to tell me the truth, let me know.”

Vavi studies me, her eyes darting to my hands, which shake in my anger. With a nod of understanding she departs the tent, letting the flap fall closed behind her.

I’d hoped and begged to see my sister again, but not like this. I miss things the way they were at home, when we both lived in Dad’s house and I understood everything about her. She was my best friend then, but now it feels like she’s a different person—a stranger, almost. A stranger who thinks she was sent here for some mysterious reason that was more important than her own family.

I fall back to the bed, covering my face. Only moments later, Jar’kel steps inside. I rub my cheeks, hoping the heat of our argument will dissipate, but the intense look he gives me doesn’t help. His eyes are stern and set.

“Jar’kel,” I say, at the same moment he says, “Simka. We have to talk.”

I balk at his tone. “About what?”

“About what they expect from us here.” He approaches where I’m sitting, and I realize then just how tall he is. His shoulders are broad, exceptionally so, and his uniform only emphasizes the point.

That image pops into my head again, of his sweating body on top of mine, and even my ears feel like they’re on fire.

“That’s what I need to talk about with you, too.” I stare down at my feet as I speak. “We have to sleep in the bed together. Word has already gotten around that you were on the floor last night. And apparently, um, mates don’t do that.”

The ghost of a smile pulls up Jar’kel’s lip. “Indeed. Mates fuck. A lot.”

I bury my face in my hands at his word choice. “How can you be so crass?”

“It’s a crass thing, isn’t it?”

“I wouldn’t know,” I say, in my quietest voice possible.

He cocks his head, lowering his ear towards me. “What’s that?”

“Nothing!” I sit up straight. “So we have to sleep in the same bed. What were you going to tell me?” Maybe it won’t be so bad. We could keep each other warm, at least, which I wouldn’t mind.

“That’s not all we have to do.” This time, it’s Jar’kel who lets out the bone-deep sigh. “At the celebration tonight. They expect us to act like mates, too.”

My stomach falls. “What does that mean?”

He shoots me a look like I’m an idiot. “What do you think? You saw the way Gorren was all over your sister.”

Oh. Like that.

“So you have to put your hands on me.” The disgusted look on his face when I say it makes my heart twist. He really hates the idea of it that much? I do my best to scowl back at him, because if he thinks I’m below him, then he’s below me, too. “It’s just for now, though. And then we’re out of here, right?”

Jar’kel folds up the blankets he slept on last night and returns them to the bed. “Yes. I’m looking for a way out every moment. Distractions are the best way to overcome a disadvantage—whether we find one, or come up with one ourselves.”

“As long as Vavi doesn’t get hurt.” I narrow my eyes. “When the city guard storms the camp, you’ll make sure she’s safe, right?”

Jar’kel watches me silently, and I can’t tell what he’s thinking under there. Eventually, though, he nods in assent.

“I’ll make sure of it. And we’ll do what we have to do to get by until then.”

I square my shoulders. “At the celebration tonight, we’ll put on the best act possible.”

“That we will.”

I consider telling him about my conversation with Vavi, about this “secret” that lives inside the mountain, but surely Jar’kel wouldn’t believe it, either. He would just think me a silly girl believing silly fairy tales.

So I keep it to myself for now, wondering what my sister knows that I don’t.

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