23. Xax

Chapter 23

Xax

W hat would Amanda think of my surprises?

One waited inside our home.

As for the other . . .

"Aww," Amanda said, walking over to study the sign I'd crafted and hung above her entrance. "It says Tranquiliteas."

"Because that's what you said you want to name it. I hope you feel it fits."

She came back and gave me a hug, smiling up at me. "It's perfect."

"As perfect as you."

Naturally, I didn't know how to letter anything in her language. Few bothered to letter anything here. The crystal fragments we all wore to aid in communication worked for speech but didn't appear to do the same when it came to writing.

I did the best I could.

It wasn't often I asked the god residing in my shroom for help, but she was surprisingly eager to assist me, especially after I called her Alexa.

In such a short time, my mate had made a big difference in my life. I couldn't imagine not sharing all my days with her.

And I wasn't going to think about what might happen if Digaray came back and announced that the gods of the island said she belonged with a different male. She'd return tomorrow or the day after that, and I was nervous about something for one of the first times in my life. When my parents died, I was lost in my sorrow and too young to understand how precarious my future was without family to aid and guide me. Perhaps I'd worried, but not for long. Digaray, our village elder, had welcomed me into her home and her heart. I loved her like a mother, but she was our elder first, as she should be.

"We keep spores in a secure location nearby," Gerain said, squinting at the sign. "Well done, Xax."

"Thank you."

"Will you come with us for protection?" she asked. "Or should I craft a weapon?"

"I'll be happy to travel with you."

Her head dipped forward. "We welcome the company."

I hummed and vines coiled up from the deep grass nearby, wavering in the air. They twisted and bound themselves into a weapon with a tip sharp enough to pierce the leathery hides of the beast I regularly hunted. There were many creatures in the forest, though we only ate a few.

Many of them hunted us .

The vine spear severed from its root, and I hefted the weapon.

"That's amazing," Amanda exclaimed, coming closer to examine it. "If someone told me a person could hum and vegetation would respond as if it was a command, I'd think they were joking."

"How do you craft weapons on Earth?"

"Our culture has grown so large that we've created working classes who make things like that. Most of our weapons are made from metal, which is as hard as stone but often lighter. They're manufactured and then sold in shops. If someone wants to own one of the weapons, they trade coins for them."

I couldn't imagine such a society. "Everything we need is either provided by our gods or gathered in the forest around us. Or crafted such as this spear. We do trade with the Veerenads, but only for a few things."

"You mentioned that they live in a city."

"It's a four-day walk from here, and their city is much larger than my clan's village."

"How many Veerenads live in their city?"

"Thousands."

Her breath caught. "It's a good thing they're friendly."

Most of the time. But they were far from here, and I doubted Amanda would ever meet them unless she chose to travel with me the next time I went trading .

"If you'll come with me," Gerain told Amanda, easing around us, striding through the deep grass toward the woods with Floosar by her side.

Amanda shot me a smile before scooting forward to catch up and walk behind them.

I followed them like a drettire pup.

Gerain led us into the woods, taking the main path weaving around the huge trees. The wind rustled my hair and held a crispness that added energy to my steps.

Floosar followed her mother with Amanda behind them both, and I took the rear for protection, keeping my spear ready. We weren't being particularly quiet, but we didn't need to be. Nothing dangerous would come near the village, not only because it would rightly believe we'd defend ourselves, but because our guards were always watching.

As we passed beneath a large branch overhanging the trail, I waved to Efendest perched above on a branch, holding his own vine spear. Others would be hiding in similar places encircling our village.

Gerain reached the small meadow where she and Floosar cultivated various plants and approached the center. I'd helped her construct the raised garden a few years ago, hauling dirt and smooth, flat rocks, placing them to her specifications. She'd planted things within the structure, and they thrived, some releasing sweet scents, others putting all their energy into their blossoms.

"Here we are," she said, stopping beside the structure that was nearly as tall as her and equally wide .

"This is beautiful," Amanda said, walking around it, pausing to lean forward to study one plant or another.

"Xax made it for us," Floosar said, smiling my way. Growing up here, I'd wondered if she and I would mate, since we were about the same age. But the mark didn't appear on either of our hands, and it was clear she didn't see me as anything more than a friend. I felt the same, and I was relieved when she expressed this one time while we sat near the fire on a chilly evening with the rest of our clan.

I'd visited other clans to see if the gods would show me that one of the females living elsewhere was the one I could love for a lifetime, but the mark hadn't appeared with any of them either.

After that, I thought I'd never find a mate.

A mating mark still hadn't appeared to show me Amanda was my fated one, yet in my heart, I knew. There would never be another for me but her.

"This is gorgeous, Xax," Amanda said.

"Thank you."

Her eyes gleamed as she continued to study the structure, and pride surged through my veins, followed by a hollow ache I'd never be able to fill.

It hurt to think of her mating with another, of her loving him and one day being blessed with his young.

How could the gods appear to gift her to me then take her away?

Perhaps I would have to travel to other clans again. If the gods said Amanda was not my chosen one, I wasn't sure I could remain here and watch someone else claim her. She had a say in this, of course. Everyone's words held equal weight in my clan. But if the gods spoke against me, Digaray would not support my claim.

All I could do after that was fight to make sure Amanda maintained her independence. I'd help her germinate a spore she could live in alone if that was her wish. I'd craft whatever she needed. Hunt for her. Gather roots and plants, and construct pretty gardens around her shroom, adding places where she could sit and admire the flowers. Drink her favorite tea.

Dream.

But if I was denied, no one would say she should live in my shroom with me if she was destined for another.