Page 117 of Lost and Stolen Gods
He blinked sharply. “What of it?”
I had nothing. “Whatever.”
“You’re jealous.”
No point in denying it. “Yes. Yes, I am. And I hate it.”
I made to storm off, but he gently gripped my elbow and pulled me against his body, leaning in so his cheekkissed my temple.
“I find I quite enjoy it.”
Be still my fluttering nether regions. What was he doing? Capitulating? I couldn’t get my hopes up, but his words were like warm treacle clogging up my heart.
“Convoy is ready!” Guru Mihir called out. “Potentials escort the central carts, elite teams make up the front and rear. Let’s move.”
The street behind us was now filled with people climbing up onto carts or taking position beside them. Men, women, and…children.
“Come on,” Araz said. “Let’s take position.” We joined the other potentials in the center of the convoy and took a spot beside a cart carrying a heavily pregnant woman and a young boy of maybe five or six. He had a very serious expression for someone so small, but when he caught me watching him, he smiled shyly. He’d lost a front baby tooth, and he looked adorable.
“Hi, my name’s Leela, and this is Araz. What’s your name?”
His eyes rounded when they fell on Araz, and he puffed out his chest. “My name is Viki and I’m going to be a warrior when I grow up. Mother says I can help guard the settlement.”
“I believe you will do an excellent job,” Araz said. “Are you excited for your new home?”
He looked to his mother for the answer to this one, and she gave him a watery smile. “Viki’s baba is the head agriculturist of our colony. The new settlement isa crop farm. We have no choice but to go. But we will miss our friends and family here.”
“Maybe you can come visit.” I knew I’d said something dumb as soon as the words were out of my mouth because how would they do that without risking death? “I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. Your life in the sky is very different than ours here on the dharti. There is no freedom to roam. Not unless we choose to remain below the earth.”
“And we are moving!” Jasha called out.
The cart lurched into motion, and the woman settled into her nook among the boxes, her son tucked beside her.
The doors to the entry courtyard swung open, and we trundled out, back into the night. Back into potential danger—except now we had valuable cargo to protect.
Chapter 40
ISN’T CAMPING SUPPOSED TO BE FUN?
We were on a narrow trail bordered by woodland for ages. The heightened vigilance of the team was palpable. These people were in our care now, and it was our job to keep them alive.
I chatted to Viki and Meena, his mother, about Patala, the home of the naga and discovered that Patala was more than a network of tunnels underground like I’d imagined; it was a whole world, the passage to which lay deep in the earth.
“They have a sun and moon,” Viki said.
“Another realm,” Araz explained. “The naga are an elusive breed. They are happy to watch over the mortals living beneath the earth but will not contribute resources to the war.”
By resources, I was certain he meant warriors.
“So is the doorway to this Patala place like a portal?” Joe asked. He’d fallen back to listen.
“You could call it that,” Araz replied.
“Humans cannot live there,” Meena said. “So we live in the space between, and there is no sun or moon. But it is safe.”
“Why did you leave then?” Joe asked.
