Page 70 of Damned and Broken Gods
Araz’s cookingpicked up everyone’s spirits. Minty, the old drohi cook, was more than happy to park his stocky ass on a chair and put up his feet. The worn table was laden with dishes that Araz had cobbled together using the limited supplies. We had dhal, some flat bread, rice, some stew, and small dumplings filled with spicy meat.
This was the first time everyone had gathered in the mess hall at the same time, and it was a squeeze with all the bodies, but as we settled around the table, squished side by side on chairs and benches pulled in from other rooms, a warm sensation of belonging bloomed in my chest.
Araz sat beside me, his thigh pressed to mine, his arm brushing my shoulder every time he moved to bring me a new morsel or a new dish. Opposite me, Armin fed Alia dumplings, and Joe held a spoonful of rice up to Mahira’s lips.
Dharma and Chaya sat farther down the table to my left. Elata and his drohi, Preeya, sat on the other end of the table with Bina and her guy. Vick had squeezed in beside me with Priti and Keyton to his left, and Ramashi had parked himself at the head of the table.
“Pass me the flatbread, please,” Priti asked Preeya.
“Rice, anyone?” Keyton asked.
“Can I have the water jug, please?” Bina said.
Conversation punctuated periods of silence as we stuffed our faces.
“One more day,” Priti said. “One more day and we should see Shantivan, right?” She looked down the table at Ramashi.
“Yes,” he said. “One more day, should the weather hold, and we will arrive at our destination.”
“I’m so excited. Can you please tell us what to expect now?” Priti pleaded.
Everyone stilled, waiting. We’d asked Ramashi about the sea trial several times, but he’d been evasive. We were almost there now; surely, he would tell us something.
He sipped his water, an enigmatic look in his eyes. “If I tell you, then I shall have to throw you overboard.”
“Argh!” Priti groaned dramatically. “Fine, tell us and throw us overboard. Our drohi will fish us back out of the sea.”
Ramashi chuckled. “I guess they would. I do not run the trials, but I have seen enough to know that they are a test of unity.” He raked us all over. “You will be split into two groups, and you will have to work together in order to pass the test.”
“Great,” Elata said, his lip curling slightly. “Whoever gets stuck with Vick is doomed to fail…or die.”
I felt Vick tense beside me, and then he slumped, as if defeated. As if he had nothing left in him to fight back. But that was okay; I had enough fight in me for the both of us.
I fixed Elata with a steady look. “Are you a mean person, Elata?”
He blinked sharply. “What? No…no I’m not.”
“He’s not mean,” Alia said, coming to her brother’s defense.
I nodded slowly. “Okay, because you sounded mean just then. You sounded a little like a bully. In fact, you all do, every time you pick on Vick.”
“He killed his drohi,” Elata said. “Everyone knows it.”
“Do they?” I tipped my head to the side and narrowed my eyes. “How? How do they know that? Are there any eyewitnesses? Anyone who saw him push Gia off the boat?”
Silence reigned for several beats before Bina broke it. “The demigods that came back said he was responsible. That he musthave pushed her into the water so he could survive. The boat he was on was damaged. Water rushing in, two bodies would have made it capsize sooner.”
Vick sucked in a shuddering breath. “I tried to drag her in. I begged her to get into the boat.”
And it was all suddenly clear to me. “Gia let herself drown, didn’t she? She wanted you to live, and so she sacrificed herself.”
“She said she’d swim. Said she was strong enough. Said not to look back, made me vow.” Tears streamed down his face, and he covered his mouth to stifle a sob.
“Because she loved you.” I looked across at Preeya, Elata’s drohi. “Wouldn’t you do the same for Elata?”
Preeya’s eyes glistened, and she nodded. “In a heartbeat.”
A solemn silence settled over everyone. Priti handed Vick a tissue and put her arm around him.
