Page 15 of Dark Shaman: Eternal Hope
"It must be." Areana turned around and started toward the emergency stairs.
They climbed to the second floor and indeed found the other ladies in the dining room.
"How's the garden?" Sarah asked as they took their seats.
"Recovering well," Areana reported. "Tony and Elias are working hard. Did you tell them to come for lunch?"
"I did," Tamira said. "They are cleaning up, and then they will join us."
"They're good males," Beulah said, then caught herself. "I mean, for humans."
The qualification had them all feeling awkward. They all knew what she meant—Tony and Elias were temporary, mortal, would age and die, while the ladies remained unchanged. It was the fundamental tragedy of any attachment to humans.
"The servants seem happy to be back," Tula offered, changing the subject.
"Of course they are," Raviki said. "This is their home."
"Is it though?" Tamira unfurled her napkin. "Or have they just been here so long they've forgotten anywhere else existed?"
"That's rather harsh," Liliat said. "But true. Being out of here reminded me that there was a world out there, but it's not a nice one. I'd rather be here in our hiding place where no one can get to us."
"The beach outing was nice," Raviki said, probably to salvage the mood. "Perhaps we could arrange them monthly?"
"That would be lovely," Beulah agreed. "Something to look forward to."
"Lord Navuh seemed amenable when I mentioned it," Areana added.
"Once a month," Liliat mused. "Twelve beach visits a year. After five thousand years, that's progress, I suppose."
There was a bitter humor in her voice that Areana didn't like. The brief taste of different freedoms had awakened something in all of them. Small things like shopping in a store, traveling between locations, and living aboveground.
She was a goddess, and her kind loved underground structures. Her home back in the old country had been built mostly underground, as were the abodes of the other gods. Her eyes were sensitive to the sun, and she had to wear filtering sunglasses, but back then, she hadn't been a prisoner in her underground rooms, and that made a difference.
Even here, she could come up to the surface whenever she wished and sit in the sun if she wanted, or in the shade of the gazebo, but it was still different somehow.
"We could also ask about other outings," Sarah suggested. "Perhaps stay a night or two in the lord's mansion."
"Did you like it there?" Tamira sounded incredulous.
"No, not really," Sarah admitted. "I would have enjoyed our stay more if the staff had been replaced with the harem servants so we could be ourselves. Perhaps that can be arranged. The mansion servants won't complain if they get a couple of days off once a month."
Tamira shook her head. "I prefer this prison to that one. The chains are prettier here."
Several of the ladies flinched.
"That's enough," Areana said firmly. "We all process our situation differently. If some find contentment here, that's their right. If others struggle, that's valid too. But we support each other. That's how we've survived this long."
7
TAMIRA
Ever since finding out about Darien's escape, Tamira had been doing her best to avoid Areana, sitting at the far end of the library while they were working on saving the books and on the other side of the table during meals, but she couldn't pretend anymore.
It festered inside of her, making her bitter and even affecting her relationship with Eluheed, who had nothing to do with any of it. It was between her and Areana, but the sense of betrayal permeated everything. It was eating away at her like acid.
It was time to air out her grievance before it destroyed her.
She found Areana exactly where she'd expected, sitting on the carved stone bench beside the fountain in the interior garden.
