Page 10 of By the Orchid and the Owl
Istared after her, suddenly feeling not so hungry anymore.
After all that effort to find her, she was just… gone. I could trail after her, try to locate the lions and their makeshift petting zoo, but the steel-gray look in Jenia Leake’s eyes kept me rooted to the spot. And the way Quinn hadn’t evenglancedback to see if I was following or not… the stupid lump in my throat was back.
Throwing my last bite of sandwich in a nearby bin, I hauled in a deep breath.
Lander, I thought. Quinn might be overcome with this… thisfrenzyfor the first few days until after the Branding, when things settled down, but Lander would understand this pit in my stomach and help me through it. And he might need support, too, always having been the shyest of our trio.
Resolve hardening, I licked the stickiness off my fingers and began my search. Again.
But as the sky overhead dampened with clouds and the fat plops of rain that usually accompanied nighttime began to fall, too many people were wafting into tents with their newfound friends. Thankfully, the tents were so big, there didn’t seem to be any couples able to sneak into one on their own, so there was no moaning or any other kind of sex noise as I wove through them. But I did hear more tittering, more whispers like they were sharing secrets—sounds that made my shroud of loneliness tighten around me.
When only a few stragglers and the class royals patrolling the area were left wandering outside, desperation kicked in. I’d have to find a tent to sleep in, anyway. If anyone welcomed me.
I poked my head through the flap in the nearest tent and said, “Lander?”
Seven pairs of eyes. A few head shakes. I withdrew and tried another tent.
And another. And another.
Finally, when I was just beginning to think I’d never find a familiar face again, I peeked in the ninth or tenth tent and—
“Hey!” His boyish face lit up. “It’s the girl who thinks I’m a teacher. What are you doing? Get your ass in here, darling!”
I only hesitated for a moment. The boy was sitting in a circle with four others, surrounded by pillows and blankets and little bags of toothbrushes and combs. Closing the flap of the tent behind me, I sat next to him.
“I donotthink you’re a teacher. I just didn’t get a good look at your lack of facial hair before I spoke.”
I felt a little bad, but the others snickered and the boy grinned.
“I’ll take that insult.” He stroked his smooth chin. “You see, my old man didn’t grow a beard until he was thirty-five, so I’m kind of waiting for mystudto kick in.”
“You’re going to have to wait a long time, then,” another kid laughed, and turned to me. “What’s your name, by the way?”
“Rayna,” I said again, but this time I didn’t feel like I was… admitting something shameful like I had in front of Quinn. “What about you guys?”
They spouted off their names, which I promptly forgot, until—
“Rodhi,” the smooth-faced boy said. I could remember that one. Even if he thoughtwaytoo highly of himself, he was sort of sweet. He was the first one to show me an ounce of kindness, anyway, so when he peeked over his shoulder, as if someone might see us through the canvas of the tent, and brought out a silver, curved flask from his boot, I inhaled but… kept quiet.
“Whoa, you didn’t tell us you snuck in some goodies!” one of the others exclaimed.
“Well, I was waiting for the right moment.” Rodhi shook the flask, and I heard the sloshing of liquid. “I think there’s enough in here for us all to take a nice gulp.”
“What is it?” I asked, trying not to sound nervous.
Rodhi mimed throwing a lock of hair over his shoulder like a princess. “Just the most Grade-A bascale you’ll ever taste in yourlife, darling.”
The others rubbed their palms together eagerly, but I blinked. The most potent alcohol I’d ever had was some acai wine with Fabian and Don in front of the fireplace.
Rodhi noticed my hesitation. His smile slipped.
“You’ve never had bascale?”
“Uh…. My home village is pretty small.” A lame exclamation, but a true one.
Rodhi stared at me incredulously, then shook his head.
“Okay, I’m going to pretend you were literally raised in a decrepit barn, then, and explain. You know how it’s the metal bascite that activates our permanent powers when it merges with our skin and sinks into our bloodstream?”
