Page 177 of Unrivaled
My heart ached.I pulled on my pants.
“Come back and lay down,” they said, the words soft.“I’m not going now.I’ve already missed the tide.”
But I couldn’t.“I need to move.”
“Can we talk while you move?”
“Yes.”I grabbed my belt.“You can.I don’t know if I can.”
“Can I talk you into coming with me?And also leaving?”The joke did nothing for me.I led them upstairs and caught sight of myself in the looking glass, the tangled mess of hair that last night had been a woven masterpiece of vines and flowers.
Today, I was ripe.Mature.A complete mess.
Ready to fuck shit up.
I drew in a breath and reached for the comb.Elnyta was there, their hands a little clumsy, but happy to learn.“There’s a forgotten city, far to the south, past the furthest edges of Ltona in the jungle lands of the Maa Te’hey people,” they said, resolutely.“It involves river sailing, which I’m no good at, but we could find a local guide, get ourselves an axe, and go and visit.The ruins are bigger than the Citadel even, they say.”
“What lands?”I asked.“Who are the Maa Te’hey people?”
“They’re,” Elnyta waved a hand.“That way, off your maps.Two weeks without sighting land, give or take depending on the wind and your current.Not so hard, for a decent crew.”They pressed a kiss to my head.
I’d never heard the name.I commenced brushing, wondering if Elnyta spoke truth.There wasnothingsouth of Ltona.Nothing except sea.
“This city, it’s in the middle of big trees that look like they start growing in the sky, then sink down roots.”They mimicked it with their hands.“Huge towers, shaped like nothing here, with big cloud-like tops and roads that are rivers, full of plants that grow in the water and flowers as big as your fist that float on the surface in pinks and yellows.”
I tried to imagine it.“What happened?”
“No one knows.”
I shook my head.“Someoneknows.”It was impossible thatno oneknew.
Elnyta nudged me.“No oneI’vespoken to knows.”
“Have you seen them?”I asked, trying to keep the question polite.
“No, but I’ve spoken to so many people who have that I’ve no cause not to believe it.”They shrugged.“We could go see it together.They’ll be people nearby who need to buy something.There’s always use for an enterprising soul.”
That, I didn’t doubt.“It’s almost winter.Bad time to sail.”
They paused.“You’d consider it?”
I shrugged.If my father was dead and someone else was keeping La’Angi running… the idea ofleaving,but not leaving anything undone… it felt as foreign as Elnyta’s impossible ruins.“The timing is all wrong.”
“The timing has never been better.”They pressed another kiss to my head.“Vanish in the middle of the crowd.No one would ever know.We’ll take Isolde.She’s a good sort.”
Chay could go with Kadan, but what of Thomas and his family?I couldn’t take them all.“Seas are bad in winter.”
“You’re with the Home Star, Princess,” they murmured.“Anyhow, I’ll take you north, first, to my lands.You can meet my uncle.We can weather in the sea of endless grass.I can propose to you like a goodbryy’lk.”
“A—” I shook my head, causing the combs to yank on my hair.“Hold on a moment.”
“I can hold on for all of them.For you.You can meet my friends in other ports, and I can cook you someishnyta va thiaa.”
My heart was too big for my chest.I stopped what I was doing, turning to take hold of their hands.“Stop.Wait.”I took a breath, holding back against the panic.“I can’t go anywhere until my father’s dead, Elnyta.”
Their jaw was set in a stubborn line.“I need saving too, Princess.”
I blew out a breath.“This is my home.”
