Page 59 of Spirit Rites
“I’m going too?” Harper asks.
“Yes. Of course,” Mae says in return. “Let’s go. We don’t want to miss lunch.”
I turn to Harper. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”
“And miss out on food? No thanks.”
In that, we are both on the same wavelength. Growing up with the banished, food was scarce. Neither of us ever miss a meal if it’s possible now. I turn to Rakel. “Do you need anything?”
“I’m good. Thank you. I’m going to put Liella down for a nap and then get to work on your wardrobe. I’ll bring over some pieces as soon as I get them done.”
“Thank you, Rakel.”
She smiles at me once again. “It’s my honor.”
As soon as she leaves, Mae turns back to us. “Ready? Let’s go.”
We leave the house and step out onto the wooden walkway. I feel the sun on my face and close my eyes, soaking it in. “It usually helps if you keep your eyes open.” My eyes fly open at the sound of the voice close to me. I take in Reika, one of Kaldar’s original five. I’m about to ask her what she’s doing here when I remember Taren being on protection duty yesterday; this must be her day. “If you remember how to walk, we can get going.”
I ignore her words and wonder just how it is that she got on Kaldar’s protection team. Then I remember what he said about her aim. We walk to the far right. When I look back, I realize there are lines of houses behind Kaldar’s house too. There are so many houses out on the water; it’s pretty incredible. The end of the wooden walkway deposits us right on the sand, next to the water. Mae takes the lead and walks over to the trees, surprising me when she leads us into the trees. “Where are we going?” I ask.
Mae turns back to me. “To the Grove.”
I’m confused why we’re leaving all the homes behind us, but I don’t say anything. I’m surprised again when we step onto a wooden walkway, just like the one built above the water. Thisone leads further into the trees. As we get deeper into the trees, houses start to appear. I stare in awe at them because they’re literally built into the trees. Some of them are built around trees; some are up in the trees. “This is incredible,” I breathe out.
Mae turns back with a smile. “You think it’s pretty now; you should see it at night.”
I take in the sheer amount of homes. “I can’t believe how many homes are in here. I thought everybody’s homes were out on the water.”
“Oh, no,” Mae’s quick to reply. “Our people love the water and the trees, and they can choose which place they want to live.”
Walking through the trees is a surreal experience. There’s so much to take in. Each home is so unique, depending on what kind of tree it’s built into. Then there are the bright colors everywhere both from nature and manmade. There are bright-colored flowers everywhere and the most green I’ve ever seen in one place. The homes themselves boast of color too. The front doors on every home are different colors, and each house has at least one colorful fabric hanging from it. The way the fabrics are hung tells me that they’re used both for decoration and for coverage from the sun. I can’t even begin to take it all in. After walking for a little while, we come to a huge, round building that’s literally built around a massive tree. Mae heads towards the double jade doors and doesn’t slow down as she opens the doors and makes her way inside. I glance over at Harper, but she seems to be just as overwhelmed by everything as I am.
“Are you going to continue to just stare at the building, or are you going to go inside?” Reika asks with her ever-present disdain for me.
Harper whirls around like she’s going to say something, but I quickly push her towards the door. We don’t need a confrontation right now, not when I can literally feel so manyeyes on us. “Just let it go,” I mutter quietly to her as I head towards the doors. Before I can open the door, it opens for me and somebody steps out. “Oh, excuse me,” I say and take a step back. I wait for the person to step out of the way. When they don’t, I look up. A man I’ve never seen before stares down at me with such hostility, it shocks me. He crosses his arms over his chest. Before I can say anything, another man comes out and stands next to him. I have no idea what to make of this, and I don’t want to make a scene. I take a step to go around them. “If you’ll excuse me.” The first guy takes a step with me, blocking my access to the door.
I finally look up. “I’m sorry. I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Kinsley.” I put my hand out. The first guy makes a point of looking at my hand and not shaking it. I don’t let it bother me. I grew up one of the banished; I’m used to this kind of treatment. “Well, if you’ll excuse us; we’ll be on our way.”
“You can’t go in there,” the second guy says now.
I level a look at them. “Why?”
“You’re not one of us.”
I let the words bounce right off me. I open my mouth to say something in response, but Reika beats me to it. One second she’s behind me; the next, she has a sword at the first guy’s chest. “Are you telling the king’s mate she can’t enter the Grove?” Her words have a dangerous edge to them. I almost tell her not to worry about it, but I’m half worried that she’ll turn that sword on me. The men both glare at her but then step out of our way. “That’s what I thought,” Reika says, sheathing her sword. She steps back and nods her head towards the doors. I meet both men’s gazes as I pass them; I don’t let their anger intimidate me. Once we’re inside, I wait for Reika.
“Oh good. You finally made it,” Mae says, appearing suddenly at my side. “I thought I lost you.”
Reika shoves open the doors and strides inside. “Thank you for that,” I tell her as soon as she’s close enough.
She doesn’t even bother to look at me. “I didn’t do it for you.”
She takes a few steps away from us, and I let her go. When I turn back to Mae, she’s frowning at Reika. Not wanting to make an even bigger deal, I redirect her attention. “It smells amazing in here.” It’s not a lie. It really does.
Chapter 28
I scan the large gathering area. There are tables everywhere, most of which are empty now. In the very center of the room is the trunk of a tree that I wouldn’t even be able to wrap my arms around; it’s so wide. I can see the tips of the branches through the opening around it in the ceiling. Around the room are several food prep areas, and several people are prepping food. I smell lots of different smells, and everything smells amazing. “It’s pretty empty right now, but that will change in the next little bit,” Mae says by way of explanation. “What are you ladies hungry for? Fresh meat is that way, soups and stews are that way, breads and jellies are over there, and pastries are there.”
