38. Chapter 38
Chapter thirty-eight
Sin and I spent the rest of the night alternating between talking and continuing to explore how well I could restrain my fire when things got heated. I never quite got the control down, but damn did I enjoy the practice.
I told him about Jenni and Opal, and he told me about his crescia, Cardis. When I asked to meet him, Sin just said Cardis was gone, and I thought it best not to push.
He told me about how him and Dey grew into their powers together once Sin arrived at the palace, and how they used to be brothers in the way that Jenn and I were sisters. When I told him about the conversation between Dey and my father, he grew quiet for a long while, but if Sin had any insight as to why Dey was supposed to seduce me, he didn’t share it.
At some point we fell asleep in each other's arms, and it was only the thin dagger of morning light slicing through the gap in the curtains that woke me. I had one of Sin’s legs nestled between my own and his arm was securely wrapped around my middle. I might have stayed in his bed all day, but mother nature called, and I had to answer.
When I came out of his bathroom, he was sitting up with the sheets loosely draped around his waist and sporting some of the sexiest bedhead I’d ever seen.
“Good morning,” I said, trying to hide how awkward I felt. So much had happened last night, but I still feared he might not feel the same in the harsh light of day.
“Good morning, Fea Remia,” he said, his eyes raking over my naked body. He gave me a wickedly seductive grin.
“Stop doing that,” I said, gripping the door frame for support.
“Stop what?” he asked, his hand slipping beneath the sheets.
“All of that! You’re using your sexy voice, but I need to go back to my room. I left Jenni and Opal alone all night, and I have to make sure they’re okay. Breakfast at some point would be nice, too. So no seductive smirks or trying to lure me back into your arms.” I paused, then added, “At least not right now.” I gave him a knowing smile with the promise of many more nights together.
Sin slid out from under the sheets and tossed me my robe before pulling on his breeches. “Here,” he offered, handing me one of his long-sleeved black tunics. “It’s an older one of mine, so hopefully no one will recognize it. Maybe after breakfast you can meet me at Corym’s office.”
“Why?” I had planned to visit the scholar so he could fix my language issue, but I didn’t know why Sin needed to be there.
He tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear and kissed me. “I want to take you into Civi Obsura. I know a way out of the castle that leads directly there, and it’s near his office.”
“Okay,” I said, kissing him back, vacillating between excitement and nervousness about going into a city again. “I’ll meet you down there shortly.” He tried to pull me into a deeper kiss, but I knew where that would lead so I smacked his bare chest. “Later,” I scolded as I cracked the door open. When I saw the hall was clear I made a beeline to my room before I lost all willpower and jumped back in his bed.
After confirming Jenni and Opal were safe, though a little irritated that I was gone all night, I showered and dressed in Sin’s tunic. I took a quick sniff of his shirt and nearly collapsed as his scent hit me. Either he lied about it being old, or my sense of smell really was heightened, because all I discerned was pure, undiluted Sin.
I pulled on a pair of soft purple leggings and my chucks, then spent a few minutes with Jenni and Opal, letting them play in my hair and chew on my shoe strings. I kept an ear out and shuffled them under the bed when I heard footsteps approaching.
Without knocking, the sisters breezed into my room, and Kiahna started in on my braid while Niahna made the bed. While they worked, I let my mind wander back to my time with Sin. I’d never had a night like that before, and I couldn’t shake the tiny fear that I might not have one again.
It wasn’t just about the sex either, as mind-blowing as that had been—the pleasant soreness between my thighs could attest to that. More than the physical intimacy, was the connection I felt when I was with him. Like I could tell him anything and not worry about his judgment. He had spent a long time tracing my ramentum, and even though he confirmed it was unheard of to have a color mixed in, he also said that it didn’t mean it was a bad thing or that I was a freak.
“Never be afraid of how special you are,” he'd told me.
Sometimes I really wished I could see myself the way he did.
When the sisters were finished, I shooed them out of the room so I could say goodbye to Jenni and Opal.
“I’m sorry, but you can’t come with me,” I said, staring into the mirror so I could see both of them nestled on top of my head. I didn’t know if it was possible, but Jenni appeared a little bigger this morning, and it was getting a bit rough on my neck to have both of them up there.
“Jenni protect Rain. ”
“I know you want to protect me, but right now I can’t let anyone know about you. So will you please stay here?”
I attempted to pull her from my hair, but she clung tightly, and all I managed to do was ruin my braid.
I crossed my arms in front of me and glared at them in the mirror. “You have five seconds to get out of my hair, or I’m taking Opal back to the Sylvarium. Your choice.” It was an empty threat of course, but they didn’t need to know that.
I thought Jenni would call my bluff when I felt her claws gripping and releasing my hair like she couldn’t decide. Eventually, she let out a tiny wisp of flame and flew back over to the nightstand where a few nuts and seeds still remained. She gave me a derisive chuff and started eating. Opal, ever the faithful sidekick, took her cue from Jenni and did the same.
I shook my head. “Why do I feel like a parent with two petulant toddlers?”
When I found Dey waiting outside the dining hall, I nearly did an about face, but he noticed me before I could make an escape.
His nose twitched as I neared and my step faltered.
Shit. Could he smell Sin on me?
Dey dipped his head slightly and gave me a wary smile. “Good morning, Princess. That is an interesting tunic choice. Where did you get it?”
Okay, he could definitely smell Sin.
“Oh, I found it in the weapons room a couple days ago. It was folded and smelled clean to me, so I took it back to my room. It gets chilly in the Sylvarium sometimes. I must not have the same elevated body temperature because of my human side.” I gave him my best ashamed look, and it worked like a charm.
Dey stepped into my space, and I fought the urge to cringe as he ran a hand over my shoulder. “You should not be embarrassed about your human half, Rain. It only proves how strong you are to overcome it.”
Damn he was predictable.
With Sin’s smell forgotten or deemed unimportant, Dey took my arm and led me into the dining hall where my father was already eating breakfast.
“Good morning, Raynella,” he greeted. “I trust you slept well?”
I tried not to blush at the reminder of exactly how well I had slept. “Yes, thank you.” As I took my seat his nose twitched as well.
He asked Dey a question in Rivellan, but Dey just responded dismissively. I could imagine what he was saying, but I needed to be ignorant to sell it.
“What’s up?” I asked, taking a bite of fruit and palming a couple berries at the same time to give the crescia later.
“Nothing important, Raynella,” my father said. “I wanted to remind you that the dinner this evening will be somewhat elevated, though not quite as elaborate as tomorrow's banquet. Please make sure your servants dress you accordingly. The seamstress will return this afternoon for a fitting of your finished gown, and you will need to meet her in your chambers.”
“I will come find you in the Sylvarium later,” Dey added. “So that I can assist with the translation.”
“That sounds great,” I said, hoping it came out more authentic than it sounded to me. I snagged a handful of nuts and pushed back from my chair. “I’m actually not that hungry, and I want to make sure I get plenty of time with the crescia, so if you don’t mind, I’m going to head out.”
My father looked like he wanted to argue, but I breezed out the door before he got the chance.
I left in the direction of the Sylvarium in case they were watching, then hooked a right toward the stairs to the lower level. My heart skipped a beat when I saw Sin waiting outside of the library, leaning against the wall. He was a harsh kind of beautiful, and I imagined most people gave him a wide berth. I wondered if it ever bothered him, this persona he portrayed. Maybe he preferred it like that. Preferred the solitude. Either way, I knew what was in his heart, and he could play scowly and growly all he wanted with everyone else because I knew the truth.
His slow grin melted my insides as he stalked toward me like a panther sizing up his prey.
He stopped just shy of me and slid his gaze up my body, causing something inside me to clench at the desire in his slow perusal.
“I wish I could dress you in my clothes every day,” he said, his deep voice rough with approval.
I closed the gap and slid my arms around his neck. “Yeah? Well I think people might catch on if you did that.” I gave him a placating kiss on the nose. “Is Corym here? I need to see if he can fix the language issue before we leave.”
“Yeah, I think I heard him in there.”
He pushed the door open and gently nudged me to enter first. I braced myself for the remnants of the destruction I left behind but was surprised to find no evidence of what occured. The rug and couch were gone, replaced by new ones, and all scorch marks had been scrubbed from the ceiling and walls. There wasn’t even a lingering hint of smoke.
“Princess,” Corym called, crossing over to me, an unexpectedly wide smile on his face. Apparently my royalty status trumped the destruction of his antique rug. “It is wonderful to see you again under better circumstances. I feared this one might have scared you away.” He gave Sin a pointed look who just shrugged and leaned against the doorframe.
Corym drew me over to the sofa and sat beside me. “What can I do for you?”
“Right, so the language transfer thing? It worked, but it seems to be stuck in my subconscious. I can only remember conversations when I’m sleeping. Any way you can fix that? The medication should be long out of my system, but things aren’t improving.”
Corym’s eyes lit up. “I would be delighted to try. It is so fascinating how your brain works. I never placed knowledge in the back of the mind before. I have spent quite a bit of time considering the practical applications of such a possibility.”
That was Corym, ever the scholar. I gave him a small laugh. “Well, I’m happy to be your guinea pig. Let’s see if you can push it to the front.”
“Yes, let us,” he said, shifting to take my hands. “Close your eyes. I do hope this will be quite a bit faster and less painful.”
“Painful?” Sin asked in a low growl, the single word threatening violence against any who might harm me.
I gave him a determined look. “It’s okay, Sin. I want this. Whatever it takes.”
His eyes narrowed, but he reluctantly resumed his position against the doorframe, grumbling under his breath in Rivellan.
“Please continue,” I said to Corym and closed my eyes.
While I waited for something to happen, my mind drifted off toward thoughts of Sin. There had been a moment after my third, maybe fourth, orgasm of the evening when I had been so completely and utterly sated that the idea of me even moving was laughable. I'd been so wrapped up in him that I forgot about my scars on full display.
Until he pressed gentle kisses along my back. “You should never be ashamed of this, Rain,” he’d said. “Scars are not evidence of weakness. They are evidence that you have endured more than most, and yet you remain standing. Evidence that you cannot, will not, be broken. Wear them as a badge of honor.”
It was another reason that I didn’t deserve him, and yet I clung to it. This idea that I was not broken, but instead had been forged into something stronger. It was a beautiful lie, but so long as he believed it, maybe I could too someday.
“Princess?” Corym’s gentle voice pulled me out of the memory.
I blinked a few times at the two male faces staring intently at me. “Is that it?” I asked warily, hoping I didn’t lose hours of my life again.
“You tell us. Can you speak Rivellan?” Sin asked.
I frowned at him. “How can I tell? Do I just think of a word?”
Sin and Corym both laughed, and it only made me frown harder. “What’s so funny?”
“Dreisin was speaking to you in Rivellan, Princess.”
I looked to Sin who nodded in confirmation. “I thought you were speaking English… I heard English in my head.”
Corym gave me one of his patented professor smiles that was a mix of encouragement and patience. “That is because your brain converts it automatically for you. Listening will be the easiest, of course, as the translation will happen with little to no effort. Speaking Rivellan, however, may take you a second to adapt to. You will need to focus and make a conscious effort. Your brain will supply the words as they come up. Give it a try.”
I glanced between them. “Okay, sure. What should I say?”
Sin smirked. “You should say that I am the best aquiservian who ever lived.”
I paused, trying to focus on the swirl of Rivellan words bouncing around in my head.
“Sin abea amplie ia.” My words came out rough and stilted like a child learning to read, but Corym laughed so the translation must have worked.
“I don't have a big ego,” Sin muttered, stomping back over to the door.
Corym settled into the sofa, exhaustion deepening the lines of his face. “You should practice speaking in Rivellan as much as possible so your mind grows accustomed to forming the words. Hearing others speak it will be beneficial as well so your mind is able to alert you to the change in language. Right now the translation is automatic, so you may not even realize someone is speaking to you in Rivellan at first. It will take a moment, but soon you will be able to recognize and speak it with ease.”
I leaned forward and gave him a peck on the cheek, then grinned at his startled expression. “Thank you so much. You don’t know what this means to me.”
He blushed. “It was my pleasure, Princess.”
I hopped off the couch and bounded over to Sin, excited to go try out my new language skills in Civi Obsura. “You ready to go?”
“More than,” he said, and turned to leave the library.
“Princess?” Corym called. “May I have a word? Alone?”
“Sure,” I said. “What’s up?”
He waited until Sin left then said, “I must make a confession. When I was moving the language from your subconscious to your conscious I found myself able to see what you were thinking about.”
My cheeks burned so hot my hand unconsciously lifted to check for flames. “Oh,” I said awkwardly.
Corym stood but maintained his distance. “I do not want to make you uncomfortable, I merely wanted to inform you that I was aware of your relationship with my son. Also…” His eyes dropped to the ground. “I wanted to ask you a favor.”
“Anything.” I owed Corym big time, so I would do pretty much whatever he wanted.
There was so much vulnerability in his wide eyes and hunched posture as he whispered, “Do not hurt him, Princess. Sin has suffered much in his life, and I know he has his secrets, but… he is a good male. Please, do not break his heart.”
I swallowed roughly and shifted uncomfortably. Corym had asked for the one thing that I couldn’t promise. “I would never want to hurt him,” I replied, but I couldn’t bring myself to give him any more than that.
Corym nodded in understanding. “That will have to do then. Thank you, Princess. For bringing joy back into his life.”
I didn’t bother to correct him. To tell him that Sin was the one who brought me back to life. Every day since I arrived here, I thought of nothing but going home to Jenn. Now, I mostly thought of Sin. Of the times when we were together, and how perfect it felt to be in his arms. Mostly I thought about how he never once made me feel broken or damaged.
He was the light in my life, not the other way around.
I smiled at Corym and closed the door to his office. Finding Sin waiting out in the hall, I couldn’t stop myself from rushing over to him. Our kiss was slow and gentle at first, but quickly became deep and demanding. It was torture to pull away from him, but anyone could turn the corner and find us.
“What did Corym want?” Sin asked, running his thumb over my swollen lip.
I hesitated, then said, “He told me not to break your heart.”
Sin eyes shuttered at the solemn words. When he opened them, a fire not unlike my own burned bright. “And what did you say? Are you going to crush me, Fea Remia?”
“Not on purpose,” I answered truthfully, forcing myself to meet his gaze.
He gave a shallow nod as if confirming he was aware of this very dangerous game we were planning. “In that case, let’s enjoy the time we have.” He tugged on my hand, and I followed him toward the entrance to the Laneum.
“Wait here,” he whispered as he edged around the corner. “Off to the left is a huge boulder. Behind it is a gap in the stone. It’s narrow, but we can squeeze through. We just need to wait until the attendant's back is turned.”
I nodded, and we waited in silence for so long I was starting to wonder if we should abandon the plan. I was about to say as much when Sin tugged on my arm. “Now.”
We dashed into the cavern, and I tried to keep as quiet as possible as he dragged me off to the left and around the massive stone. Thick and twisted veins of obsidian ran through the muted gray rocks of the roughhewn wall, and I did a double take as Sin disappeared through one. I approached it cautiously and realized that the gap in the wall was cleverly disguised as merely another vein of black stone.
Turning sideways, I slipped through the narrow space, my breasts scraping against the wall. For the first time in my life I was actually grateful they were relatively small. I eased my way through roughly ten feet or so of tight stone corridor before I popped out on the other side, and Sin grabbed me as I pitched forward into the open space.
“Well that was fun,” I muttered into the ominous darkness that now swallowed me.
“It’s okay,” Sin said. “I’ve been through these tunnels many times and can likely find the way in the dark.” He pressed himself tightly against me and added, his voice a sultry whisper in the shadows, “If you’d like to make it easier for yourself though, and create a little light, I wouldn’t say no.” He nipped my ear as punctuation.
“I can’t,” I said, my voice taking on a husky tone as he pressed kisses against my neck. My inability to see him only heightened the sensation of his lips against my skin. “I’ve tried. It just sort of comes out when I’m angry or…”
“Aroused?” Sin purred. His ability to soak my panties with a single word should be considered magic all its own. He guided me backward until I hit a wall of rock, and his hand began a leisurely journey south. “I don’t want to make you mad.”
“Me neither,” I gasped out as his fingers reached the top of my leggings.
“Which only leaves one option…” His hand slipped under the waistband of my leggings, and he clasped a hand over my mouth to keep me from crying out. “Hush, Fea Remia. We’re not far enough away. Someone could hear you.” He ran a single finger through my wet center, and I arched into his touch. “I need you to be a good girl and keep quiet.” His finger dipped inside me. “Can you do that? Can you be a good girl for me?”
I nodded. I would have promised him anything at that point.
“Then prove it,” Sin growled softly into my ear as he plunged another finger inside me and used his thumb to rub the tiny bundle of nerves at the apex of my thighs.
I nearly bit my tongue off to keep from crying out. My flames started to burn inside me as the orgasm built, and I shoved at Sin to get him to back away.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said, pumping his fingers faster and faster, curling them up inside me to hit my favorite angle. “I trust you. Control your fire. I know you can.”
It was the most perfect kind of torture, and I wanted to give in to the pleasure, allowing myself to burn in the heaven that was Sin. His words locked themselves into my brain, though.
“I trust you.”
At the last second, just as the orgasm spilled through me, I pulled at the fire under my skin, drawing it up my legs, up my torso and out along just my arms.
I threw my hands above my head as they erupted in flames.
I breathed out a sigh of relief and let my head fall back against the stone wall. It worked. I controlled the power.
Well, mostly. Miniscule wisps of smoke curled up from where I singed a few holes in my tunic, but at least they were small and barely noticeable.
I opened my eyes to see Sin leaning back against the opposite wall, his hand rubbing over the prominent bulge straining against his breeches. “Gods, Rain, I love watching you come,” he murmured, and my cheeks reddened. Despite everything we had done together, he still made me blush.
“Well, I’d like to return the favor but…” I held up my hands which were fully engulfed in flame.
He smiled and gave one last stroke over his cock before moving closer to whisper into my ear, “It’s okay, Rain. I love the idea of you owing me one.”
A small shudder ran through me at the sensual promise in his words. “I can’t wait for you to collect,” I said, turning my head to look at him, our faces so close my lips nearly grazed his.
He shifted slightly to press a kiss to my mouth, then began the journey deeper into the tunnels. “Coming, Fea Remia?”
I squeezed my thighs together, forcing my body to ignore the pulsing ache that had already bloomed again between my legs, then jogged after him down the dim tunnels, my flames the only light in the darkness.
We walked in silence for a while so I could focus on keeping my fire lit, but after a while I found it easier to maintain without effort.
“Can all igniservians wield their magic without burning?” I asked, waving my hands around in front of me, loving the way through the reds, oranges and yellows danced in the dark.
“No,” he replied, dodging to the side as my fire got a little too close to his face. “All elemental casters are able to do is manipulate. Igniservians can burn. Aquiservians can drown. Aeriservians can suffocate.”
“And terriservians?”
Sin footsteps stuttered and his back stiffened, but he continued along.
“They can be buried alive.”
His words were so reserved that I knew I shouldn’t pry despite how badly I wanted to. Corym said Sin’s mother died of the plague, so who had he lost in such a tragic way?
I allowed the crunch of gravel beneath our feet to echo through the uncomfortable silence, waiting to see if he would say anything more. When he didn’t, I decided to practice my Rivellan to break the tension. I did what Corym mentioned and focused on the words I recognized, bringing the foreign language to the front of my brain.
“How did you discover this tunnel?” I asked, hoping it came out correctly.
“The information is passed from one Cennux to the other,” Sin replied in what I was pretty sure was Rivellan. “It is a closely guarded secret that only a handful of people know about at any given time. Not even the kings are told lest they accidentally let it slip.”
“Why the secrecy?” I asked, maintaining my grip on the Rivellan tongue.
“Safety precautions," he responded in kind. “Were the castle to fall, we would need a way to get the royal family out. The more people who know about these tunnels the easier it is for them to be compromised.”
I nodded. “So only you and who else knows about them?”
“Peywyn is the only other.”
My flames flared a bit brighter at the mention of her name, and Sin eyed me curiously. “She is just my second, Rain. No need for jealousy.”
I huffed out a breath and reigned in my fire. “It’s not like that. I trust you, Sin. It’s just…” I didn’t know how to finish my sentence. How to explain that it wasn’t the kind of jealousy he imagined. “I’m jealous that she knows you so well. That she gets to spend so much time with you out in the open. It also doesn’t help that she’s gorgeous.”
Sin laughed. “You wouldn’t say that if you saw her during her awkward phase.”
“See,” I pointed out. “It’s that right there. She has your past, Sin. Even if you weren't, you know, with her , she still has a piece of you I never will. I don’t blame her, but I also can’t help the little spark of envy.”
Sin’s hand drifted up to my face, careful to avoid the flames, and he cupped my cheek. “She might have my past, but you have my future. If you want it.”
It should have been exactly what I wanted to hear, but I couldn’t help the hint of nausea simmering in my stomach. I wanted his future. I just didn’t think I was going to get it.
Sin dropped his hand and continued down the tunnel. “And for what it’s worth,” he called over his shoulder, “I was never with Peywyn. She never felt that way about me. You might have a shot with her though.” He gave me a wink, and I nearly stumbled.
Oh.
Composing myself, I jogged forward, blushing and trying not to think about the warrior goddess naked, her legs wrapped around me the way I had seen her wrapped around Sin.
“Should I be the jealous one now?” Sin asked as I caught up to him, and he gave a meaningful glance to the flames in my hand that had sparked brighter again.
“Maybe,” I said, only half joking.
“It’s a good thing I found you first then,” he replied. “If she fucks the way she fights, I wouldn’t stand a chance.”
More images spilled through my mind, and I cleared my throat, needing to change the subject before I did something stupid, like suggest a threesome. “So where are we going exactly? Is Civi Obsura pretty big? Can we get some food at some point? I didn’t eat much breakfast.”
Sin chuckled at my obvious attempt to discuss anything but his sexy second. “Civi Obsura is larger in population but condensed into a smaller area than Civi Adasa. And of course we can get you something to eat. There are a few street vendors toward the center of town. One in particular makes the most delicious roast lanfa you’ll ever eat.”
I decided it was likely better if I didn’t ask what a lanfa was.
“And our destination? Or is this mostly sightseeing?”
He shrugged. “I thought it would be a good idea to find you a long-sleeved dress for dinner tonight. You can tell Verren you borrowed it from Peywyn. She’ll back you up.” Sin paused before adding, “I also thought you might want to see where your mother lived.”
I stopped abruptly as Sin’s words squeezed my heart.
My mother. Sin had met her. Why did I never ask him before? He was nearly eighty, of course he had been around when she was at the palace.
“You knew my mother?” I asked, my voice shaky.
“I did. She was… she was wonderful. And kind, unlike so many that live in the castle. When she found out that I grew up in Civi Obsura, we would talk about it for hours on end. I missed it. She didn’t. We were still able to share some fond memories.”
“I want to know everything,” I breathed out.
“I wasn’t sure,” he said as we resumed our trek. “You never asked about her, and I didn’t know if it would be worse for you. Her story isn’t pleasant, Rain. She was a human who spent her whole life in hiding.”
“I don’t care,” I replied firmly. “I want to know everything.”
Sin spent the rest of our journey down the mountain telling me everything he knew about Leeara and how similar we were. He told me about how they would sit on the parapet almost every evening because she loved looking out at the ocean at night. About how she hated all the rude courtiers and all the pretensions of palace life. About how she always spoke her mind and was the strongest person he’d ever met.
By the time light began to filter into the tunnel, my face was tear streaked, and my heart was close to bursting. I would give anything to be able to talk to her, even for a minute. I would ask her how she did it, how she survived in the castle surrounded by wolves. And I would thank her for taking me away from it. I hated my life growing up, but I hated even more the idea of who I might have become if I’d grown up in the palace with the rest of the snobs.
Talk of my mother ended as we approached a small opening in the tunnel, and I snuffed my flames.
“Let me go first so I can hold the tree limbs back,” Sin said, slipping through the tiny gap in the stone.
The bright sun stung my eyes as I emerged from the tunnel, and Sin let the branches swing behind me, hiding the passageway once again.
“What’s that smell?” I asked, a whiff of something foul stinging my nose.
“Sewage,” Sin said, gesturing to my right where a metal pipe dumped dirty water into a massive quarry.
I took a couple steps closer, trying not to breathe too much, and peered over the edge. Rancid brown water filled the pit, and what little breakfast I had tried to claw its way out to join it.
“Makes it easier to keep the tunnel a secret,” Sin commented. “Nobody wants to spend too much time here.”
“No kidding,” I agreed, trying not to choke on the stench.
I followed him away from the putrid smell until we came to a grove of desiccated and twisted trees.
Sin stopped me and started rolling up his sleeves. “We’re almost there, so you’ll want to expose your arms. Nobody will know who you are here, and it would be a good idea for them to think you are an imminario.”
“I thought humans lived in Civi Obsura,” I said, folding back my loose sleeves.
“They do,” he replied. “But they stay in hiding and only go out in disguise. The imminarios are nowhere near as vicious as the secunnarios in Civi Adasa, but there are many who do not take kindly to humans here.”
“Why? You’d think they would sympathize with being treated like lesser citizens.”
“They used to,” Sin said, leading me through the trees. “There was a reluctant alliance between them years ago, but that all changed after the plague hit.”
I put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him. “Why?”
Sin frowned at me. “Your father never told you?”
“Told me what?” I asked, growing nervous. I was tired of finding out new and tragic things people kept hidden from me.
“The plague,” he replied slowly. “They brought it into the city. Humans are the carriers.”