Chapter 26 Cloudy With A Chance of Xiaoyu
Datu
My sweet dreamer is ill. She suffers the same affliction as Sateva. The irrational need to feed on anything they lay their eyes upon.
One of the human women—who had arrived with the Sarkany—caters to Xiaoyu. A wall of them have built themselves around her because the Sarkany’s wife has rallied them—telling them I’ve been “drugging” Xiaoyu. It seems like they have taken a liking to the woman at how fiercely loyal they are.
There are burning chains twisted around my chest, making it hard to breathe. I cannot put into words how…upset this makes me feel. There certainly had been no intention in drugging her. Apart from the effects of the pollen, all should have been safe for her. I made sure of it.
Grey clouds start to gather in the sky. As predicted by Sateva, the sky rumbles. Raiki makes a shocked noise in her throat and drops to her knees, pleading for rainfall.
I feel the annoying woman’s eyes on me.
“You know, when Aethys stopped pretending to be a goddess, it solved a lot of our problems.” Her voice tells me she is testing me.
Thunder rolls in bigger, louder, angrier.
“His ego has taken a beating today, my Khali’ya. No need to rub him.”
“Rub it in,” she corrects him.
Why should I even believe this Sarkany when he barely has any grasp of the human language? The other Sarkany in their winged forms roar in apprehension. Huge winged beings cannot withstand the thunderstorm here. It is the very reason why they do not belong in Esoterra.
I make an urgent gesture, signaling Khaliv to leave now lest they get stranded. The woman isn’t pleased, but she tightens her straps, adjusting her strange accessories.
“I don’t know what’s up with you two, but obviously the weather is tied to your mood. Do with that information as you please. Toodles, eater.”
“What she said.” Khaliv says before shifting into his other form. It does not look comfortable. It’s as if his bones are breaking and skin melting off.
What a cuck. And yet, if Xiaoyu wishes for me to change forms, I do it to please her. Does that make me a cuck, too? Silently, I wish them a safe trip despite the chaos they have brought within. The Sarkany tilts his big head at me, and I raise my hand in farewell.
He has given me a lot to think about. Once they are out of sight, I release a breath. Lightning strikes, blinding me for a fraction of a second. When the thunder follows, it’s an explosion breaking the sky open.
The females flee into a hut, taking Xiaoyu’s unconscious form with them. Frozen in place, I watch as vapor builds up from the water hitting the hot ground. The smell of relief. Ginhawa. It smells like petrichor.
“Datu?”
Someone touches my arm, and I know who it is.
“How do you feel?” Sateva asks.
“I’m fine.”
She digs her fingers in warning. “The truth.”
I yank my arm away from her grasp. “Is this not what you wanted? To upset me? This is the very reason you brought her here. To give her to me, only to rip her away.”
Her face is completely stoic, and I know I am right.
“I would not even be surprised if you purposely opened the portal to get the Sarkany to fly in and question my godhood.”
“Not everything is about you! Can you stop being so self-absorbed?!”
Water pitter-patters over our skin. It is not as relieving as I first thought it would be.
The rain is caused by pain. It doesn’t cleanse me.
Instead, it stains me. It dawns upon me that I hate this.
I hate the responsibility of so many lives.
I hate that I cannot do more for them. I hate how my pain brings back life to Esoterra.
I hate how easily people think they can take Xiaoyu from me.
I can never truly make decisions for myself without harming others. The Sarkany’s words have gotten under my skin. Now, I suffer with crippling doubt.
Am I a god, or just a monster?