Chapter 37 June
JUNE
June mixed wawri seeds with yard yellow plant, a hunger-curbing remedy, waiting for Taj Zuri to arrive in her lab. The Nefrasi always ran low on blood and for the past year, June had been giving them this remedy, particularly for Henok and Biruk.
She had visited Samson in Drastfort prison earlier today and changed the sauag leaves on his infected hand but she couldn’t get his face out of her mind.
He hadn’t said a word even as June tried to calm him down, reminded him to not hurt Kidan because they still needed her.
Only silent vengeance was written on his face.
If Kidan didn’t give him the mask artifact by the time he got out…
June shuddered. Samson was unforgiving in his punishments.
She looked up from the yellow mixture that smelled of phosphorus. No sign of Taj still.
Professor Andreyas had given them firm instructions.
They would not conduct their assignment at the annual Acti Gala, which truly disappointed June.
It would have been nice to attend a decadent party or three before she turned twenty-one.
At least she didn’t have to betray a close friend like in the first assignment.
All June had to do was introduce herself to the dranaics in the chilling Southern Sost Buildings and return to the Philosophy Tower with a gifted item she would receive before midnight.
Luckily, Taj Zuri had offered himself as a candidate. But June worried he might be late.
Since June didn’t carry a watch, she always asked Warde for updates. He was in the Mot Zebeya Monastery, visible through the northeastern gates, seeking a moment of relief from the constant noise of Uxlay.
How long do I have left?
Thirty minutes. When Warde spoke into her mind, it was always gentle, comforting like a shade from a searing sun.
Where is he?
You should take my watch, Warde said. Both to keep time and pass this silly test.
Professor Andreyas banned you and Arin from this task. And I’d rather have a dirty sock than a watch.
A grumble echoed down their bond. According to Uxlay’s laws, Samson, Arin, and Warde would have to spend at least two years here before they could participate in companionship exchanges. For now, they had to remain loyal to Kidan, Slen, and Yusef.
He’s here—
“Sorry, sorry, I’m late.” The door banged open, nearly making June drop her beaker.
Taj hurried inside with no shirt, no boots, and no belt. June’s cheeks immediately inflamed. She had never seen a half-naked boy before.
“What…”
“I had other students that were interested.” Taj grinned, rubbing his head of locs.
June took off her lab coat and quickly crossed over to him. She jerked out her hand, looking to the fridge, then the ceiling.
“Put this on.”
Taj took it but he didn’t put it on. When June lifted her head, he gave her a gentle smile.
“Sweetheart, this isn’t going to fit me.”
Without her meaning them to, June’s eyes trailed the width of his broad shoulders. How could he just stand there so confidently? His bronze eyes didn’t lift from her face once, studying her with sparkling interest.
June shifted slightly, giving him her cheek. “Just drape it over one shoulder.”
“As you wish.”
She could hear the smile in his tone. Was he laughing at her? June straightened her shoulder. If anyone should be embarrassed, it should be him.
“You give out your clothes to anyone who asks?” June asked, a little confused.
“Normally.”
“Why?”
“It’s usually the last time most Dranacti students have fun. Before everything turns serious again. I like to be part of that fun.”
June was starting to figure him out. Last time they spoke, he told her he’d never killed anyone. But it was more than that. He seemed to not want anything to suffer around him. If June asked him to carry her home because her legs hurt, he probably would say yes.
A smile stretched across her mouth.
Taj’s eyes sparkled. “What’s that for?”
June turned away, cleaning up her working station. “Nothing. So what gift do you have for me?”
“The moon. It’s close to the earth tonight.”
June smiled again. “I’m serious.”
“The stars, then? It’ll take me a while to collect them all, though.”
“I’m not that greedy. One will do,” June responded without thinking much about it, forgetting she should be on her guard.
Taj’s laughter was catching, with a musical lilt that made her regard him in a new light. The moonlight from the tall windows bounced off his headband, turning it luminous. The material really was beautiful and rare. Saui silk from what she could tell.
“Your headband, then,” June said. “Can I have it?”
Taj flashed her a smile and adjusted his headband. “I’m afraid no. This covers a very hideous scar.”
A scar. A combination of aloe vera and rose oil should help.
“Maybe I can help.”
Taj blinked. Maybe he hadn’t expected her to be so bold. But June could handle any injury. She could concoct any remedy to manage the pain, if not heal it. It was the one thing she was good at.
It’d taken Samson months to speak to her after she first arrived, to show her his rotting hand.
June had retreated into herself then, to the vast green land where knowledge and her nightmares roamed free, to ask for a cure.
She learned rare sauag leaves could offer temporary relief from black rot.
Like every Nefrasi, Samson had marveled at her mind, asking her how she knew to heal uncommon illnesses.
Books, she’d say. I know everything from books.
There was no other explanation, so they believed her.
“You don’t have to show me if you don’t want to,” June said gently.
Taj’s arms tensed, grabbing the ends of his headband. For the first time since she met him, Taj looked nervous, which, in turn, made her nervous. The knot loosened behind his head. He pulled the soft silk and let it unfurl between his fingers, eyes fixed on June.
Three horizontal scars were burned onto his forehead. Red and damning.
June jerked, nearly taking a step toward him before her hand went to her mouth, freezing. He stared down at the golden fabric, a firm line to his mouth.
“Hideous, right?”
June barely heard him, her body was shaking, and she was trying to stop it. Those scars were beyond her help. Beyond anyone’s.
“June,” he said, her name soft on his lips. “It’s not that hideous, is it?”
He was smiling but she was not. June’s heart beat wildly with the impossibility. Had Taj met… Varos? The one creature that haunted her nightmares?
Impossible.
Her eyes remained wide, her mouth covered with a curled finger.
Taj grabbed her shoulders, and she let out a soft squeak.
“June,” he said firmer, making her frightened eyes dance between his forehead and his mouth. “Why are you shaking?”
“I—I’m not.”
“You are,” he forced out, his eyes searching hers. “Why?”
June could see his mind whirling, trying to understand. His gaze ran down her form, fingers flexed into her shoulders.
“You’re hurting me,” she managed.
Warde roared in her mind. I’m coming.
No, June responded quickly. It’s fine.
Taj froze immediately and launched himself so far from her, he nearly collided with the shelves of beakers and tubes.
“I’m sorry.” Taj ran a hand through his twists again and again.
“It’s fine.” June’s voice had lost its weakness and she stood a little straighter. “I’m sorry. I’d just never seen a scar like that.”
Warde remained close, his bone chain clinking.
Taj’s hand stopped in his hair. “But you…”
June smiled at him, hoping it was pretty even though it was forced. “I read somewhere red scars can hold bacteria, giving them their discoloration. It means they can be severely contagious.”
Taj’s confusion lurked. “Contagious… June, that’s ridiculous.”
She chuckled, ducking her head a little as she did when embarrassed. Her heart kept slamming into her chest.
“I know. Probably shouldn’t believe everything I read.”
Taj caught her gaze drifting to his forehead again and his eyes hardened. He grabbed the discarded headband, turned away from her, and tied it firmly. An awkward silence extended between them. She couldn’t explain how she knew what those marks meant, could she?
Desta, no.
June froze.
The voice that spoke into her mind. It wasn’t Warde. But someone ancient. A voice she’d feared ever since she was five years old. A voice that told her she’d die when she turned twenty-one. Told her to make sure the Sage’s artifacts stayed hidden and to never, ever hold one.
You cannot expose yourself, he ordered, making her bones whimper.
Like clockwork, June’s lids began to fall, called to sleep, away from this world. “Are you okay?” Taj approached, concerned.
June nodded tightly, fighting to stay awake. “I get dizzy sometimes. Just give me a minute.”
Turning away, June reached for the small pot of hartshorn she always carried.
Carefully, she cracked open the lid to inhale the sharp, painful salt.
Her spine stiffened while her nostrils became inflamed.
But June withstood it, swallowing the horrible taste down her throat because it always did what it was supposed to.
It kept June awake. Away from the nightmares. Away from him.
Taj’s shadow remained, he was probably wondering what was wrong with her. With his vampiric abilities, he’d likely smelled the salt long before she opened it.
“I should go to the Philosophy Tower. The professor is waiting for us,” she said without turning back.
“Yes,” he said slowly, sounding confused. “Here. I noticed you’re always running late to things.”
June half turned, her curling braids thankfully covering the side of her face.
Taj’s gifted item sat on the stainless-steel table. It was a watch.
A breath of laughter left June’s lips. A question slid between Taj’s brows. No matter how much June tried to avoid the doom of the clock, it would always stare her down, ticking to Kidan’s and June’s inevitable end.
Time was running out.
And June had to either kill or be killed.