Chapter 18 #2
I stared at the little pouch, which was filled with fragrant herbs of some kind.
Frankincense? Myrrh? Something exotic and lovely.
I was extremely touched by how thoughtful this was, and how loved my mate was by his old teacher, and even his sister.
Zsekhet was right, his Clan was far more welcoming than any of the others.
I found I genuinely meant my earlier offer, I’d be open to visiting this place so Zsekhet could see his friends and family here.
When I pictured this enthusiastic Naga female, his sister apparently, visiting Haven, I couldn’t help but smile. I barely knew her, but I was certain she’d get a kick out of everything there. “What are you smiling about, my flame-haired one?” Zsekhet drawled from nearby.
I rose, wordlessly holding out both gifts. His gaze dropped to my hand, his gaze shimmering when he reached out to finger the gold chain. I remembered noticing that he’d worn one around his middle just like it, but it had been gone for a long time. Repurposed to make my bangle.
“You need to invite your family to visit us. They need to know they are welcome to see you whenever they want.” I helped him tighten the chain around his middle, where it settled just above the leather belt around his hips. “And you should have told me you have a sister! What’s her name?”
“I will, we will tell them before we leave. Her name is Merish,” he said but his eyes were on the pouch I still held.
“Did Arakash give you a father’s hope?” he touched a fingertip to the soft, worn leather.
It was an old pouch, clearly one kept for a long time though it was well cared for.
“I can’t believe he had this. Come on, we’ll head for the gate now. ”
As he swung me up onto Sesethul’s back, I could tell he was a little choked up with emotion.
It meant a lot to him to discover just how much his old teacher, his father figure, was condoning his mating to me.
When he explained to me what this ‘Father’s hope’ meant.
I felt myself blushing, seriously? A pouch of fertility herbs?
I tried to pretend that Arakash hadn’t been thinking about the two of us having babies, even if that was cute as much as it was awkward.
Zsekhet was directing Sesethul across the oasis, the dragon skimming over the giant lake so closely that his claws splashed through the water.
When he rose, I realized the clever dragon had pulled several huge fish from the water, and he eagerly gobbled those up.
“The oasis is fed by many underground rivers, it is always teeming with fish. Which feed the dragons, and us.” No wonder they could sustain a community like this in such an otherwise barren place, this oasis provided them with all the food they needed.
And the ruins across the lake allowed them to dig for Relics and technology to re-purpose.
I was drinking in my fill of the strange, foreign shapes of the buildings.
The desert had encroached on them, covering many parts of the ruins with a layer of sand but several buildings closest to the lake, where trees grew in abundance, were still very visible.
Only the roofs were covered by a layer of white sand.
My heart started racing with excitement when I realized at least some of the buildings were the same dome shape as that of the greenhouse at Artek’s home.
Covered by layers of sand, it looked like they might be fully intact.
Was this the answer to locating the crowning piece?
The upper section of the dome that Corin wasn’t sure we could source back near Ahoshaga?
I pointed at it eagerly, explaining the possibilities to Zsekhet and he laughed, “Sure, we’ll look at that after.
Okay? You can explore the ruins as much as you want.
” With that promise hanging over me, I almost couldn’t wait to leap off Ses’ back and enter the building we’d landed in front.
This one was square, with a large flat roof, sand washed up in big drifts against the side, though the large entrance was brushed clean.
When we left Ses to sun himself against the side of the building, I was bouncing on my toes for a better look inside.
Almost too excited to wait for Zsekhet to light a lantern for me to light the way.
Once we entered, the mosaic-covered walls took my breath away with their brightness, the colors unfaded by the test of time.
Crystals of many colors were embedded in the ceiling, crystals that I knew should be able to glow.
Zsekhet saw me look at them and offered a rueful smile, “Much knowledge was also lost in the attack on Serqethos twenty years ago. When the Queen died and many of our people were lost, we did not have time to care for the ruins, and now the lights are always dim.” Dim?
They were completely powered down, which made me think that this ‘gate’ Zsekhet was taking me to, was also not going to work.
It was just a hunch, but I figured that it was their name for some relic from the past.
“The Queen is the one who knows how to operate the gate. But Alshara was a baby when she was orphaned, that knowledge too is gone now.” And yet, this gate had remained important to their people, important enough to keep going to it for blessings, even when it no longer worked.
Confirming my suspicion that it was some kind of technology from the past.
When we left the hallway through a slightly smaller door at the end, I stared in surprise at the sight that greeted me.