Chapter 31 Tainted
Tainted
After a well-needed shower, I end up dressing in a multicoloured concoction of different materials and lengths.
Tanisira wasn’t joking when she threatened to make me wear her sister’s clothes, but they at least cover my stomach and arse.
I’m particularly glad about this because I’m about to meet their mother, Yimirisé.
With my nerves bubbling away, I head towards the kitchen at the end of the hallway.
In comparison to the guest bedroom, the rest of the house is filled with bright, complementary colours and eye-catching, abstract ornaments.
At any other time, I’d be interested in the art, but I can’t focus on anything right now.
A familiar aroma pervades the air, and hunger battles with the anxiety in my stomach.
I can hear Vee’s excited voice, and that helps to calm me a little.
Still, I wish Tanisira hadn’t gotten caught up; I could use a chaperone.
I might not know where Tanisira and I stand right now, but I do know this is a moment.
If her family doesn’t like me, will that change things between us—more than yesterday already did—or is she distant enough that it won’t matter?
She hasn’t told me much about them, but I know she has complicated feelings about her sister and mother.
And even though we’re on borrowed time, I don’t want to sour what little time we do have.
“I’m going to find Marlowe.” I hear as I’m halfway down the hallway.
The door is flung open, cutting off a quick, “Kiran—”
For a moment, I’m certain Kit’s standing in front of me, before I remember Tanisira modelled the AI after her sister.
She beams at me, and the differences become clear.
For one, Kit didn’t ever grin. But Kiran also has dark, choppily cut hair instead of the long auburn braids and is a lot curvier than the AI.
She’s about my height, and in the clear light streaming through the windows, her eyes may be darker than Tanisira’s, but they’re the same shape.
“Found her,” Kiran sings over her shoulder.
“Urm, hi,” I say.
She gives me a once-over and frowns. “Oof, my sister has no style. Those are last year’s clothes.”
I don’t know what I’m supposed to say to that, but she doesn’t seem to mind.
She grabs my hand and ushers me into the kitchen, a wide space with colourful, mismatched appliances and a gorgeous table with picnic-style benches.
Vee grins at me around a mouthful of something soft and green, and Tanisira’s elbow-deep in a bowl of something floury.
The matriarch finishes drying her hands on a cloth before approaching me, and it’s like looking at Tanisira’s twin, down to the height and the long, thick hair.
Before I forget my manners, I bow at the waist and touch my hand to my chest, directly over the heart. “Chal suk te onur.”
It roughly translates to ‘I’m honoured to meet you’. Tanisira told me I didn’t have to bow, but it’s the formal greeting for elders, and I’m not going to risk botching any of it.
Yimirisé stops and lifts her eyebrows in Tanisira’s direction before turning back to me. Those amber eyes they both share sparkle. “Swagat hai, Marlowe.”
I love the way she makes my name sound like pure poetry. Out of nerves, my reply is shaky. “Shukran.”
“You must be hungry.” She smiles. “Sit, please. Your boy just tried my newest recipe for spinach rolls and claims they’re incredible. But he also seems to be a bottomless pit, so I’ll be happy to know your opinion on them, too.”
That surprises a laugh out of me, and I let her guide me to the seat beside Vee.
No matter where you are, food is the universal language of all cultures.
I pick up a roll and take a bite, pleased when a mixture of sweet and salty zips across my palate.
I don’t do anything so crass as moan, but I do give Yimirisé a huge thumbs up.
She chuckles and nudges Tanisira. “See, I told you the Tellurians don’t experience it the same as we do.
” When she sees my confusion, she explains.
“There’s an ingredient that we taste as bitter which your people tend to find salty instead.
It’s why I’ve been tweaking the recipe. I don’t mind making a treat the Tellurians like, but my business is mostly Suryavans. ”
I wipe my mouth on a napkin. “Business?”
“I recently opened a bakery,” she says proudly. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”
“That’s incredible.” And I mean that with plenty of awe.
Yimirisé must be in her late fifties, at least; I don’t know anyone who took on such a venture at this stage in their life.
Tellurians are always encouraged to have everything figured out by our mid-20s, otherwise we’ve undeniably failed to be productive members of society.
She wrinkles her nose in a sweet gesture and taps me on the shoulder. “I like you. Would you like a hot drink?”
“A coffee would be amazing, please. But I can make it myself if you show—”
“Don’t be silly,” she titters. “Milk? Sugar?”
Tanisira cuts in. “I’ll make it, Nayya.”
She’s been silent this whole time, and I take note of the tension in her shoulders, the closed off expression.
She seems wildly uncomfortable, which is not something I’m used to seeing in the captain’s demeanour.
I want to pull her aside and ask what’s up, but something tells me not to—not right now, anyway.
At Vee’s feet is a gorgeous ball of fur.
He lifts his head, pants at me, and then loses interest when he realises I’m not giving him food.
He looks like a mix between a Beagle and a German Shepherd, but I don’t know if the Suryavans have their own breeds.
Either way, those liquid brown eyes convince me to stroke the soft fur on his nose.
Kiran plonks her chin into her palm and stares at me. “So, Gryphon Tech, huh?”
“Yeah, unfortunately.”
She laughs, and the light glints off her Vahrin; an exact match of Tanisira’s. “I hear you. My ex is a dick too.”
“Kiranavi!” Yimirisé scolds her, but I wave it away. Dominik is a dick. Plus, Vee’s up to his eyeballs in baked goods and pays us no mind.
“If it makes you feel better, you’re way too good-looking for him anyway.”
This time, it’s Tanisira who makes a noise of exasperation as she slides a steaming mug in front of me.
“What?” Kiran asks, rolling her eyes. “I know you haven’t told her.” Under her breath, she mutters, “Emotionally constipated sota.”
I think she just insulted Tanisira and called her an endearment at the same time?
I also think the phrasing was a little suggestive, as if she believes we’re together.
The idea sends a thrill through me, but things are such a mess right now I can’t fully enjoy it.
I look from Kiran to Yimirisé, but they give nothing away, and Tanisira has distanced herself again.
Filing that away for later, I sip my perfectly made coffee and watch the three manoeuvre around the kitchen like a well-oiled machine.
As uncomfortable as Tanisira looks, everything she does is seamless.
I offer to help, but all three tell me in no uncertain terms—though not unkindly—to sit my butt back down.
Biting into another spinach roll instead, I lean on Vee’s shoulder while he plays the Suryavan version of a Rubik’s Cube.
The police now know that Vee’s with me, having informed them before my shower.
I told them he’d left the gala with a friend and just didn’t think to tell anyone in the chaos.
With no charges against me yet, the only thing they can do is let Dominik know he’s safe.
The petty side of me hopes he worried about Vee all night, but the realistic side of me isn’t sure he even noticed. I hate being able to say that.
I also hate that, despite evidence of blackmail, I don’t believe Dominik will face consequences. With his connections and wealth? History dictates otherwise.
Tanisira finally sits down with her own drink and the smell of fragrant tea wafts from the mug.
In the chair next to me, she’s close enough to touch, and it makes my fingers twitch in my lap.
It takes everything in me to stop myself from leaning into her, but my gaze does dart to her face every few seconds.
She must have napped at some point, too, because the circles under her eyes aren’t nearly as bad as they would be otherwise.
“If you ask my Nayya very nicely, she might let you help her make the next batch of rolls,” Tanisira says to Vee in a conspiratorial whisper.
His eyes pop open wide. I groan. There’s a reason I don’t let Vee help me in the kitchen, and it’s because he’s like the devil from that old cartoon, leaving destruction and mayhem behind.
I suspect Tanisira knows what she’s getting Yimirisé into because her mouth twitches in the corner as we watch Vee ask her, oh so politely, if he can help.
She’s delighted by the request. Tano jumps to his feet, wiggling his tail like a little whip, feeding off the excitement in the room.
“He’s a little too easy to distract,” Tanisira murmurs, watching the scene intently.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” I reply drily. “Is there a reason why you did that?”
“Do you want to take a walk? You look like you could use it.”
Words die in my throat. I look like I could use a walk? She’s about a minute away from crawling out of her own skin. I don’t say that, though, because growth.
“Sure.”
And even though I know it was just an excuse for Tanisira to take a break from her family, I still end up with butterflies gnawing at my insides.
Though simulated, it’s technically spring in the city and the weather is mild, so all we take with us are our slates.
Vee and Yimirisé barely look up when we leave, but Kiran shoots us a knowing look.