Chapter Twelve
Elaina
The first thing I noticed about Korvashan during the day was that it wasn't dark, and everything wasn’t red. It wasn’t too ridiculous to have assumed both of those considering the entire city was buried beneath the ground on a planet that circled a red dwarf, but I was wrong.
It wasn’t as if it was as bright as what I was used to on Earth, but there was light in the tunnels and caverns besides what the moss emitted.
Crystals embedded throughout the ceiling and walls glowed in shades of amber, violet, and deep red.
Their light reflected from polished stones and mirrors, making the entire city seem to sparkle with a rainbow of light.
I stopped at the railing to stare down at the bridges that crossed the ravine. With the color of the stone and the distance, they seemed to float in midair, connecting one flat wall to another, and it was strange to see one of the Morraki striding across them.
I hadn’t expected to be surprised by Morrakan itself, focused on studying the language and culture, but each time I looked, it showed me something else impossibly breathtaking.
“You're staring.”
I looked over my shoulder at Drazien. He stood slightly behind me, hand braced over my head against the column I’d stopped beside, crowding me. He didn’t seem to understand the concept of personal space.
Unlike the previous evening when he’d crowded me in the River Caverns, at least he was dressed.
Mostly.
The sleeveless black tunic left his arms exposed and did absolutely nothing to make him look less intimidating. Or less distracting. And the fact that the Morrak apparently had the equivalent of grey sweatpants was something that I hadn’t needed to be aware of.
“It’s okay to stare when there is something worth staring at.”
His lips twitched, a fang flashing.
“Yet you seem to have a problem when I do it.”
My cheeks warmed and I turned back to the view below. I wasn’t unfamiliar with male attention, but it had never made my stomach twist the way his did.
“There’s a difference when it’s a person.”
I felt him move behind me but refused to look. It didn’t matter, because a moment later his breath ghosted against my ear.
“I don’t think so.”
I kept myself frozen until he gave me some space, then I turned to him with narrowed eyes. He looked entirely too pleased with himself, and unfortunately, I was beginning to enjoy our arguments too much to make my glare believable.
“Come, rethari. There is more to see.”
It still irritated me that I didn’t know what he was calling me. He’d implied I wouldn’t like it, so I couldn’t let it go. If I had even a prefix to work from I’d be able to guess, but the word didn’t match anything I’d learned.
“Are you going to tell me what that means?”
His grin widened, dangerous, smug, and entirely too attractive.
“It’s more fun to watch you squirm.”
I hated him a little. Not much, just enough to make me wish someone might punch him in the face once so he couldn’t grin at me like that.
The walk across the High Ledge could have been intimidating, but I found myself distracted by everything around me.
The architecture.
The people.
The sheer scale of the city.
Every structure was carved directly from the stone itself and had the feel of something that had withstood the test of time and remained.
On Earth there were buildings that felt temporary, even fragile, but the Morrak built in a way that seemed meant to last as long as Morrakan itself.
Korvashan looked as though it had existed forever and would continue existing long after everyone there was gone.
Earth had places like that, ancient cities and historic landmarks, but this felt different. The Morrak predated Humans as we were. Their civilization was older, stronger, and if more people could see what I had, they would understand why we needed them for protection.
My stomach twisted again and for a moment I was caught by the fact that I could potentially harm that alliance with what I planned.
The Morrak had been sparse with information sharing, and if I learned something they didn’t want Humans to know, and they found out I’d purposely misled everyone when I came here, it could turn into a problem.
My attention snagged on a group of Morraki carrying long strips of crimson fabric and I shoved my other concerns aside.
“What are those for?”
“Khavren.”
Drazien had accepted his role as tour guide and had answered all of my questions, but sometimes it felt as if he were deciding how much to tell me. That answer came quickly, as if there were no question about their purpose.
Several more groups appeared farther along the walkway.
Some carried what looked like lanterns, while others hauled crates.
One group seemed to be constructing some sort of raised platform in the center of the cavern that was the main entrance from the surface, while another passed by with buckets of sand.
“All of this is for Khavren?”
One shoulder lifted in a shrug, muscles rippling beneath dark skin. In the brighter light, his skin had a violet sheen that was more intense on his cheeks and what flesh I could see peeking from the top of his shirt.
“The festival begins soon. My people worship Shaevrin, the Eternal Winds. Shaevrin guides, but Khorr transforms. Khorr devours. It changes everything it touches.”
I was caught by the intensity in his voice as he explained. I hadn’t pegged Drazien as someone who might be religious or have theological leanings, but he spoke like one who had no reservations about the validity of his words.
Information about Shaevrin had been included in the packet I’d received, but it seemed as if Khorr was held in the same regard. The evidence before me proved its importance.
The entire city seemed to be anticipating something, the atmosphere reminding me of holidays back on Earth. Not a specific one, just the general sense of expectation and the feeling that everyone was waiting for something exciting to arrive.
A strange ache pressed on my chest, and I swallowed hard as I looked away. Holidays had been a special time while my mother was alive, but they’d become a source of pain once I was alone.
Drazien’s fingers slipped under my chin, turning my face up to his. His nostrils flared, and a crease appeared between his brows, his usual smirk missing.
“You are sad.”
The statement caught me off guard and I frowned up at him.
“How do you know that?”
Cocking a brow, he released my chin but didn’t move away, and I noticed his tail wrapped around the back of my legs.
“Your scent changed. An alpha notices these things.”
I still wasn't convinced that was a real thing. How could he smell an emotion? Tears, sure, because of the salt, but I hadn’t shed any.
Sighing, I decided to answer the question he hadn’t asked.
“I was thinking about Earth.”
Understanding crossed his face. I didn’t see any sign of pity, which was a blessing, because I didn’t want to give him more than that simple explanation.
Taking my hand, he pulled me towards the stairs, and I managed to swallow my groan before it escaped. Who needed PT when the city you lived in gave you a workout anytime you wanted to go anywhere.
Instead of continuing on the stairs when we reached the first landing, he tugged me to the side, pulling me into a wide tunnel that quickly let out into what had to be the Cavern Markets.
All other thoughts drifted away as my eyes widened.
Tables and stalls lined both sides of the broad pathway ahead of us, smaller paths branching off each side crowded with more stalls.
Color exploded in every direction as I stared at the different wares.
Textiles, jewelry, food… I even spotted weapons and what looked like books.
More people than I'd seen since arriving walked from vendor the vendor, engaging with the people selling the items on display.
Their voices echoed through the cavern, overlapping into an unintelligible mash that had my heart racing at the prospect of piecing it all together.
That alone kept my usual reluctance over facing crowds at bay.
The scent of unfamiliar spices drifted through the air, drawing my attention to a table nearby. I didn’t recognize any of the food, but my mouth watered at the prospect of trying it all.
My head swiveled as something else caught my attention. I was trying to absorb everything at once and failing spectacularly, but I was too excited by it all to care.
“This is…”
Reality hit and my shoulders slumped.
“Impossible.”
It would take months, years, to learn everything there was in that single cavern. The names of the food, spices, colors, clothing styles… I wouldn’t make a dent in it with only a week or two to study it all.
Drazien looked amused when my eyes landed on him, one brow arched as he stared at me the way he always seemed to.
“What is?”
Letting out a breath, I gestured to the booths around us.
“Learning all of this.”
I gave a helpless shrug and shook my head, not expecting him to understand.
“The words for all of it. The rules. Your customs.”
His gaze followed mine then returned, his expression solemn for once.
“You don’t need to learn it all today.”
The answer sounded reasonable for someone with a lifetime on Morrakan ahead of them, but that wasn’t the plan. And since he didn’t know I had no intention of staying, it made it difficult to argue.
Swallowing, I said the only thing I could.
“I still want to.”
His grin returned and he laughed under his breath.
“Okay, rethari. Then let’s begin.”
Warmth that I couldn’t ignore curled through my chest as he tugged me to the first table. He sounded too pleased as he started translating, pointing to each item as he went.
“The sign says Zorhen. Food. Everything this stall has is edible.”
He named each item in his language and then explained what it was in Common. I raised a brow at some of it, but according to what I’d read, everything the Morrak ate was safe for Humans as well.
“Do you want to try something?”