Chapter Fourteen #2
I rolled my eyes and let out a sigh, but my stomach chose that moment to betray me with a growl. His lips twitched as he relaxed into the casual stance he usually took, and I shook my head as I snatched the dress from him.
“You are impossible.”
His huff followed me back into the bedroom, but I hit the pad to shut the door before he could follow too.
Breakfast consisted of more unfamiliar foods and another language lesson in the Cavern Markets. Apparently, Drazien had decided those two activities naturally belonged together.
He also apparently never cooked, since we always went to the Market to eat. I wasn’t sure if he didn’t know how or didn’t care to.
We sat at another small, half-hidden table, and he pointed toward a bowl, brow raised as he waited for me to give him the word for it.
“Sahlak.”
He nodded.
“Good. Now this.”
The water jug he’d brought to the table. He had explained before that there was significance in offering someone water from your own container, but he only wanted the word.
“Korhven.”
He dipped his chin again, then poured some into a cup. He wouldn’t relent over feeding me himself, but I’d convinced him to at least give me my own cup.
When I said something wrong he repeated the word, correcting my pronunciation until I got it right. Finally, he leaned back in his seat, a small smile on his mouth that looked too good on him.
“You’re getting better already.”
Warmth bloomed in my chest, but I turned away from him, rolling my eyes and scoffing as I copied his pose.
“Such high praise.”
I caught the flash of his fangs from the corner of my eye, and it sent a shiver down my spine. I could still feel the ghost of them scraping across my nipple.
“It was adequate.”
It was impossible not to grin, but he pretended not to notice, standing and gathering our garbage. He refused to let me help, repeating it was his job to care for me, but I didn’t see how that meant I couldn’t even throw my own trash away.
Still, it was nice to have someone taking care of me for once. I was so used to doing everything on my own that I didn’t realize what a relief it was when I didn’t have to.
We headed back to the Archives to continue my language lessons. The scrolls drew me in as completely as they had the day before, and the hours seemed to disappear. Every new word led to another question, every answer revealing three more words I wanted to understand.
I stopped relying on Drazien to translate and started looking for familiar roots. Morraki didn’t follow the same rules as English, but it was similar enough to other languages I’d learned that I was picking it up at a faster rate with each new word I learned.
Rhae. All.
Eth. Soul.
Ari. Small.
There were alternate meanings, of course.
Rhae was also everything.
Ari was also new.
Once I understood the pieces though, entire phrases began making sense. Some were still confusing, but I was able to start guessing meanings and seeing the patterns.
“You're smiling.”
I looked up, brows lowering as I met Drazien’s gaze. His head was cocked the way he did when he was studying something, but his typical smirk had softened.
“What?”
“You smile when you figure out a new word on your own.”
I fought the little thrill that ran through me. I had always enjoyed learning, and languages made sense to me the way numbers made sense to other people, but it was disconcerting that Drazien had noticed.
“I do not.”
His lips twitched, eyes narrowing.
“You do.”
He was standing, leaning against one of the shelves. He couldn’t seem to sit for long periods, always needing to move and look around.
“You also wrinkle your nose when you run into something new that you don’t understand yet.”
My breath caught and I had to fight not to let panic show on my face. I hadn't realized he was paying that much attention.
“You know, stalking is illegal.”
His grin broadened, and for a moment I thought I saw his kethra flash.
He’d explained that keeping them under control was something all Morraki learned as children, and letting them flash made others think you were undisciplined.
I’d seen it happen here and there in the Market when shoppers haggled with the vendors, but Drazien’s always seemed to be a cool violet.
Mine were pale enough that the silvery glow seemed more like a reflection of light unless they grew truly bright.
“Not here.”
I huffed at his response before turning back to the text. I didn’t understand how someone could be so infuriating and fascinating at the same time, but I wanted to study him almost as much as the text in front of me.
Which was bad.
“Your grammar is different, but…”
“You’re learning the structure.”
I startled when his voice came from behind me instead of from where he’d been before. There were times when he moved with a silence that made my skin crawl, and I was growing more certain he was the equivalent of a Morraki espionage agent.
“You aren't simply translating roots anymore, you've figured out how the pieces fit together. Morraki has few grammar rules.”
I realized I was grinning again, but I couldn’t help it. It was validating to have someone who saw what I was doing instead of looking right through me as if I wasn’t there until I was needed. I wasn’t used to people paying that kind of attention to me.
This felt like solving a living puzzle, and I was hooked, but the way Drazien seemed to understand me was almost as addictive.
Swallowing hard, I reached for another scroll, but Drazien pulled it from my reach before my fingers made contact. Frowning up at him, the expression on his face had a spark of dread building in my stomach.
“We're leaving.”
My mouth popped open, the protest automatic.
“What? Why?”
He straightened and held his hand out for me to take, the gesture familiar after so many times.
“You've been sitting too long.”
“But—”
“Half the day is gone.”
I blinked, closing my jaw as I looked for a window. It was still strange to be underground and not know what time it was, but we couldn’t have been in the Archives that long.
I finally remembered to look up toward the crystals overhead. They glowed a brilliant red, meaning Vorrashan had to be high in the sky, instead of the pale pink of dawn.
“Oh.”
He snorted, raising a brow as he flicked his fingers.
“I didn't notice.”
He shook his head, saying, “I know,” as I placed my hand in his.
He pulled me up and my legs protested, making me wince. They were stiff from sitting for so long after climbing more stairs in two days than I usually did in a month.
Drazien noticed, his own lips tipping down as his gaze raked along my body. It usually made me self-conscious to be openly assessed, but it clearly wasn’t sexual or judgmental.
“You've been ignoring your body.”
It was something one of the drill sergeants would have said, and the resentment was automatic.
“I was studying.”
He leveled me with a look that had chagrin replacing the resentment, because I knew he was right.
“You forget your body needs exercise as much as your mind.”
Turning my head away, I let him lead me from the Archives as I muttered, “It’s hard to move and study at the same time.”
When I glanced at him again the spark in his eyes had dread forming in my stomach. He had something planned, and I didn’t think I was going to like it as much as the other experiences I’d had on Morrakan.
“Where are we going?”
He didn't answer, but his lips spread. The grin held none of the teasing I’d come to expect from him, the menace making my gut clench.
“You seem to forget your surroundings.”
Unsure what he meant, I glanced around before narrowing my eyes at him.
“I was focused.”
Some of his grin melted away as he shook his head.
“You were vulnerable.”
The quiet seriousness in his voice made me pause. We were moving towards the ravine, and the sounds of Korvashan drifted through the corridor, reminding me there was more than tons of stone around me. There was an entire city, filled with aliens who were larger and stronger than me.
For the first time since arriving, I wondered how Humans would have treated Drazien if our roles were reversed and he’d been forced to move to Earth. We liked to think we had moved past our history of prejudice, but the truth lurked in the shadows.
“It’s time you learned something more important than words.”
I focused on Drazien once more, trying to figure out what could possibly be more important than being able to communicate.
“And what's that?”
The corner of his mouth lifted once more, and he squeezed my hand as he pulled me around a corner into a room I’d never seen before.
“How to survive.”