Chapter Eighteen
Drazien
I had expected the festival area to be busy, but I hadn’t expected all of Korvashan to be there.
Veyrdrahl’tharvek no longer resembled the disciplined military installation that guarded Korvashan from attack.
Crimson banners stretched from tower to tower, snapping in the relentless wind.
Bonfires burned in every open square, their flames shifting between brilliant oranges, deep blues, and violet hues that could only be seen beneath Vorrashan’s light.
Music echoed from every direction, layered beneath the buzz of hundreds of voices. Children darted through the crowds, weaving between warriors whose stern expressions softened whenever one of the little ones tugged at a tail or demanded to be lifted onto broad shoulders.
But instead of it feeling festive, it felt...
Crowded.
Exposed.
Dangerous.
I tightened my tail around Elaina’s waist, her fingers tangled in mine not enough for the instincts pummeling me to take her back to my quarters. To lock her in her nest until her heat arrived and I could be sure none could take her from me.
“You’re doing it again.”
It took a moment for me to realize she was looking at me. She was so eager to see everything around us that it had been easy to watch her without her noticing, so I’d grown lax in pretending that she wasn’t the center of my focus.
“What?”
One brow arched, and I wanted to rip the thavren away to see the smile I knew was on her lips.
“Using your tail like a leash.”
I let out a laugh and didn’t bother to deny that was exactly what I was doing.
“I can't help it.”
The look in her eyes said she didn’t believe me, but it was true. I knew I was supposed to be using her as bait, but I couldn’t stand letting her get beyond arm’s reach.
And that was fine, because no Morraki alpha would let his omega wander off this close to their cycle. It would seem suspicious if I did.
“I’m not sure if you’re worried for me, or about me.”
I paused to consider my answer before nodding my head once.
“Yes.”
She huffed, but before she could press me further, something caught her eye. She stepped around me, tugging my hand until I turned and saw what it was.
Books.
The stall she was staring into held all sorts of herbs and salves used by the kethral, but her eyes were locked on the shelves of scrolls and books.
I remained where I was when she tried to walk closer before exhaling dramatically.
“You don’t need those.”
Her brow was furrowed when she glanced back at me, as if I was keeping her from some important task.
“I didn’t ask to buy them.”
The look I gave her said we both knew she’d already been thinking about it.
“They are medical texts. Technical and boring. Too advanced for even me to make sense of.”
She didn’t need to know I had enough training in wound care to probably read anything over there. It would be too hard for her, even as fast as she was learning.
Still, when her shoulders dropped and her tugging eased, guilt twisted in my gut. Closing my eyes, I heaved a real sigh before turning her towards another tent.
“They have copies of the old stories children are taught when they are young. You can pick one of those.”
The way she squeezed my fingers revealed her excitement even if her kethra were hidden beneath her thavren and clothing.
I hated that her flesh was covered with layers of fabric, but I also didn’t want it damaged.
I planned to rip it all from her the moment I had her beneath the surface once more, no matter who was around.
“You’re learning faster than my exes did.”
Her eyes widened at my snarl, and we caught a few glances from others before they realized who we were. She’d been correct that my people tended to avoid me, but I’d never seen it as a problem until I’d caught the scent of sadness laced through her natural fruity sweetness.
I choked off the automatic reaction and tried not to think about the men who she’d been with in the past. They were only Human, and they weren’t here. They’d never have the chance to touch her again.
“I have learned that denying you only delays us.”
I didn’t say anything about the surge of jealousy that had brightened my kethra, and she wisely didn’t comment on it either.
We moved through the crowd to the vendor I’d indicated, and I reluctantly let my tail loosen. Even within the confines of the tent, I didn’t like letting her go, but there wasn’t much room inside, and I had no interest in books.
She walked inside like a warrior given free rein in the armory, trailing her fingers over rolled hides, hardened leather, and data crystals. Most looked old and worn, some looked almost ancient, and of course those were the ones she seemed drawn to.
Her hand hovered over a stained roll with torn edges, and she lifted her eyes to mine before aiming them at the elderly beta tending the stall.
“Kehn?”
I was proud when she pronounced the term properly, requesting permission before touching the scroll. The old beta’s kethra flickered briefly before she nodded, shooting a glance at me before focusing on Elaina again.
It didn’t hit me until that moment that a Human learning to speak and read our language would almost seem as bad as breeding with one to the way the rebels thought.
The Morrak didn’t share everything, even with our allies, because we knew how often allies became the opposite.
That was most of the reason behind claiming Humans to begin with.
I almost wanted to reach out and stop her before she lifted the scroll and unrolled the first portion.
Most of my focus was on the vendor, watching how she reacted as Elaina mouthed words before speaking them under her breath.
It was obvious she was reading it, but the elderly woman didn’t show anything more than surprise.
Still, even if she didn’t take issue with Elaina reading Morraki, she would talk. She would tell someone of the Human who read Morraki. The news would spread.
Different emotions tore at me as Elaina replaced the scroll and lifted another.
“...Zha…Drahl…”
She paused, a frown on her face as she tried to translate the text.
“Soul stone? No.”
She looked up at me and I shook my head, confirming she’d gotten it wrong.
“You are close. Soul is eth, zha is memory.”
Her head tipped and her frown deepened. She brought the new scroll closer, pointing to where she was reading.
“Stone memories?”
I let my lips lift as I shook my head again.
“Morraki combines roots into ideas rather than literal phrases. Think harder.”
She narrowed her eyes at me before they widened.
“Memories carved in stone.”
I ignored the way my chest warmed and nodded to let her know she was right. Rolling it closed once more, she turned to the vendor and opened her mouth before stopping and looking back at me.
“Kareth?”
The vendor shook her head when I offered her a coin, holding up two fingers.
It was an outrageous price for a children’s scroll, but everyone knew alphas spoiled their omegas, and even a beta could pick up Elaina’s scent.
The beta knew I’d pay it by the way Elaina clutched the old hide in both hands, and I growled before tossing her the amount she wanted.
Elaina glanced from me to the woman before seeming to shrug to herself and drift out of the tent towards another stall.
Then another.
I followed in silence, watching as she interacted with the vendors, always asking permission before touching the books. Each one she seemed interested in I bought and then took from her, the bundle under my arm growing.
I let her explore, scanning the crowd when I wasn’t watching her.
She frowned at me when I added another to my stack and stepped closer, raising a hand. For a moment my chest froze, until her fingers brushed the ends of the books instead of me.
“I hope I can learn enough to read them.”
My head cocked as I studied her. The concern seemed odd considering she was already beginning to translate simple words after only a couple days of study.
“You nearly can. It won’t take long.”
Her lips parted as her eyes lifted to mine, but she closed them on whatever she’d been about to say. She looked troubled, but she turned away without revealing why.
We continued walking, and I noticed more people looking our way. None seemed hostile, most were simply curious, but it made me want to tuck her into my side and shield her from view.
Elaina must have noticed as well, because she slowed, watching a pair of males who whispered as we passed. It was too low for her to hear even if she could understand what they said.
“Drazien?”
I looked down at her and waited for the question written in her eyes.
“Are they whispering because I'm Human? Should I not be at the festival?”
I huffed and reached out to stroke a stray hair back beneath her thavren. I wanted to do more, to claim her lips with mine in the way her kind called a kiss, but keeping her protected was more important.
“They whisper because you smell delicious, but you’re marked.”
She nearly stumbled, her expression flashing through too many emotions for me to catch them all.
“What? But you haven’t bitten me.”
My shaft twitched with my desire to. The moment there was a chance it would stick, she would carry my mark forever, and her luth’rein would match mine to announce it to all.
“You wear my scent. They know you are my korravalryn.”
The skin I could see flushed as she blinked up at me before looking around. She leaned in close, dropping her voice as if those nearby wouldn’t still be able to hear her.
“You mean I smell like sex? We were in the water, I should be clean.”
I couldn’t help my grin. Her sense of smell may have gotten better with the serum, but it clearly still wasn’t as good as a Morrak.
“You still smell like me, and I, like you.”
I flicked my tail between us, reminding her. I’d been eager to continue what we’d begun in the River Caverns once we returned to her nest, but she’d been exhausted, so I’d settled for plugging her channel with my tail to keep as much of my seed inside her as I could.
I watched as she tried to decide whether to be embarrassed or annoyed, until another alpha passed too close. I shifted to block him, baring my teeth, and he dipped his head once before continuing past.
Elaina was staring at me with narrowed eyes when I looked down at her again. She’d stopped walking, tucking us into a little corner between a clothing vendor and a game set up within a tent.
“You did that on purpose.”
I answered with a shrug, but she shook her head.
“He wasn't bothering me, and you threatened him.”
It was funny how she’d picked that up out of all the cultural differences between us. Perhaps Humans weren’t as out of tune with their primitive side as we assumed.
“He was looking at you.”
“So?”
She said it as if I was being ridiculous, but alphas knew better. We were well aware of how short our tempers could be, especially when an omega was involved. Pheromones could make us seem insane.
“He looked too long, and you are mine.”
She still stared at me as if I didn’t make sense, but it was perfectly logical to me.
“You sound jealous.”
It was my turn to narrow my eyes at her.
“I am territorial. It’s different.”
Her arched brow said she didn’t believe me. Straightening, I used the same argument I’d been using on myself.
“It’s instinct.”
I saw the smile in her eyes even though I couldn’t see her lips.
“Okay.”
Somehow she made the word sound like victory, and my tail lashed behind me before I forced it still.
A young beta wandered close, offering Elaina a sculpted flower, painted like the ones in the River Caverns. I took it from him and the boy retreated, making Elaina frown at me once more.
“You stole my flower.”
Laughing, I held it up.
“I accepted it.”
She reached for it, but I pulled it away before her fingers connected with the delicate stem.
“It was for me.”
I nodded, saying, “It was.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she huffed.
“So why did you take it?”
She seemed genuinely confused, so I added the flower to her stack of books and took hold of her chin instead.
“Because it was given to my omega. A male, even a beta, cannot give anything to an omega being courted.”
The crease between her brows softened but I could still feel her frown through the fabric of her thavren.
“I can hold my own flower.”
Laughing, I let her go.
“You can. But I will.”
Sighing, she shook her head.
“You are impossible.”
All I could do was shrug and agree.
“So you've said.”
Tossing her hands, she looked away.
“Maybe I keep hoping you'll prove me wrong.”
Shrugging once more, I moved so she couldn’t see past me and had to lift her gaze to mine.
“I have no intention of disappointing you.”
My chest ached with the depth behind the words. I hadn’t realized choosing her would end up the way it had, but I meant what I’d said.
For a heartbeat the crowd disappeared, the noise faded, and all I noticed was how close she was. How easy it would be to pull her thavren away and press my lips to hers.
Then someone stepped too close and a snarl ripped from my chest before I could stop it. Elaina startled, eyes going wide before going past me to the group of boisterous alphas.
I opened my mouth to apologize for scaring her but was interrupted by an announcement. I knew what was coming would fascinate Elaina, so I sighed and moved aside, allowing her to see the clearing hear us.
“He is about to begin a seydrak. A… song that tells a story of our past. Wait right here.”
I took her hand and gave it a squeeze before turning away. I needed a moment without her pheromones clouding my thoughts, and she would be safe in the hidden corner long enough for me to remember what I was supposed to be doing.