Chapter Fifteen #2
Her voice was somehow both soft and firm, making the question polite, but as if there was only one answer. I found myself wishing I could manage that same tone.
I missed whatever my father said to her before they began walking along the railing, deeper into Korvashan.
Another Morraki stepped forward, a male similar to Daylen, except his skin was bronze and his single braid a deep burgundy, and he also had no visible ridges on his skull. He bowed his head to Saed before introducing himself.
“I am Kelivran. May I ask your name?”
Although it was hard for me to be certain, Kelivran seemed younger and more uncertain of himself, although his posture was as stiff and proud as the others. Saed’s head cocked, staring at Kelivran with first one eye, and then the other, before looking at him straight on.
“It is Saedhryel Aevhalioru’nai.”
My eyes weren’t the only ones that went wide, although Kelivran controlled his kethra better than I did.
Saed tipped his head again, the feathers around his eyes fluffing in the way that seemed to mean he was pleased.
“But you may call me Saed.”
Kelivran dipped his head again and gestured for Saed to follow, and the pair strode off in the same direction as my father and Tarevii.
I looked up at Kael, one of his brow ridges arched as he met my eyes.
“Are all of their names as… unpronounceable as that?”
His lips twitched.
“Yes. They seem to be as difficult as possible in all aspects.”
I chuckled as I shook my head and looked around.
The far wall of the cavern was hard to make out in the dim light, but more Morraki were coming and going from what looked like arched openings in the stone.
Where we stood wasn’t too busy, but the space reminded me of a station, or perhaps a mall, with lines of people following each other, and the occasional one who cut from one path to another.
“What is this place?”
Kael started walking as he answered, but we went in a different direction than the others.
“This is the High Ledge. Korvashan is structured similar to the Zeydrassk with separate levels. The High Ledge is for government and military, mostly. The High Families all have their meyr’kals here as well.”
“Mare…call? I keep hearing that word. Does it mean home?”
Kael was definitely smirking when he glanced down at me.
“Meyr, like layer. K-ah-l. Yes, meyr’kal is home, or house. Also the feeling of home, or where you’re comfortable. The Morraki language is more nuanced than Common and many words have multiple meanings, depending on their usage.”
Filing away the correct pronunciation so I wouldn’t get it wrong again, I nodded.
I was trying to look around as we walked, and while I knew he’d slowed his pace for me, we were still moving too fast for me to get a good look at anything with how dark it was.
The red light was going to take getting used to.
“Is the only lighting from the crystals directing sunlight in?”
I hadn’t seen anything I recognized as a light, but they’d had them on the ship, so I knew they had the technology.
“There is also…”
He seemed to be searching for the right word as we turned a corner, passing into a tunnel. Slowing, he reached across me to touch the wall, and I noticed what looked like blue fur growing in a line along the stone.
“Fungus is the closest I can come to what this is. It glows the way our kethra does. There are different variations of it, and they’re used in areas that don’t have the crystals, or where extra lighting is needed.
There are also lamps in the lower levels, but Morraki eyes are more adapted to darkness, and you may have difficulty seeing when Vorrashan is covered. ”
“Vor-ash-an. That’s your sun?”
I’d looked up what I could about Morrakan, and I thought that was what I remembered. There had been less information about the Morrak than the Qy’shaeuhl, so I was going to have to learn everything right from the source.
Kael didn’t correct my pronunciation as he nodded, and warmth bloomed in my chest. I also lit up the tunnel with my kethra, making my cheeks burn and my kethra glow even brighter.
“For something so pretty, this is annoying.”
That time, there was no question Kael laughed, the tips of his canines showing beneath the edge of his upper lip. As annoyed as I was that my emotions were broadcast for all to see, it still made me smile.
My breath caught when Kael took my hand in his, the warmth of him soaking into me. The tunnel was dim and quiet, giving the illusion of privacy, and having a solid stone wall at my back and him at my front had my heart rate quickening.
“Your luth’rein is beautiful, but it does take practice to control your kethra. You must learn teyrann.”
I was starting to think he was incorrect about the atmosphere of Morrakan being similar in oxygen, because I was getting lightheaded as I stared into his silver eyes.
My mouth had gone dry from how hard I was suddenly breathing, and I licked my lips to wet them.
Kael’s gaze dropped to my mouth, and I half expected him to lean in and kiss me.
“I don’t know those words.”
My voice was breathy and I couldn’t even remember what he’d said, only that part of it was unfamiliar. I didn’t know if he was leaning closer or if it was an effect of oxygen deprivation, but the little smirk on his lips seemed closer than it had a moment ago.
“Luth’rein is the specific pattern and color of your kethra. It can usually be tracked by bloodline. Teyrann is… breath discipline.”
My brain got caught on him saying the word discipline, and it took a moment to figure out what he meant by the odd phrase.
Breathing techniques were something I’d learned during my studies, and I knew they helped regulate emotions, but I was having difficulty breathing at all.
Trying to focus on breathing in a specific pattern was asking too much.
Kael’s nostrils flared and the air between us vibrated with a sound that wasn’t quite the one he had made back in my home, but I had no other word for it than to say he growled.
“Your kethra aren’t the only things betraying you, veyrari.”
His voice had taken on a rough edge that sent a shiver down my spine, making my nipples pebble and dampness seep into my panties. Somehow my kethra grew brighter, and Kael’s crimson glow grew more intense.
I was trembling, the tension between us so thick it held me in place. Even when his tail ran up the side of my leg, I couldn’t move.
And then suddenly there was space between us.
“We’re almost there.”
I was still gaping at him, trying to catch my breath and figure out what happened, when another Morraki entered the tunnel and passed us, shooting me a glance as they passed.
As I straightened and followed Kael to my new home, I clung to the hope that the only reason Kael had pulled away was because he’d realized someone was coming.