Chapter Thirteen #2
He looked at Jileana and he knew why. Because he had been unable to reconcile the idea that she would leave him so soon after he had just gotten to know her. He had not been ready to let her go. He couldn’t explain it, but he had not been ready.
And now his brothers would suffer for it.
It would be a waning now before they could leave for their homes, forcing them to travel in the growing colder weather.
That and they would worry about him when he did not return after the few days’ time he had told them he would be gone.
The term “worry” was perhaps an understatement.
They would be aggressive as they searched for him, taking ships into the storms that surrounded Serenity, not realizing that the island was magically protected against all human intruders.
“Is there no other way out of here?”
“There are only the moon portals to the Overworld. Your world.”
“That’s what you call it? The Overworld?”
“Yes. And the ocean is the Underworld. Serenity lies between.”
“And no ships can ever make it through the storms?”
“Never,” she assured him. “Ships that try are either turned back or completely destroyed. It’s madness to even try.”
“How many moon portals are there?”
“There are several throughout the oceans, but to go through them would mean traveling a distance from here. The portal we went through is the closest one to the actual Isle of Serenity. Ah. Our supper,” she said when Sana returned with a plate of multicolored food on it.
“Wonderful. I have missed this,” Jileana said with eager anticipation. “Your food is delicious—don’t get me wrong. But this is so much more delicate and varied.”
“What is it?”
“It’s fish of course,” she said, reaching for a yellow fleshy strip of meat. That was when he realized it was raw.
“You … you don’t cook your food?” he asked, trying hard not to sound horrified.
“No. We simply debone it and eat it as nature intended it to be eaten. Try it. I promise you, you will like it. Try the orange one. It is delpi fish, a sweeter, fattier fish. It simply melts on your tongue. Go on, try it,” she urged him.
“If you like, you can wrap it in seaweed or kelp. Like this.” She demonstrated, rolling the fish up in the seaweed and then popping it in its entirety into her mouth. “Mmm.”
With a brave, steady breath, Jaykun imitated what she had done, and after only a moment of hesitation, he popped the fish into his mouth and began to chew.
To his surprise a burst of salty sweetness washed over his tongue.
He had never eaten raw fish before; he had never realized it could actually taste good.
Fish had always been one of his least favorite dishes, the flesh of it always so dried out from cooking, in his opinion.
But prepared like this, it Was lush and juicy and so surprising.
Jileana laughed at the expression on his face.
Try the purple one. It is more tart. We cradle it in kofi leaves, which are sweet, to offset the bitterness.
Like this.” She demonstrated, laying the flesh in a cuplike leaf with purple veins running throughout it.
She took a bite, then offered the rest to him.
Before he knew it, they had cleaned the plate of every last piece of fish and all the leaves and seaweed. More than satisfied, Jaykun sat back with a sigh and smiled at her.
“I can see now why our foods seemed so different from yours.”
“I am afraid you have a greater variety than we do. But our food is still delicious and there is plenty of it. The ocean is a trove of different kinds of fish and even we have not experienced them all. But we do have our favorites.”
“I think I liked the orange one best.”
She laughed. “Most children love that one.”
“Are you saying I have the palate of a child?”
“You can take it that way if you like. But the delpi is a sweet-fleshed fish and that appeals to children. But it happens to be one of my favorites as well, so believe me, I am not judging you.”
“Well, I will take some consolation in that. So … now what do we do?”
“We sleep. It is late. You still need to heal and rest some more. I have a bed, as you see, or we can sleep in the ocean. There is nothing like sleeping in the water, your body floating free.”
“And risk being drawn out to sea? No, thank you.”
She laughed again. “We tether ourselves so that doesn’t happen.”
“I think I will stick to the bed. It is what I am used to,” he said, moving over to it and sitting down upon it. She rose and came over to him, doing the same. She leaned into his side and reached to catch his mouth with her own, giving him a slow, searching kiss.
“Mmm. I don’t foresee much in the way of rest if you continue to kiss me like that.”
“Don’t worry. I will let you sleep … for now.
We have had a big night and it is much to absorb.
” She smiled at him and fingered a strand of his hair, smoothing the curl of it.
“There will be much to see tomorrow and I must introduce you to the empress. Just remember, she is a woman of great logic. She will want to be reasoned with in an intelligent manner. But like any monarch, she can be pushed too far. She will not tolerate someone telling her what to do.”
“I am usually a bully when it comes to this, forcing Weysa’s will upon people.
It is my duty to do so. The goddess would not give any quarter and neither must I.
However, since there is no way I could bring an army here to bully your people, I will have to be content with using diplomacy.
I will be satisfied if I can get your empress to raise even one temple to Weysa. ”
“It is a reasonable goal. I don’t see how she can refuse.”
“I will ask for more of course and settle for less. I will approach this as a bargaining would be approached.”
“Just be careful. Don’t be greedy.”
“No. I won’t. Stop fretting. I have done this before,” Jaykun assured her.
“Very well. Now come to bed. Sleep.” She moved to draw him into a reclining position. Once he lay down, she cuddled up along his side and rested her head on his shoulder.
She closed her eyes, and with a deep sigh of contentment, she fell asleep.