4. Leela #2
Leela hissed. Light assaulted her from everywhere, and she blinked and stumbled forward.
Her legs burned, lungs gasping for air. She glanced over her shoulder as Ishaan and several other rebels rounded the corner.
Leela might not be a fighter, but she was a runner.
She had learned alongside her siblings, always trying to outrun them and the other children of the village in a game of tag.
That, and her mother always taught her to run.
To never fight if the monsters attacked.
So Leela did what she did best.
After twisting and turning down every alleyway to lose Ishaan and his crew, she finally collapsed against a sandstone building. Leela held a hand to her chest, trying to calm her heart. She hadn’t run that hard in a long time, and it showed.
Leela opened and shut her mouth, words trapped behind her heaving pants. When she glanced around the corner, she sighed in relief when she didn’t spot Ishaan or any of the rebels.
She shut her eyes, trying to stop the exhaustion from pulling her under.
“Have you seen this woman?”
Leela’s eyes snapped open. She peered back around the corner and saw emerald uniforms. Two soldiers shoved parchment in front of people walking by. When they got no for an answer, the soldiers moved on to the next house, banging on the door until someone answered.
“Have you seen this woman?” the shorter soldier asked.
The citizen shook their head.
“You need to be sure. This is a wanted bride. Are you sure you haven’t seen her?”
Leela sucked in a breath. Shit.
What mess have you gotten me in, mortal?
The citizen closed the door, and Leela watched the guards move onto the next alleyway.
“Looks like the maid’s head will be on the chopping block after all,” a guard said.
She covered her mouth to stop a gasp. Were they talking about Aarna? Sita? Leela’s chest ached. In her quest for revenge, she had possibly cost the only people who had given her peace of mind their lives. Was revenge really worth the cost? Should she turn back?
Do not let frivolous emotions stray you. Revenge is worth everything.
“But my friends…”
Probably too late for them now.
Leela bowed her head. It took everything within her to turn and walk away.
As much as she didn’t want to believe the Viperess, she knew it was true.
The palace would have made its decision by now, and it was too late to save them.
And what would happen if she did return?
She’d marry a lord, and this would have been all for nothing.
Everything Aarna had sacrificed would have been for nothing.
No. She couldn’t turn herself in.
Leela slumped against the sandstone wall and shut her eyes, trying to piece her thoughts together.
Something cool grazed her thigh, and she snapped her eyes open. She stared into a pair of big brown eyes. A child handed her a clay cup and shook it, urging her to take it.
Leela frowned but grabbed the cup. Water.
The child had given her water. She glanced over the child’s head and at the family on their doorstep, eating over a pot of steaming rice and marinated meat.
They nodded and told her to drink with a hand motion.
Leela raised the cup as a sign of thanks and let the blissful water soothe her aching body until the dizziness abated.
The child grabbed the cup and ran across the street to refill it.
Leela took a couple more swigs before she realized what she had done.
Water was a rare thing in the desert, especially when the rains hadn’t graced the kingdoms in years.
People would be living off the rations policed by the palace or walking thousands of miles to the nearest river.
She couldn’t accept the kindness from strangers without giving something back.
She staggered to her feet against the wall and wandered over to thank the family. But when Leela approached, gasps of horror rose in unison and stopped her in her tracks. The mother picked up her baby and sheltered its face, while the father stood before his family, fists at his side.
Leela frowned.
Look, fool.
Leela jolted, still unsure, but obeyed. She turned to the red sand at her feet and gasped. A shadow of the Viperess stood, curled from tail to head with golden eyes gleaming back at her, as well as a woman beside it.
Leela stumbled back.
Surprise.
Panicked, Leela held her hands up. “No. No, I’m sorry! I didn’t know!”
“Leave! We don’t need the one who betrayed us all among us.”
She flinched and glanced at the child who had offered her the water, now standing behind her father’s legs and cowering.
Leela forced herself to trace the family’s expressions and realized her fate.
She couldn’t stay in the kingdom anymore, not when her shadows gave her away.
The rebels might find her and drag her back.
Or worse, the palace would find her and force her back into a loveless marriage.
There was no hope left in this city.
Bowing, Leela hoped she came across as apologetic, and dragged her feet away. She kept away from the sun and stuck to the shadows to mask her own.
Leela knew when she wasn’t wanted, and now, she needed to leave the City of Nihikia and brave the harsh desert.
Except survival wasn’t going to be easy.
She had no idea where to go or how to track things in the dunes.
What monsters awaited her? Rebels…? Pirates…
? Besides, she still had a relic to find.
She couldn’t stay here. It was better to die out there free than here as a fugitive. Maybe it would get rid of the Viperess while she was at it.
Unlikely. We can survive the desert. Let me guide you.
Leela scoffed. How could she trust the Flame? She didn’t know her. Didn’t trust her from a grain of sand. Except what other choice did she have? She harnessed the Viperess. She would be scorned and hunted.
How can I trust you?
You can’t. Until I give you a reason. But you know better than I do that surviving in the city would be difficult.
Leela glanced back at the palace peeking between the buildings.
The Viperess was right. The palace was looking for her, and the Viperess seemed too important for Ishaan to let her go free and not come after them too.
Maybe she could lie low on a sandship or find a quiet village to hide? Either way. She could not stay here.
She still wanted to find this relic and kill that lustisha. Her circumstances might be different, but her revenge still stood, and she wasn’t ready to let go of that yet, even if she had just stepped into a nightmare.
Fuck it. Fine. Guide me over the desert and take me to the relic. I still want to kill this lustisha.
With pleasure.