Chapter Thirty Samira
THIRTY SAMIRA
I came back to consciousness reluctantly, bracing myself to be sick again. But when I opened my eyes to the log ceiling, I thanked the Mother that my stomach had settled. My forehead tingled and throbbed softly.
Every muscle was sore, and I groaned as I pushed myself up to a sitting position.
Velka and Keir were seated in front of the fire, and they turned sharply when they heard me.
They’d washed off the white clay, and a quick glance down showed I had been cleaned, too.
Velka and Keir appeared like they usually did, Velka with her braid slung over her shoulder and Keir with the top half of his face darkened by kohl.
“You’re awake!” Velka exclaimed, and rushed over to me. “Are you all right? How do you feel? Are you in pain?”
I smiled at her fretting. “I think I’m all right.”
“Thank the gods. I’ll get Rade.” She bolted out of the room.
Keir stood, and my eyes flicked to him, immediately on guard. He watched me carefully, head cocked to the side.
I waited for him to ask me what I’d seen, to reveal they’d disobeyed Rade’s command and overheard the whole thing, to accuse me of being called Samira and having black runes, to demand I tell him about the Seer’s words, those horrible sand dunes, the amulet, the being of shadow.
It was greed that brought you here. It is greed that will seek you out. Greed destroys, greed burns. But out of fire were you born, out of water were you found. To both must you return before all is razed to the ground.
Zarqa’s words echoed against my skull. Meaningless, I tried to reassure myself. A fortune for a dead girl was meaningless. And yet immediately following that was, You do not know yourself. Let me show you.
I had wanted to see it, whatever the shadow meant.
I still did. When that shadow creature had reached out to me, it was the first time in a long time I hadn’t felt scared.
I hadn’t realized until that moment how badly I hated this fear that plagued me even now as I waited for Keir to speak.
I wanted that again, that confidence, that courage.
Keir pulled me from my thoughts as he crossed the room toward me. He didn’t say anything. Made no accusations or threats. He simply moved to my bedside, picked up a cup of kefir from the end table, and held it to my lips.
I hadn’t even realized I was thirsty until then. I drank greedily, noting the subtle taste of honey. Keir’s hand came up to cradle the back of my head, his fingers sliding between the short strands of my hair, and my eyes cut to his.
He remained quiet as he pulled the cup away and set it back on the end table.
Softly, I said, “Thank you.”
Those bright yellow eyes didn’t leave my face, fiercely intent, like he was seeing through my skin. “Your runes, they’re…”
Here it comes. I sank deeper into the pillows, bracing myself.
“Green.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Your runes are green.”
Green? Ignoring my aching muscles, I slid off the bed, holding tight to the mattress as my knees buckled.
Keir caught my elbow and wrapped his arm around my waist, half carrying me across the room to the full-length mirror. Each step was on a knife’s blade, my legs trembling with the pain radiating through me.
All that faded when I saw my reflection.
Strange swirling symbols curved along my forehead. Not raised like scars, but faded into my skin, as if they’d been there for years. And Keir was right; they were a deep green, like a crocodile’s hide. I shook my head, leaning in so close that my breath fogged the glass.
Runes of red signified a god’s blessing, Shifters’ were blue, and regular mortals’ were black. I didn’t have magic, and I certainly wasn’t a Shifter, so…
My eyes met Keir’s in the mirror. He wore that stony expression, giving nothing away. My heart galloped in my chest. “What does green mean?”
Instead of answering me, he moved in front of me, large body blocking the mirror as he leaned forward and sniffed my forehead, nose grazing my skin. I held perfectly still while he inhaled a second time. His eyes turned a molten gold.
He’d scented me a handful of times before—that I was aware of.
His nose was probably always trying to sniff me out and catch me in a lie.
But there were only two other times he’d scented me like this.
Just before we were about to cross that bridge to Kaldfold, when I had begged him, the first real mistake I’d made, and after Hedin’s death.
His eyes had darkened then, too. The widening of his pupils over the brilliant yellow irises were like twin eclipses.
His hands settled on either side of my neck, hot—the intense heat of a Shifter—and callused, scratching gently against the sensitive skin there, sending bolts of lightning shooting through my body.
His thumbs applied just the slightest bit of pressure to my jaw, tilting my head back as he drew in a third inhale, and my heart pounded in the silence.
I couldn’t hear the sounds of Frostguard through the windows or the soft crackling of the hearth. It was just Keir’s deep breaths and my pulse rushing in my ears. Absently, his thumb smoothed against my jaw in a single stroke that I felt all the way to the tips of my toes.
“Keir?” I whispered.
His searing eyes fell from the runes to mine and melted the rest of the world away.
Keir’s gaze was always probing, always seeking more, and it felt as if he were actually succeeding now.
My cheeks heated, my insides felt unsteady.
When his pupils dilated further, gaze growing darker, my breath caught in the back of my throat, and I had the insane urge to lean forward.
He wrenched away from me. Suddenly, as if he’d been burned, blowing air sharply out of his nose to get rid of my scent.
I could feel the exact imprint of where Keir’s hands had been, a brand along my neck and jaw.
A deep line formed between his brows as he stared down at me with those unfathomable yellow eyes.
“What?” I blushed harder when I heard how breathless my voice sounded.
“You…” His runes twitched as his throat bobbed. Before he could say more—if he’d even planned to—the door was thrown open and Rade rushed in, Velka on his heels.
“What are you doing out of bed?” he said. “You should be rest—” He stalled when I turned and he saw my runes. Questions chased each other across his face.
Velka’s nostrils flared, yellow eyes landing on Keir. “What’s going on in here?”
I waited for his answer, too. For him to tell her what he smelled, why he was looking at me like that. But Keir dropped his eyes, studying the floor, face twisted in consternation.
Before Velka could push for more, Rade nudged Keir out of the way and took hold of my elbow. Concern had won out against his bewilderment. “The Seer is always a trying ordeal, Amunet. You need to rest.”
“What happened to me?”
He weighed his words carefully. “You are not just blessed by the gods. You are of them. A stronger reaction is to be expected. Which is why you need to be resting.” He situated me on the bed again and offered a gentle smile.
“My king,” Keir broached, “I think we should speak.”
My eyes snapped back to him. Keir’s hands were fisted at his sides, his body tense, and his yellow eyes were focused solely on Rade. A conscious effort not to look at me.
Nerves rushed through me at a dizzying speed. Surely if I’d been exposed, he would’ve already killed me. Or blurted it out here and now.
Unless he wanted me punished for my deception. Tell the king privately so I’d be surprised by the torture.
Out of fire were you born, out of water were you found. To both must you return.
Holy gods. Were they going to burn me alive and toss my body in the ocean?
And how in the world were my runes anything other than black?
But Rade responded, “Would you fetch the queen something to eat?”
“Rade—”
“Now, Keir.”
The Kald’s jaw locked up, eyes flicking to me, but he gave a single nod before striding to the door.
Velka stepped in front of him, blocking the exit. She forced him to meet her searching gaze. Keir gave a small shake of his head. Though I didn’t know what Velka’s look meant, Keir’s answer was clear. Not now. She stepped aside, and Keir left.
To Velka the king said, “You can return to making preparations.”
I pushed myself upright, feeling nausea build again. “Is the next part of the Merging already—”
“No, no,” Rade said quickly. “It has nothing to do with you, I promise. Rest for as long as you need.”
I settled back against the pillows with a sigh of relief. If I’d had to go through something like that again so soon, I wasn’t entirely sure I’d make it. And Queen Amunet needed me to last a couple of weeks still.
“But if you’re feeling up to it by the new moon,” Velka offered, “we’d be honored to have the Queen of Ashorah at the Lunar Feast.”
“What’s the Lunar Feast?”
“A celebration of Ayeen. Happens every new moon.”
“It’s for the Shifters,” Rade explained. “Their animal forms get a bit restless at the start of the moon cycle. It lets them get it out of their systems.”
“The Lunar Feast is in a few days, and, honestly, it couldn’t have come at a better time.
We could all use a bit of fun. You included, Your Majesty,” Velka singsonged as she waved and left, doing her best to appear unconcerned.
But I caught her frown just before she closed the door, eyes scanning for Keir.
Sand grains still crunched between my teeth, and my stomach felt one wrong move away from another tailspin. “My reaction…” I ventured softly. “Why was it so bad? And why are my runes green?” Fear barred me from asking about the shadow creature.
Rade’s gaze drifted up to my runes. Hesitantly, he reached out and brushed his finger against my forehead, tracing the symbols. His touch wasn’t searing like Keir’s but careful.