thirty #2
“Sulim.” His voice lowered, head slightly turned away so they didn’t look at one another. Yet the breeze brushed his words against her ear. “I’m leaving tonight. Don’t ask questions. But if I were you… I’d come with me.”
She dropped the sticks again. This time, Marco caught them.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Tonight,” he repeated, as if they were having a normal conversation.
“Forgive me, but if I don’t take this chance, then when can I? I’ve admired you ever since you moved here. You have a tenacious spirit that is exactly what I’m looking for in my own partner. And, yes, you’re quite easy on the eyes. I’ll be starting my own ranch elsewhere on Arrah,
and could use someone by my side who has the merit to help me get it off the ground. Come with me. You won’t regret it.”
This is not happening.
“I’m…” She said the first thing to come to mind. “I’m married!”
“Only on paper. We both know that you do not love Sonall more than a brother. And your affair with Young Lady Dunsman will be fleeting—they will leave, eventually, and you will not be welcomed on Yahzen. We both know that.”
We do? She was still too shocked to say much else.
“So, come with me. Tonight. We’ll take care of your paper marriage from elsewhere. The Gardiahs will be upset, but will see reason. Let Sonall start over. Let yourself start over.”
“You want me to leave my husband in the dead of night!”
“A husband that you do not love.”
“I don’t love you, either!”
“I expected that. Still, I’m not asking you to love me. I’m asking you to partner with me in a new endeavor. Anything that blooms between us later can happen naturally… or not.”
“Do you hear yourself? You sound deranged.”
He was not perturbed by her accusation. “I’ll be at the front gate. Midnight. If you wish to come, bring whatever you can carry, secure your mare, and meet me there. It must be tonight.”
“Why? Are you running away or something?”
“Let’s just say that the Gardiahs do not know of my plan. I’ve been saving a lot of money for a while, and of course, have my family’s inheritance and trust funds. You will be well provided for, Sulim. Maybe roughing it for a few years, but I promise,
you will be living Lady Jacelah’s life before you are thirty.”
She didn’t say anything. She was simultaneously too shocked and too disgusted.
“Midnight.” Marco turned and left her there, sticks leaving splinters in her hands.
Something was bothering Sulim, but she would not tell anyone, least of all her husband or Mira, who sat with her at the dinner table.
Mira had almost skipped dinner since Sonall was there, but after their uneasy truce in the barn, she decided she could handle it. Besides, it was her first time being able to gaze into Sulim’s eyes all day, and she didn’t want to give up the chance.
Well, maybe she’d hold back on the footsie games she usually liked to indulge in. For the sake of everyone’s second-hand embarrassment.
It was only the three of them for a while.
They ate silently, with only a brief question from Sonall over whether Joiya would be joining them that night.
Nope. She was in town, probably eating at the tavern with Ramaron.
Or eating his cooking. Maybe with Kanhith, eh?
She so wanted to share those affairs with the table, but nobody here was willing to engage that topic.
About five minutes into the meal, someone appeared in the dining room archway. Timidly, Kema nodded before helping herself to the chair on the other side of Mira. A maid hurried in to serve another plate of dinner, which was still hot.
Oh, this is awesome. Mira sat stark still, aside from her eyes, which darted back and forth as she took in Kema’s sheepishness and Sonall’s widening gaze.
Sulim looked at nobody as she continued to eat her venison and vegetables.
The whole family’s here! Everyone’s fucking everyone else!
In a roundabout way, Mira had screwed her own cousin, and she thought that was hilarious. I mean, I might as well.
“This is so stupid,” Sulim eventually said, food in her mouth and napkin suddenly smothering her lips until she swallowed. “Can’t we all be adults? Somebody say something.”
Mira steepled her fingers as she peered at her soulmate from across the table. “I propose a change in sleeping arrangements tonight.”
Sulim groaned, exasperated; Sonall dropped his utensils.
Humans are fun. So were hybrids, since Kema was likewise embarrassed enough to cover her face with her napkin.
“Is that necessary?” Sonall asked.
“Apparently.” As droll as a practical science lecture at the Academy, Mira addressed the whole table. “You fancy my cousin, don’t you?”
“Mira, please…”
Yet Mira ignored Kema. I’m kinda doing this for you, you know. Wouldn’t Kema just die to spend a night with her beloved? Mira knew she would! Ooh, with everyone knowing! No inns, no guest rooms under the cover of darkness…
“You’re right,” Sonall said. “This is all in the open now. We might as well revel in being able to talk openly about it before my folks return.”
“Don’t make me think about that.” Sulim poked her food around, but looked like she had no intention of finishing it. “Just more problems.”
“I mean, it has been nice to not have them around for a couple of weeks.”
Even Mira could agree with that. “Fewer people at the dinner table. Just like back home.”
She was grateful that everyone calmed down and relaxed a little.
While this tentative truce between all parties lent to a quiet meal, with a maid occasionally making the rounds to collect dirty dishes and replace soiled napkins, Mira checked her communicator for any sign of her mother.
Joiya had not sent her daughter any messages. Nor had anyone else, for that matter.
After dinner, she reiterated that she wanted to shake things up—to Sulim, at least.
“You’re serious?” She guffawed as they settled in for their nightly tea in Jacelah’s salon. “You want to spend the night together?”
“It’s one of the only things we have yet to do.” Mira winked at her as Sulim served tea. “Until I abscond with you out of here.”
“Ah, about that… I need to talk to you about something weird that happened.”
Someone knocked on the door before Mira had the chance to ask what she meant.
“Lady Mira…” It was Kema, and while she must have known that Sulim was there, she still looked like she wanted to die in the present company.
“I’m about to turn in for the evening. I just wanted you to know that I received a message from your mother. She’s asked me to go to the town tomorrow to help with research.”
“All right. So, guess that means I won’t see you around?”
“She asked me to tell you that you will be needed around noon. She tried sending you a message, but it wouldn’t go through.”
“Ah, this stupid thing acts up sometimes.” She patted the communicator in her pocket. “Thanks for letting me know. Sounds like we have field work to do.”
Kema said goodnight. When she was gone, Sulim asked, “What kind of field work is it?”
“Probably more measurements. Ramaron brought an instrument that helps you measure the veil between here and the Void. It takes two people to use it, and they want at least one of us to take down notes. Just the most mindless shit for me, but I guess this is part of my penance.”
Sulim curled up around her. “Is this part of your penance?”
Nothing made Mira smile more than that. “If it is, I might commit another crime soon.”
They forgot about the tea cooling on the table. There were other things to indulge in.
Sulim woke up in the middle of the night—long past midnight, when Marco supposedly “waited” for her, but far enough away from dawn that she should have gone back to sleep.
Except there were two problems. The first was that Mira was wrapped around her, having convinced her to spend the night with her in Graella’s old room. While Mira was nothing but dead weight against her, Sulim managed to wiggle out of her hold without awakening her.
Because there was something else sure to keep her up. Such as the ruckus spouting off in the backyard, which Graella’s old room overlooked.
When she squinted hard enough, Sulim made out the figures of Joiya and Hannu rushing back and forth, yelling to each other in Julah as if it were absolutely imperative that they find a spot in the yard—or else everyone would die.
Joiya ushered Hannu to another spot, pointing excitedly at the ground.
Hannu dropped to her knees and began digging with her hands.
Sulim closed the curtain. She had no idea what the hell was going on, but she was far too tired to care. Besides, there was a warm bed with a warmer embrace calling to her.
“I have no idea what my mother could have been doing last night,” Mira said the next morning, shortly after seeing a message from her mother asking her to come to the Temple immediately. “But enough about that. Tell me more about how Marco’s gone?”
Sulim shushed her. They were both still in Graella’s old room, getting dressed for the day.
While Mira wore the same tunic and pants from the day before, Sulim had brought in a change of clothes for herself.
She also said something about seeing Kema coming out of her room.
Sulim would probably not like that, and Mira secretly looked forward to another falling out between husband and wife—for while Sulim probably didn’t care that her husband was cavorting with another woman, did it have to be in their room? Honestly, man. Rude.
“You’re the first person I’ve told,” Sulim said from the end of the bed, where she was still only dressed in her bra and trousers. Her work shirt was still folded beside her. “About him asking to leave with him last night.”
“Oh, what a romantic.”
“Stop it.”
“Seriously, though. Is he gone?”
“I don’t… know. I was going to wait until the end of the day to ask Sonall about it. I don’t want to cause unnecessary drama while there’s so much else going on. Especially if Marco is still around. For all I know, that was some kind of test he was going to rub into my face.”
Mira put her hands on Sulim’s shoulders. “One thing at a time. I’ve gotta get going to the Temple before my mom sends Ram here to fetch me. You gonna be okay?”