Afterglow - Tsireya

Chapter 27

Pandora Reef

Metkayina clan

It had been two months since the second battle against the sky people. Tsireya had been healing since she and Tsu'tey's talk in the forest. After his constant begging, she finally released her burdens onto him, letting him comfort her after nightmares or reassure her he was still here.

Tsireya could see how miserable Tsu'tey was when he wasn't allowed to go on hunting trips or scouting missions around the reef to search for any remaining sky people. So Tsireya spoke to her father, and he reluctantly agreed to let him train to be a Metkayian hunter, which is what he occupied himself with most days.

Tsireya had returned to her princess duties, preparing the village hut for breakfast, delivering medicine to the clan members, and helping her mother in the Tsahik tent until she was dismissed. Thankfully, her mother let her go just before lunch. She was almost bouncing along the docks to her mauri, ready to get some well-deserved sleep until...

"Afternoon princess," a voice rang out. Tsireya visibly tensed at the voice. Why now? When she was alone?

"Zute," she greeted calmly.

"You are out of Tsahik training early," he mused, stepping closer to her forcing her to take a step back.

"Yes, my mother dismissed me for the afternoon," she said sweetly, but he knew she was faking it; she wasn't trying to hide that.

Zute's chest was almost pressed up against Tsireya's, and the only thing stopping her was the girl's outstretched hand. "We didn't get to finish our conversation the last time we spoke."

"That's because you called me a bitch, Zute," she deadpanned, pushing his chest pack with her fingertips, which proved futile as the Metkayian boy roughly grabbed her wrist. Just like before.

"I've seen you hang around those forest freaks," he whispered, pulling her closer to him. She could feel his breath fanning across her face; it made her feel sick.

"So what?"

"It makes me sick that you are even giving them the time of day, princess," he grinned darkly at her before continuing, "and I also heard that you gave yourself to that Evans freak. Not only are you a bitch, but you're also a slut."

She could feel a lump bubbling in her throat at his harsh words. "Let me go," she demanded, but it came out shakier than she would have liked. His eyes were piercing through her soul, and his grip was only getting tighter, sure to leave bruises on her dainty arms.

"Why would I do that when we were having a nice chat, princess?" He mused, brushing his spare hand over her cheek and pushing a lock of hair behind her ears. She turned away from his touch, closing her eyes at his contact. When Tsu'tey touched her cheeks, it was filled with love and comfort; this was fueled by anger and lust.

"Let me go. I am your princess." She hated using her title against people or to get what she wanted, but this was the only way she could think.

"That's exactly why I'll hold onto you a little longer; I finally have the princess in my grasp." he laughed. He began to drag her away from her mauri by her hand; she thrashed around in his grip, dipping her heels into the docks, but he was stronger, quickly pulling her to fall in step with him.

"Don't cause a scene, princess." She immediately stopped struggling, thinking about what her people would think if they saw her behaviour. Just before she was pushed into Zute's mauri, she saw Lo'ak walking along the beach. She remembered that Li'teya and Lo'ak had a secret way of communicating. Whistling. Teya had spent hours teaching the girl to whistle in case of emergencies and just for fun. Tsireya let out a methodical whistle, catching the Omatikaya boy's attention. His eyes snapped up to where he heard the whistle to see Tsireya in the distance. She sent him a pleading look as Zute pushed her inside, closing the flap and trapping the girl inside.