A Place To Bloom

The One Who Got Away

Waking up with Miyani in my arms, I felt whole. Complete. With purple hues overtaking the starry sky, the scent of coconut blossom in her hair, her breath on my chest when I entered her, the sweet music of her voice...

How could this be a sin?

She wrapped her arms and legs around my body and lifted up to glue our bodies together. I pushed in deep. She hung from me. I wanted nothing more than to cling to this moment.

The stars surrendered one by one to the blueing sky, footfalls echoed from the courtyard, and a chord of honey and ginger wafted from the mess hall. Today, dozens of new recruits and bison trains would come down from the passes, and it was her job to make sure enemy forces didn't molest them on their way in. It was my job to bring the current crop of recruits to Carthia.

By the time Princess Rosalynd let me out of the sling, I'd have my salary back.

Blue went through his customary morning routine of groaning, pretending to sleep, going back to sleep, groaning again. She donned her necklace of giant wooden beads, her bow sling, arrows with red-and-white fletchings, a leather belt with a simple undyed cotton flap that hung down front and back along with a knife each on her left and right. On her fingernails she had those black lacquered claws.

On her left shoulder was the scar from where Blue had marked her to complete the bond. I leaned down to kiss the white bat's wing tattoo on her right shoulder. She turned her face to kiss my lips and reach her arms around my neck.

It would be a while before I saw her again.

The rattling of heavy chains rose above the rising conversation in the mess hall, and the wooden drawbridge creaked as it unfolded across the water. Through the stone archway of the main gate, streaks of sunlight that matched her eyes bloomed up from beyond the shadow of mountains in the distance.

She sat atop the lizard with the blue stripe down the length of his body, atop a simple cotton saddle with pockets, pouches, and a loop of hemp rope for her to hold onto when he jumped down from the trees and took hairpin turns at blistering speeds. His forelimb talons hung below his body. He coiled his neck around to fix one eye with a black, vertical slit on me, then rubbed his face in my cheek before shifting forward to allow her to kiss my lips.

Then he darted across the bridge, carried her over the grassy plain, and they disappeared into Jungle.

All around me, strange men went about the carts overloaded with goods tying down canvas coverings, checking yokes, oiling wheels, reticulating splines. One man was trying to coax a bull to lift up his hoof, but the creature put his full weight into it. When the man pushed the beast to shift his weight, the bull moved away instead. The man shouted and waved his hands about, went after him again, only for the bull to move away, and I swear the whole herd grunted in bison-laughter.

The mess hall was crowded and loud. Every recruit at the Lake of Doom was packed and midway through breakfast. My team sat at two adjacent circular tables among several of the recruits. Bilal was surrounded by five men, while Ta'o and Renou sat with another four.

Exactly twelve men.

"Did I miss something?"

Bilal huffed. "We chose without you."

Ta'o glanced up at me briefly before turning his eyes back to his bowl. He'd spent the night without Iyemi in his arms, and his face betrayed no emotion.

"Sit here, man." Rolon moved over to make room for me at a table that included Finn, Kurt, Dax, and the giant, Rool. At the table with Renou and Ta'o was Charis the whaler's nephew, Gaius Mango's Bane, Scree who'd fought the chef the day we arrived, and Wan. Blue says he's smart.