The Hidden Orphan (The Chronicles of Mistar - Book 2)

Fifteen · · · Dest

Faz, Rol

DEST FELT GROGGY. Her cheek ached and when she touched it, she felt the tanala herb leaves and goo on her fingertips. She seethed when a stinging sensation climbed through her cheek to her head, making her lightheaded.

A steady, gentle hand touched Dest's arm. It was Danity Troy, her mother. She smiled warmly, her eyes bright from the joy of Dest's awakening and worry from her wounds. Danity's skin was bright blue with smile and squint wrinkles around her eyes. Her lips were plump and hair short but thick and tied into tiny pigtails that made her look childish. Dest knew that Danity didn't care. She wore her hair like that every day.

"Are you okay?" Danity asked as she rubbed the top of Dest's hand with her thumb.

When she asked this, all Dest could remember was the man and his teeth sinking into her cheeks. Her screams and cries from that exact moment ricocheted in her brain making her headache worse. Dest closed her eyes and bit her lip. She didn't want to think of Thist but he was the only image that floated through her mind, his sour face and bloody, spiked teeth. Dest wanted to vomit just thinking about him.

But he said he had loved her. It made Dest's heart skip a beat. It couldn't be. Dest still didn't know the reality of the situation. Thist was still out there because he loved her. His teeth would forever haunt her mind and when she imagined him kissing her... she couldn't. Just his being on Rol was putting her friends in danger. Dest needed to speak to Ryn and the group from Pezda. Maybe they knew more about Thist's bite.

Pulling a hand away from her cheek and to her head, Dest replied, "I'm fine. I will be, at least when this headache goes away."

Danity pursed her lips and pulled her hand away from Dest's. She grabbed a glass of water that had been sitting next to Dest's bed on a little metal table. Dest greedily grabbed it from her hands and gulped it down in three swallows. Instantly, Dest felt better but she could still feel a headache pressing up against the front of her forehead. She felt even better when Danity's hand returned to hers and started rubbing again after she put the glass back.

"What happened?" Dest asked. Sure, she remembered every single thing from the time Thist first attacked to when Theo helped her pass out, but she wanted to know what happened afterward. If she was brought to the infirmary or if she was sent straight home since her mother was a nurse. Dest guessed the latter.

"RanDane," Danity stated as if it summed everything up, which it didn't to Dest. She was smart though and figured Theo must have used it as a cover-up story. Dest smirked. She couldn't have come up with a better cover story herself.

So, she nodded vigorously, since Danity was very gullible in that way. It made her cheek burn when she nodded and smiled and acted as if there was no pain to wince about.

"Theo said it came out of nowhere," Danity added. "That it came after a sand boarding race, grabbed your neck and tried to eat your face, cheek first. He said he scared it away, not killing it though. It's a shame. I know there are few but I wish there were none." 

Danity's soft, green eyes suddenly went harsh. "Why did you leave last night? How many times do I have to say not to leave in the middle of night? That's prime time when RanDanes roam the dunes!"

Dest flinched as if she was going to get smacked. She knew it wasn't going to happen though. She never got more than a flick on her shoulder or the squeak of her hand.

Danity was right, though. RanDanes were dangerous and loved the sand dunes at night, especially at the wishing hour, but to Danity's unknowing that was not how Dest got her newfound scars. The RanDanes that Danity feared so much probably would have been easier than Thist to deal with. Though they were hybrid human-dogs with skin like sand, they were easy to fight. All they craved was meat, meaning human flesh, which meant that there was always bait. With one swoop from Theo's fist, the RanDane would have been as good as dead. That is if there was one. Dest wished there was.