He nodded his head and pulled the necklace out of his pocket, allowing it to catch the morning sunshine and glitter around the area.
“My necklace!” she exclaimed. “Oh, Cahir, thank you so much.” He reached out and she excitedly took it, placing it over her head and tucking it into her dress.
She looked back at him, her eyebrows knitting together. “How do you know of this place called Umbrea, Cahir?” she asked him.
He looked at her with softened eyes and said, “Seda, there are things I wish to tell you. When the time comes, I need you to promise me you will have an open mind. I’m, and have always been, here for you.”
Her gaze remained on him, threaded with quiet confusion. “Why can’t you just tell me now?”
“I…” he tried, but his lips froze.
The fucking Wisps!
Askold stirred from his sleep and farted loudly. Seda and Cahir exchanged a glance before bursting into laughter.
Askold jumped up and looked around in confusion. “Hailecs?” he asked as his eyes darted around in his sleep haze.
Both Seda and Cahir erupted into laughter again. Cahir quickly rubbed away the tears welling up in his eyes. He missed her when she was gone, and he was happy to have her back with him.
My best friend.
Chapter 31
Seda
“Does anyone have toothpaste?” Benny grumbled as they packed up their campsite. Seda’s tongue automatically grazed her teeth. She definitely needed to brush; it had been way too long.
“Just chew on a few mint leaves. That always works for me,” said Askold as he was folding up a small blanket to fit inside one of the backpacks.
“Where can I find those?” Benny asked. Seda was listening. She desperately wanted to chew on some, too. How embarrassing. She was usually so clean. This was the first time in her life that she had gone so long without regular showers and clean teeth.
“I don’t know. Just don’t breathe on me,” Askold replied.
Seda smiled. Cahir was right; not all of the Rozzers were bad. Askold was pretty funnysometimes.
“Har-har-har,” Benny said, letting out a loud huff. “Come over here so I canharin your damn face.”
“Really mature, boys,” Roya said as she walked around, waiting for them to finish bickering. “Here, Benny.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a stick. “Chew this. It cleans your teeth and freshens your breath.”
Everyone turned to look at the stick she was handing him.
“What’s that?” Askold walked over to Benny and examined the stick closely.
“Datun,” she replied nonchalantly.
“Do you have more? Where can I find it?” Askold asked.
Seda was very interested in this plant.
Roya looked at her nails and picked something out of one of them. “It’s over there.” She glanced at a small leafy bush.
He hurried over, broke off a branch, took a sniff, and then looked back at her. “You promise you’re not just trying to poison me?”
“If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead. And right now, with all of this bickering and these stupid questions, I’m starting to feel like that might be a good idea.”
Askold put the stick in his mouth and started chewing, first grimacing in disgust, then raising his eyebrows and humming in approval.
Benny chewed his piece and spit it out. “Wow, that really works. Thank you, Roya.” He smiled at her with a chunk of the stick stuck in his tooth.
