"Hell yes," Mera cried, shaking her ass across the dining zone as we entered the area with red glass tables.
Each table was set with ochre dinnerware and glasses, made from Ostealon’s sands, the land that joined them all.
"Is there allocated seating?" Mera asked.
"Sit at red for Rohami," Shadow replied. “Other than that, I think it’s fair game.”
Mera shrugged, continuing to look around. “Makes sense.” She pointed to the third quadrant, bordering the dining area. “And what’s that part used for?”
There wasn’t a lot of structure in that section, but I could tell from the harder mat, where sand and pamolsa had been fused, that this was the zone for—
“Dancing,” Shadow said.
A low, thrumming beat was already drifting from there, thanks to the Shale dynasty, which was renowned for their gifts in the musical arts. They didn’t sing here; instead it was a combination of deep humming and the beat of drums built from the barrels of sand vessels that were no longer safe enough to take along the streams and rivers. I’d always found myself lost in their beats, and my body was already loosening up, the electric energy flittering within me.
"I see them," Mera called, distracting me from the music.
Turning slightly, I also found where our group was seated at a large red table close to the dance floor. We reached them a few minutes later, and when Shadow and Mera took the only two seats together, between Len and Alistair, I was left to sit in the only one that remained. Between Len… and Reece.
Forcing myself not to breathe too deeply or think too hard, I just sank onto the round, backless, cushioned dome. The music was stronger here, sending my blood pumping and head spinning as my connection to this land swelled within.
"Always the same," Reece said from beside me. Tilting my head in his direction, I found that my anger toward him was all but gone, swept away in this night. "Our music is in your blood. I never could figure out why you were so affected by thehretundrums."
"It reminds me of happier days and memories," I said, my words light.
Reece raised an eyebrow at me. “You were like that from the first moment you heard our beats and danced our dances.”
This time I shrugged. “What can I say, it stirs my energy deep inside. Maybe I was born in the wrong world.”
His jaw tightened, but he didn’t snap at me for once. “Maybe you were. Or maybe you are more than one being.”
Forcing myself not to react to such an insightful comment—I was getting them from all sides at the moment—I turned away once more and lost myself in the sights around me. It was a better alternative than facing the truth that I’d lost more than just Reece when I left the Desert Lands.
I’d lost a part of my true self.
20
Reece and I didn’t speak again. In fact, it was extra-quiet at the table as everyone took in the sights of the room and waited for the food to be delivered. In the Desert Lands, they had a special system for the distribution of items, sending it on the backs of large—
"Sand turtles!" Mera exclaimed as the creatures slowly entered the space between tables, bearing trays on their backs. The trays were piled high with a variety of desert specialties, including a few deep purplegry,a native fruit similar to that of the cacti.
"They do look like those huge land turtles from Earth," Lucien said, tilting his head as he watched the dark greenyeth grabameander down the lanes. Their shells were smaller than land turtles, which wasn’t the only difference. The yeth had an exoskeleton, with a protective length of spiny protrusions down their heads and backs.
When a tray moved by our side, Reece reached out and lifted it, placing the five-foot length of brown pamolsa branch across the diameter of our table. Soon after, another tray with glasses of liforina showed up as well, and then it was time to eat.
Conversation after that centered around the food as more trays went past, and Mera asked a million questions about what each delicacy was. With anticipation brimming in my gut, I reached out to take a piece of gry fruit, wondering if the taste would live up to the sweet scent.
Reece intercepted me as I chose my piece, nudging my palm toward a smaller one on the right. "This one is riper," he said shortly before turning away from me to resume chatting with Alistair.
For a moment, I debated ignoring him and taking the original piece I’d been aiming for, but as I glared at the side of his face, I saw his lips twitch like he was expecting that response from me. Swallowing my stupid pride so I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of being right, I took his suggested slice, all the while knowing he’d won either way.
The thick, rough purple exterior had a slice in its side, so I dug my fingers in and pulled it all the way apart, exposing the bright magenta flesh. The pulp and seeds glistened, and the smell was mouthwatering, with both sweet and tart olfactory notes. Lifting it to my lips, I avoided the shell, biting into the flesh, and groaned at the first hit of flavor.
It was sweet, but as it danced across my tongue, heat followed. “Wow," I murmured, intrigued by the duality. “It tastes nothing like I expected but is strangely addictive.”
Mera leaned forward and nodded. "Right? It's weird but awesome,” She reached for a second piece. "Like a cantaloupe had a baby with a dragon fruit, and then cayenne sneezed on it."
I grinned around my piece as I bit into the flesh before dropping the skin into an empty bowl on the tray. Grabbing a towel that had been included with the table setting, I wiped off the excess juice. "It’s fun to finally taste these foods. I spent years breathing in their delicious scents."
