“But we drove so far,” Liora whined. “Do you really want to get back in that van again after today?”
“Medusa and Perseus did say we should prepare to stay overnight in case we get delayed,” Zara pointed out.
Sleeping in an open field did not appeal to Hektor at all. But then again, the alternative was another eight hours trapped in the back of the van, with Zara only inches from him. “I suppose if Perseus and Medusa say it’s alright?—”
“Woohoo, party time!” Liora high-fived Elian, then sent Zara a cryptic look. “Maybe you can let loose and get out of ‘silent brooding mount–yeow!”she yelped as she grabbed her side. “You pinched me! Zara, you dick!”
“Oops, my hand slipped,” Zara snickered.
Her sister shot her a dirty look.
Elian let out a sigh that said he had seen this too many times. “Alright, kids, let’s take it down a notch. Dimeses, assuming we get the okay from Perseus and Medusa, we would love to stay.”
Dimeses clapped his hands together. “Excellent. I know you will enjoy yourselves immensely.”
Hektor had hoped that Perseus would insist they leave, but to his surprise, he agreed to stay. The shifter didn’t say anything else about what had happened earlier, but his countenance hadchanged. Hektor even sensed a kind of peace around Perseus. Maybe his conversation with his half brother had been fruitful. Perhaps it also helped that his mate was with him, never leaving his side and occasionally taking his hand in hers or giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
A deep longing plucked at his chest, and his thoughts drifted to the state of his own romantic affairs. Truth be told, it had been days since he’d thought of Eleanora.
In some ways, Lord Eros had been right–this job, and perhaps being away from Drakkoria, was good for him. In any case, it distracted him enough from his own misery.
However, once in a while, he was reminded of his own failure at wooing a mate.
“Why the long face,kirobus?” Dimeses said, interrupting his thoughts. “This is a happy occasion. What has made you so gloomy?”
The centaurs’ harvest festival began sometime after sundown with a large feast around the main camp fire, followed by music and games to entertain everyone. Just as Dimeses said, the festivities never stopped or lulled, as the food and drink never seemed to run out and the merriment only grew louder as more centaurs from other herds arrived. Feeling a bit overwhelmed, Hektor found a quiet spot away from the fire where Dimeses and a few centaurs gathered, chatting amongst themselves.
Hektor shifted his expression to what he hoped was neutral. “Nothing at all,kirobus.” He lifted his mug of grass mead—which surprisingly tasted better than it sounded—and held it toward the centaur. “Thank you for your hospitality and welcoming us to your home.”
“Everything we have comes from the plains, and the plains belong to everyone,” he replied, clinking his mug to Hektor’s.
“In truth it has been a while since we have welcomed visitors,” an older centaur by the name of Aeicion, said.“Especially to one of our festivals.” The others nodded and neighed in agreement.
“The crops must have been especially bountiful this year,” Hektor remarked, looking back toward the fire where more musicians and dancers joined the revelry. “Everyone is celebrating like there is no tomorrow.”
Aeicion’s head cocked to the side. “Crops? What crops?”
Confused, Hektor gestured around them. “The reason we are all out here, drinking and celebrating. This is a festival to celebrate your good harvest, is it not?”
The older centaur guffawed. “In case you haven’t noticed,kirobus, centaurs do not plant nor do we have farmland. Therefore, no crops.”
Hektor frowned. “Then what harvest are you celebrating then?”
Dimeses spoke up. “I’m afraid I forgot to fully explain to our guests what we mean by harvest festival. Apologies for the confusion,kirobus. We call this our harvest festival because of the harvestmoon.”
Hektor followed his gaze toward the night sky, where the moon hung large and low just over the hill. “I see. I suppose that’s a good reason to have a feast.” They were of a different culture, so of course they would celebrate things differently.
Aeicion sent his fellow centaurs a knowing look. “Well, there are also other reasons we celebrate, right?” They guffawed and elbowed each other. “Oh, to be young again,” he sighed wistfully.
Dimeses chuckled. “Indeed. I’m very glad our fillies and colts are having fun tonight.”
“Fillies and colts?” Hektor paused. “What—” Realization dawned on him.
Glancing back at the fire, he noticed that the dancing and singing had become even more raucous, especially amongst those paired up. He observed a young centaur couple were fullyentwined in each other’s arms, not caring about the revelers around them. The male pulled away, then dragged the filly to a darkened corner.
Aeicion laughed. “Took you long enough to figure it out,kirobus.”
Hektor couldn’t contain his bewilderment. “This is amatingfestival?”
