I repeat the word, remembering how Rathyn mentioned them before, and he nods.
“Am I in danger?”
He bites his lip, fangs poking in so hard I’m surprised they don’t draw blood. Then he shakes his head. It’s obvious he wants to say more, but he doesn’t have the language for it.
I don’t have time to play charades with him, though. Rathyn needs me.
“Let’s go,” I murmur.
Cielo nods, then he starts ahead of me, and I follow as quickly as I can manage. The cave entrance reminds me a lot of the one Rathyn took me to. Only the air inside is different. It’s warm—almost hot—and there’s a strange scent in the air like something cooking.
The walls are still singing, but it’s a faint sound, like a far-off lullaby, and it’s oddly soothing.
As we venture in further, there’s a curve in the path, and I press myself against the stone when I see a flickering light in the distance. I immediately recognize it as fire, and my breath catches in my chest.
It’s Rathyn. I know it. I can feel him.
I glance up at Cielo. “Let me go first,” I mouth at him.
He blinks, then nods at me, and I thank whatever gods the Vyastil worship that he understood. He hangs back a bit, and I creep forward, knees bent, ready to either run or fight.
The cave path opens up as the curve straightens, and the ceiling juts high above our heads. There’s no natural light here apart from the bioluminescent insects, but the fire casts everything in a hazy orange glow.
My breath catches in my chest as I peer around the wall, and I immediately see Rathyn. He’s lying on a bed of moss, eyes closed, and I can see several large bandages across his chest. They’re stained blue, and I have no idea if that’s Vyastil blood or something else.
There’s a new scent in the air—something almost medicinal. It reminds me of the healing herb that Cielo had given me. I feel a chill creep up my spine, and I fight the urge to rush forward, which is a good thing, because between two sharp breaths, another figure appears.
It’s moving strangely—reminding me of a snake in the way its tall torso almost…slithers. And then I see them. Four massive tentacles where legs should be. They propel it forward almost like an octopus walking on land, the tentacles rolling over the ground.
The creature itself is just like the one I saw in my visions, but this close, it seems even more monstrous. Its skin is an indigo blue, its hair shimmering in waves of gold and silver, tied in a messy bun at the nape of its neck. A few wisps of it fall over its naked shoulder, the torso broad, arms thick and very muscular.
On each side of its forehead, there are horns—short and pointed at the tip. It also has long fangs that protrude over its bottom lip—not quite tusks, but not as delicate as Vyastil fangs either.
The Vyastil once looked entirely inhuman to me, but now, seeing this thing—a Tarek—my opinion of them shifts.
I watch, not sure what I should do. I only know a few things about them—like how they’re the mortal enemies of the Vyastil.
But as the Tarek leans over Rathyn, there’s no malice there. It’s holding something in a very large cup that looks like a clamshell, and it pours more blue liquid all over Rathyn’s chest.
He groans, shifting, but he doesn’t open his eyes.
The Tarek says something in Eretharian, and Rathyn hums back.
I look over at Cielo, who’s watching the entire thing with a hooded expression I can’t begin to read.
And in that moment, I lose it, my willpower snapping. I can’t stay back any longer. I walk forward, my feet making loud noises even against the soft, mossy floor. The Tarek freezes, hunching over Rathyn for a brief moment, then it leans back and stares at me.
As I get closer, I can see it has the same eyes as Rathyn—black sclera and rainbow irises, though its ears aren’t as long and they don’t seem to move the way the Vyastil’s do.
There’s a tense moment, like neither of us knows what to say or do, and then the Tarek lets out a soft sigh and says in perfect, slightly accented English, “So. You are his human.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I am.”
He regards me for a long moment, then asks, “How did you find us?”
“He showed me,” I say. The Tarek blinks at me the same way Cielo did, so I fight back an irritated sigh because why are we talking about this?
“Showed you? He took you here?”
