My dad would probably love it here, the barren desert landscape. Endless dunes to climb, craters and dried-out canyons to explore.
From the outside, my parents were happy. With four kids there was always something going on, and when there wasn’t, my dad would invent something for us to do.
I always suspected our impromptu backpacking trips were a way for him to temporarily escape. But one day, they weren’t enough and he left for good.
My mom adored him, and completely fell apart when he left. We never had answers. One day he was there, the next he was packing up and leaving. I promised myself I’d never do what my dad did. I’d never let myself hurt someone in that way.
He can rot in the desert for all I care.
NINETEEN
Tai
Bri’s fake laughter is grating on my nerves. I know what her real laugh sounds like. It’s obvious when she’s forcing it.
By the look on his face, the brethren she’s talking to believes the laughter is sincere. It took her a while to coax her animal to catch up, but over the last hour, she has been subtly dropping hints that Boss is not good for the brethren.
Bri is quite impressive, I’ll admit. It’s a master class in persistence. At first, she used her sense of humor—but it was wasted on him. She’s currently using flattery, but he is so blinded by her beauty and charm, nothing is sticking in that oddly shaped head of his.
“You’re a fantastic brethren. I’m one lucky goddess. You know I’d never treat you poorly, or put myself above you, right?”
“But you are above us! We are lowly brethren here to serve you,” he says back, more confused than ever.
Bri tosses her hands up in the air, finally giving up on this one. She scans the group of brethren and her eyes narrow on her next target.
Time passes slowly on Sabaak. We haven’t even reached our first rest stop and my legs are killing me. My mount comes to a stop right in front of Bri. Her animal bumps into mine, knocking us both sideways.
“Something wrong, Tai?”she asks sweetly—too sweetly and I hate it.
“Nope, everything is great,” I say through gritted teeth.
“You are both so lucky to be here this time of year. During the hot season, we wouldn’t have been able to make it to Table Mountain!” a brethren says, the one Bri has been fake-laughing with for a while now.
“This isn’t the hot season?” Bri asks, fanning herself with the end of her scarf.
“Glorious One, this is our coolest.”
She looks over at me eyes wide and makes an odd gesture with her finger drawing across her neck. I’m not sure what it means, but she looks cute doing it.
I have a high tolerance for discomfort, courtesy of my early years. I won’t enjoy today, but it’s unlikely to be the worst place I’ve visited. However, Bri is used to a climate-controlled environment. I mentally prepare myself to hear a lot of complaining out of her.
A small bright red tent flaps in the distance. It’s about time. I’m ready to get off this thing. I urge my h’axom to a trot and bounce uncomfortably on the saddle the faster he goes. He’s equally eager to stop and rest. I’m much bigger than his usual riders. I reach down and pat his neck affectionately in silent gratitude.
I go straight to the trough of murky water. The h’axom’s trunk takes long steady pulls of water. Leaving him to hydrate, I heave my half-asleep leg over and slide down his side. I’m already dreading how sore I’ll be tomorrow.
A low table and a cushion sits under a canopy. Enough shade for one person. I don’t have to guess who it’s intended for. The tent is unnecessarily far from the trough, carelessly set up so we all have to walk through the deep and shifting sand.
The brethren are rushing around preparing for their “goddess.” I roll my eyes each time they use the word. She’s not a goddess. She is a demon. She’s shrill and devious and the longer this goes on the thinner my patience wears.
Bri is the last one to arrive. There must be something wrong with her h’axom. It’s slow and looks older than the dunes. Five brethren rush to her side to help her down from its back. She gratefully accepts their help and a wince flickers across her face when she hits the ground. There is something about the brief glimpse of pain that tightens my chest.
Bri gently pushes their hands off her once she has her feet on solid ground. She trudges through the sand and grabs a canteen of water from the table as the hot wind blows through the tent flinging sand right in her face. The least they could do was put some walls on this thing. She eases herself onto the cushion. Her movements are stiff and she braces her lower back with her hands. Why aren’t they helping her?
These brethren annoy the shit out of me. They are all up her ass but aren’t even good at taking care of her most basic needs. They are too busy competing for her favor to pay attention to what is going on around them.
If we are going to keep up the ruse that I’m her servant, I should probably tend to her. It’s the only reason I’m going over there to help her out. This is all to keep up the act. And that’s it.
I grab a handful of dried fruit from a basket on the table and take it to her.
