“The kamayuq is the largest threat to our community,” she said, the smile lines around her eyes and mouth gone. “Outside of the emperor, of course,” she added sharply. “I’m afraid the only misunderstanding here is yours.”
Nina’s mouth snapped shut, the words on the tip of her tongue swallowed whole. “Why am I here?” she asked instead.
“Your attay led you here.”
Nina took a step back, almost tripping over the table in her haste to put more distance between them as Shayim stood. “I—”
“Yes, I know about your attay. What surprises me is that you do not. Now that you’re here, I can See you much clearer.” She hummed and then sighed deeply. “And I See you have much to learn.”
Cold fear washed over Nina, and she snatched the utensil out of her bowl and wielded it in front of her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she declared. “But I demand to see Kasiknow. Let us go, and nobody gets hurt.”
Shayim gave her a pitying look. “The only thing dangerous about you is your ignorance. Put the spoon down and listen.”
“Let me see Kasik and I’ll think about it.” She wasn’t sure why the woman was entertaining her demands, but Nina was going to continue pushing it for as long as she did. It was clear they wanted her alive and unharmed, though she didn’t knowwhy. Nor did she care to find out. All she knew was that she had more of a chance at freedom under Kasik’s thumb than with these unknown people.
“You can see him,” Shayim agreed, “but I’m not sure you’ll like it.”
With those ominous words, Shayim walked out of the tent. Nina’sheart was pounding as she replayed the woman’s words and inspected them for clues. But everything she had said was vague and lightly disturbing. Nothing to suggest Nina was going to suffer an immediate death, so she steadied herself with a quick breath before hurrying to follow.
Hatun was trailing behind Shayim, his hands waving in the air and then gesturing back toward Nina as she rushed to catch up. “She’s not restrained,” Nina heard him whisper fiercely. “At the very least, she should be blindfolded.”
Shayim waved him off. “She’s no threat, Hatun. She has no idea what she can do. And she agreed to comply if I let her see the boy.”
“I agreed tolisten,” Nina corrected sharply at the same time as Hatun said, “He’s not aboy. He almost killed Hawka.”
“A well-trained boy, but a boy, nonetheless. Come, if you’d like. But no hitting anyone.”
Nina had never seen such a large man roll his eyes. It would have been comical if it wasn’t for the dangerous circumstances.
But these people didn’tseemdangerous, and yet therein was the danger. It was clear they wanted something from her. That they had kept her and Kasik alive for a purpose, and she was afraid to find out what would happen when they realized she had nothing to offer. Hopefully she and Kasik would be far away by then.
Night had fallen, and the cool air sent a chill over Nina. The camp was quiet as Shayim led them down a road between several large tents. They passed a massive fire in what looked like the center of camp where there were a few people sitting, all of whom turned to stare at Nina. She couldn’t see their eyes with the fire glowing brightly behind them, but she could feel them. It was like being in the acllahuasi all over again. A stranger, an outsider.
They passed a fenced-in area with achipumas dozing underneatha wooden frame, and Nina thought of Capac. He hadn’t had the chance to find them, as Kasik had promised. She wondered if something had eaten him, or if he had just taken advantage of his freedom and run.
“This is a mistake,” Hatun mumbled, watching her, his strides tempered so that he was next to her with a hand on the hilt of a blade at his hip. Nina rolled her eyes this time.
Finally, Shayim turned toward a tent set apart from the rest of the camp. Two men stood outside and nodded their heads as she walked by. Hatun clapped one on the back and then went to step inside, but Shayim stopped him.
“Just the girl for now.”
Hatun fumed. Nina was immediately suspicious, but grateful.
They could have the chance to talk, her and Kasik. Figure out a way to escape together, because despite the fleeting thought she had entertained in the forest to leave him behind, she knew it was not an option any longer. He had saved her, and she owed him a favor. That was the only reason she cared.
She pushed aside the tent flap and paused in the entrance. It was dimmer than outside without a fire, and she had to wait a few heart-pounding moments for her eyes to adjust.
Finally, she was able to see him.
Prone, eyes closed, hands tied to a wooden column anchored into the ground, Kasik looked dead already. She let the flap close behind her and approached him cautiously, unsure whether it was dread or relief that pooled in her belly and made her hands shake. Her eyes burned with unshed tears as she whispered his name. When he didn’t respond, she hesitantly dropped to her knees beside him.
Up close, Nina saw Kasik’s chest rising and falling the slightest amount.Alive, her mind screamed with relief. She placed her handsagainst his bare chest and lowered her ear to his heart. It was faint, but it was beating. She sat back and moved her hands to his neck, then his cheeks. “Kasik,” she whispered again. “Please wake up.”
His skin was a furnace against her palms, and his hair was damp with sweat. She pressed her lips to his forehead, as her mamay had done to her so many times, and hissed with worry. Fever had settled in his blood. “I need you,” she murmured into his ear, hoping her words would shake him awake, just as they had done for her in the forest.
Still, he didn’t move. Nina sat back, vision blurred with tears, and gasped. There, in the center of his chest, right next to the achilla resting around his neck, was a dim, golden light.
16
