My eyes catch on her deep red lips… again. The deep color makes her teeth appear even more white.
I’ve never seen someone wear so much red, and now I know it relates to being a comfort woman. I don’t like it.
Heat creeps up my neck.
Mother Liana comes up the tunnel, interrupting my thoughts to hold out yet another pouch. This one is larger than the other.
“These are speaking stones. I have prepared as many as possible,” Liana says, as I take the bag. “Only send the most important information.”
While putting all of the gifts in my pack, Melisa joins my side.
“Thank you, Mother Liana,” she says, her voice bright and sweet.
It’s almost enough to stroke a smile out of my lips.
Almost.
I turn to look at King Teo. We’ve disagreed on many points within the caves before, but I begrudgingly admit that he isn’t an incompetent sovereign.
Melisa would’ve never accepted no for his final answer. I am grateful he granted me leave to go with her.
He reaches out his hand. “Are you prepared to leave?”
I tentatively take it. “We are. Thank you for your help.”
“It was nothing,” he says.
Melisa gravitates to my side, and I let a few shallow breaths filled with her spiced flower scent fill my nose.
“I am prepared to leave as well. I must thank you, King Teo, for accepting my request.”
Teo’s mouth flattens into a harsh line. “I would’ve preferred other means.”
I agree.
Melisa smiles. “You can thank us when the king is dead, and we are safely nestled back in Enduvida.”
She says the words with certainty, but unease ripples through my body. I hold out my arm, and she takes it without hesitation.
“See you all soon!” she says cheerfully.
While I appreciate her optimism, it feels hollow.
I dip my head toward the crowd and say, “We will return as soon as possible.”
We walk out of the cave, just the two of us.
The sunlight pierces my eyes, as it did the last time I left Enduvida. I was not meant to be out here, looking like a human.
But things change.
We walk in silence until we reach the opening of the icy passage.
Strangely enough, the further away from the cave entrance Melisa gets, the quieter she becomes.
At first, I thought nothing of it, but then I caught her looking back at the mountain’s entrance as if she had forgotten something.
When she catches me, a mask covers her worried features.