Daughters of Mara - Book 1: Revelations

Chapter 8

It's a grave, Saph realized.

Despite a sense of unease, something pulled her to the short line of stone slabs sticking out of the earth. There were four, and she stopped at each one to read the engravings—simple names and nothing else.

Kyori

Luca

Hunir

Zira

None of them meant anything to her. The ground before the stones was smooth and grassy; clearly, they'd been there for some years.

"What are you doing?"

Saph jumped and whipped around to see Koko emerging from the cave. "Oh... Um... Look. There are people buried here."

At first, Koko seemed only vaguely curious. She strode to the center with a blank expression that gradually began to tighten until her eyebrows were drawn down into a pained frown.

"What?" Saph asked. "Do you recognize the names?"

But she received no answer. Koko just crouched down to one knee to silently study the stones. It was so quiet in this place; there were no animals scurrying through the grass or birds chirping in the trees. As such, the soft sound of someone clearing their throat made them both look up suddenly.

A tall, stocky man with wild black hair and a long, unkempt beard was approaching with his hands up. "I mean no harm."

"Don't come any closer," Koko growled as she sprung to her feet to stand in front of Saph. Her whole body was tense and rigid—ready to fight at the first sign of a threat.

The man seemed to take her command seriously and stopped, eyes wide. "A blue sage protecting her cub. Not something you see every day. But you don't seem much like one, anyway. You're not– Wait–"

Saph could see his face over Koko's shoulder. A look of wonder and disbelief appeared in his gray eyes as his mouth worked silently for a second or two.

"Ki– Kiriko?!?"

Koko slowly relaxed and Saph shifted around to look at her, no longer afraid of whoever this man was. Clearly, they knew each other. What she wasn't expecting was Koko's expression. It was the first time Saph could remember anything rendering her speechless—even if it was only momentary.

"Valen," Koko said simply. It wasn't a question.

"You remember me!" he said with a grin, his face lighting up. "I– I can't believe it's really you!"

And then he did something that made Saph gape in astonishment: He closed the distance between them and hugged Koko.

More shocking than that—she didn't immediately damage him, or even push him away. Instead, she went stiff as a board and a faint tinge of pink crept into her usually pale cheeks.

Saph couldn't help herself; an unrestrained snort escaped from her, though she did at least attempt to cover it up with her hand. All she got for her trouble was a truly poisonous glare from Koko and a curious, amused look from Valen—who had let go by that point—both of which only made her burst out laughing. The more she thought about it, the harder she laughed, now doubled over and gasping, her arms wrapped around her middle.

"What is the matter with you?" Koko asked harshly.

"Sorry," Saph managed, making a huge effort to calm down while she wiped tears from her eyes. There was no explaining herself, though.

"So, uh..." Valen began. "Is she yours?"

"In a manner of speaking..." Koko's voice was as sarcastic as it had ever been, which was saying something.