Desert Siren

Twenty-Six

"Are you out of your bleeding mind?" Jayza jerked away again, her voice low and angry. "I just said you need to convince your men. And instead of staking me to the ground, you lead me out of sight. What in the Seven Lands is wrong with you?"

"Piss," he ordered, pointing at the ground with a smile. "We don't have much time. But I needed to make sure he didn't hurt you."

"I'm going to be hurt a lot worse after the Emperor has me," Jayza snapped, holding up her tied hands. Tavan quickly untied them, and she dropped to a squat, staring up at him with fire in her eyes. "Might as well start getting used to it now."

"Jayza," Tavan moaned softly, flinching at her words again. "Please don't. You have no idea what this is doing to me."

"Tavan, I don't want to hurt you. Sands knows I'd do anything to keep that from happening. But pretending everything is going to be fine once we arrive in Culan is a fantasy. The sooner you harden your heart, the easier it will be. For both of us."

Tavan turned away, staring across the darkened field. Jayza rose and pulled up her pants. Tapping him on the shoulder, she held her hands out, wrists together when he turned. He leaned forward and Jayza turned her head, refusing the kiss he planned.

"Now I will be the one to say please don't," she whispered. "Do not make this any harder than it has to be."

Tavan gazed at her, his eyes full of despair. Jayza raised her hands, blocking her sight of him and he sighed. Wrapping them tightly, he grasped her wrists and tugged her back to camp. Jayza purposely stumbled, wanting to make it appear he was treating her roughly. When they arrived at his bedroll, she sank to her knees, her eyes downcast, and meekly curled on her side after he staked her to the ground. But as exhausted as she was, sleep proved elusive and when dawn streaked the sky, she rose with deep purple bags under her eyes. Tavan led her away again but turned away and remained silent as she attended to her needs. Hoisting her on her horse after camp had been struck, he mounted Samson without a word and waited patiently for the Raptors to form up. Raising his fist, he directed them forward and another day's march was underway.

Despite her fatigue, Jayza gazed around with interest. Truscas was as different from Kif Aljar as a camel was from a horse. Initially, she had the impression that everything was green. Green grass, green trees, even some of the lakes and ponds appeared green. But gradually, as her eyes adjusted to the unfamiliar landscape, she could see it wasn't actually all the same color green. Just as the desert varied in tone between the shades of gold or grey, the land around her differed also. The tall blades of grass were several shades lighter than those of most of the trees and bushes. And when she looked more closely, long stalks with light tan feathery ends could be seen. The trees were also of varying shades. Some were dark green, some light, and a few even looked silver in the rustling wind. Jayza was also amazed at the profusion of flowers. Tall stalks with white, purple, yellow, and orange blossoms lined the road and many of the fields were full of smaller flowers, colored yellow, white, and red. Butterflies, something she had only ever heard of, flew daintily among them and over all this, she could hear the buzzing of bees and the chirping of something she didn't recognize. Her amazement grew the further they went on. Everything seemed to grow wild here, something else she had no concept of. Flowers and most trees were carefully cultivated in Kif Aljar and the idea that there were so many things growing wild delighted her. Despite the fact that every mile bought her closer to the Emperor, she found herself entranced and actually enjoyed the ride.

As they traveled further into Truscas, her wonder continued to grow. A few hours after setting out, she began to see large houses in the distance. The houses amazed her. The buildings in Kif Aljar had been constructed from the stones quarried out of the cliffs, mortared with a paste made from the ground dust. Because of this, the houses were all the same uniform color, the only thing differentiating them were the decorations carved into their walls. Here, the houses varied in color. Some were white, some were gray or brown, and she even saw several red ones. She concluded Culan must be extremely wealthy if they could afford to paint entire houses one color. Paint was hard to come by and while Mehma had sometimes been able to buy supplies to mix some, it was only a small amount and was used sparingly. Fences now sometimes lined the road with cows, sheep, and horses contained in their borders. The cows and sheep ignored them, but the horses often came up to the fences, watching them with interest, then galloping gaily away when one of the Raptors called out to them. Sometimes, she could see men working in the distance, but they were too far away for her to determine their tasks. The temperature was pleasant as well, neither too hot nor too cold, even though it was midday during Full Heat. A soft breeze blew, the smell of grass and flowers scenting the air and keeping what little sweat formed to a minimum. Jayza continued gazing like a child, her head cocking at the constant birdsong that accompanied the bees and chirping, and she caught herself several times beginning to hum. By the time the cohort stopped for Second Meal, Jayza had decided she understood why the Emperor chose to live in Culan. If the city was even half as lovely as the countryside, it would be beautiful indeed.