Chapter 14

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I stood on my own for a moment, lost in my thoughts.

"I thought you'd never get done," Jax said, head popping around the corner.

"I fear I may have offended Yoki. She seemed eager to get rid of me."

"What did you say to her?" Jax gapped. "I've never seen her mad."

"We talked about living here. The hourglass and humans. I think something with the water's madness affected her."

Understanding flashed on Jax's face and he held out his arm for the dresses. I obliged, passing them to his as he led me away.

"No one talks about that unless necessary. It's worse than the Hunter's here." Jax ran his free hand through his hair, dark locks standing straight up in its wake. "It used to be worse when Spirits would go mad. That's where the stories come from, sea demons. Siren was one and it's a sore topic."

"I still don't understand. How can it be so awful?"

"It wasn't the madness that made it awful, but what we can do." Jax's voice was tight. "Maurea, we are strong and almost impossible to kill. If we chose, we could destroy an entire city."

I did know. The rage and power I could feel in the water. It was controllable, but I had already sentenced a man to death with no regret. If I was corrupted further, I could do it again and again with no consequences.

"Then it's the fear of what we could be?"

"The fear of what we can and have been. Yoki was one of the Spirits condemned to madness. When The Council found her, she was famous." His voice lowered, eyes dancing around like he expected someone to be watching us. "They're the reason humans know about us."

"They shouldn't be blamed." I wrung my hands together, the tips of my nails scraping against my palms. "If they cannot control it, they can't be held responsible."

"No one blames them, but we don't speak of it."

He stopped in front of a rather large building that looked down on the amphitheater. It looked neat, with no chips in the clay bricks or fauna in the cracks. The first floor had four doors, all with open windows and names carved in the wood. The second floor had a balcony that stretched across the floor, a wooden ladder langing down to the ground.

"Is this where I'll be staying?" I looked to Jax to find his eyes fixed on the opposite end of the expansive clearing. I could see Atoya and Siren arguing, their words just falling short of distinguishable. "Are they upset about me?"

"Probably," Jax sighed. "For as long as much as they care for each other, they hardly agree."

"Then Spirits can be together here?"

Jax looked down, his one eyebrow cocked. "Is that an advance on me, Miss Maurea?"

I could feel my cheeks heat and I took a hurried step back. My father had ensured I didn't know many young men, all the suitors met him first. Still, the few who he had allowed me to meet were proper.

"I didn't mean in that way. It just struck me as odd."

"Their relationship, I don't think anyone would care about it. If they did, no one would say anything."

"The concept of marriage is tying yourself until death. We don't know when that will be. Then, it's an oath to God."

"And that would stop any of us?"

"I just assumed no one believed in God here," I hurriedly explained, "I just don't see a church or any signs of religion."

I turned my eyes to my feet, feeling Jax's gaze. It seemed like I could do nothing right here.

I was about to retreat when I heard laughter and risked a glance up. Jax didn't look offended. His open mouth and raised brows were exaggerated, but behind his shocked face, his eyes were bright and humorous. He was teasing me.

"As a whole, Intutum does not recognize one god. If that is who you believe in, you're welcome to follow your beliefs. As for marriage, there are a few couples in Intutum, Atoya and Siren included. There is no reason for them to enter into an agreement to prove it to others."

"Then if I was to have someone I was promised to, no one here would care if I abandoned him?" I could feel a rush in my blood and I found my lips pulling up on their own accord.

"We all left someone behind," Jax agreed.

"Then you promised to someone? Or married?" I couldn't resist the chance to ask Jax about his past. He didn't seem eager to give up information and it was hard to judge him without knowing his past.

"Nothing like that," he laughed. "My parents were already dead, just leaving me with my sister."

"You had a sister?" The eagerness faded. "I'm sorry, I know what that's like."

"I don't mind. I stayed long enough for her to grow up. At that point, I had been nineteen for a decade and even she couldn't ignore it." He laughed, but his eyes were cold. "She thought I sold my soul to the devil. She wasn't too far off."

"How did she react when you told her what you were?" His story was strickenly similar to mine. Perhaps if his sister could accept him, mine could as well.

"I never did. She wanted her distance and I couldn't force her. Still, I like to think she knows I'm watching out for her and her family."

"How old is she?" Jax said he was born a few decades ago. Any sister would have to be a grandmother by now.

"In her late sixties, still enjoying her life."

"So you haven't seen her since then? How can you stand it? To watch her grow old without you?"

"It's what she wanted and I am happy for her." He shifted, throwing the dresses over his shoulder. "Let's go inside. We've lingered in the doorway long enough."

He scrambled up the ladder and walked along the thick wooden boards until he reached the furthest apartment on the second floor, leaving me to hurry after him.

I reached him and he handed me a thick silver key that matched the ornate lock. "Maurea, my sister is just one example of a family in our situation. Your sister isn't her."

I hurriedly stuffed it in the silver lock, anxious to get out of the open if the conversion was turning to my family.

The apartment was homey with the door opening into a large room with a smaller bed and trunk. There were no decorations, just a few chairs, and a table pushed to one side of the large room with a burning stove and cupboard in the other.

"You can change the chairs or tables later. We don't decorate, hardly get any new visitors. May I come in?"

"I'd prefer for you to stay outside," I breathed, lunging forward to hold the door so he couldn't enter.

"Then I'll leave these here and meet you later. I hope to see you at meal?"

"I'll be there, the ninth turn, yes?"

"Yoki told you?" Jax asked, handing me the dresses.

"Yes, now please give me privacy." I shut the door, listening to the satisfying click of the handle lock.

"I hope you enjoy your quarters," Jax called through the door, a faint note of hurt in his voice.

I waited until I could hear his footsteps on the boards before relaxing. He was a good man, but private rooms and locked doors had never boded well for me.

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