When I wake up the second time, I have way more energy buzzing through me. I press a hand to my chest, searching for the aftereffects of Garrett’s stabbing, but nothing is there. The wound is gone, and my skin is clear.
I sniff the air when something divine slips up my nostrils and turn over in bed. On the bedside table is a wooden tray topped with a beautiful parfait filled with a yellow cream and fruit, nuts in a dish, a hefty chunk of brown bread, and a green juice in a slim, crystal glass. There’s a piece of brown paper on the tray with words written on it in jagged script.
I pick it up to read it.
If you wake to this, I’m near Moon Village where the huts are. Find me after you eat.
Your one true love,
Caspian
My one true love? Really? I grin at the letter, placing it down and picking up the tray. I devour the food, gulp down the green juice, then set the empty tray back on the table. When I climb out of bed, something yellow catches in my peripheral. A chiffon yellow dress hangs on a wardrobe with a note pinned to it.
I asked Hassha for something you could wear. She gave me this dress. What the hell was she thinking? You’ll be the sexiest woman on the island!
I can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of me as I take it down by the hanger and run my fingers along the material. There’s an outdoor shower just outside the glass door on the balcony, and I undress quickly, sliding the door open and stepping out. I stand beneath the warm stream, allowing the water to pour over my bare body. I don’t care that my locs will likely be frizzy in a few hours when it air dries because this shower feels incredible right now.
I face the ocean, which appears to be endless. The sky is a beautiful turquoise, the sun bold and bright, beaming between the fronds of the palm trees above the shower. The palm fronds, I realize, create a barrier of privacy, and attached to the trunks of the trees are gold flowers, similar to the Vanorian Bloom Caz picked for me near his mother’s cabin. I pluck one off the leaf, sniff it, and it smells like honey and rain. Wow. Kessel is so beautiful.
After the shower, I wrap a towel around myself and find a bathroom tucked away inside. The bathroom contains only a toilet and sink with a mirror above, but the windows occupying the walls make it appear a lot more spacious.
There are more folded towels on a built-in shelf, bars of soap wrapped in kraft-like paper, and brand-new toothbrushes made of wood with dark bristles placed neatly in a wooden container on the counter. I can’t tell if all this stuff has always been here or if it was placed recently. Caz mentioned a nurse being around last night, before I fell asleep again, so I suppose she put things in place for me.
Thankful, I brush my teeth, pull my hair up into a loose ponytail, slip into the dress, then walk out of the bathroom to reach the front door.
I carry myself down the marble stairs, burying my feet into the powdery sand as soon as I touch it. The ocean breeze soothes every part of me, and I throw my head back, allowing the sun to bathe my skin. This place is absolute paradise.
Looking to my right, I notice overwater bungalows that come in different sizes, the exteriors made of wooden planks with steel roofs. I make my way in that direction and spot mothers playing in the water with their children. I notice all the children are girls. Laughter rings, and it’s a joyous noise that is much needed after so many hard days. Some women are styling younger girls’ hair, while others help build sandcastles and domes. A few other women sit crossed legged beneath a shady tree, stripping some type of material that looks like cotton off of sticks and stuffing them into braided leaf baskets. One of the women with honey-brown skin and a copper afro notices me and stops what she’s doing to smile.
“Hey-ah! Do you need help?” she asks, approaching me.
“Uh, hi. Yes, actually. I’m looking for Moon Village. Is it around here?” I ask.
“It is. Just make a right around the bungalow there and follow the moonstones in the ground. They’ll lead you straight to the village. You can’t miss it.”
I thank her and leave the beach to round the bungalow she pointed at and reach the path. When I find it, the moonstones are the first thing I notice. I wasn’t sure I’d know what they were when she said it, but it’s very clear when I bend down and rub one of the silvery stones protruding from the ground. It’s shaped like a crescent and shimmers in the sunlight. They appear to have grown from the soil, almost like someone planted them underground to allow them to bloom. I follow the stones the rest of the way, and I know I’m close when I hear the laughter of children.
A clearing appears and, sure enough, there’s the village that can’t be missed. This is no ordinary community, though. The shops are built into trees with thick branches that ascend upward as if trying to touch the sky. The miscellaneous shops and huts between have roofs made of gold. The shops sell baskets, clothes, weapons, food, while the huts seem occupied by families.
As I walk through, one of the women—elderly with peppery hair—stops me by offering me a square-shaped fruit. The skin is orange, and it has been cut in half to reveal yellow seeds reminiscent to a pomegranate. I take it from her with a smile, and she returns to the table in front of her shop, cutting more fruit.
It’s as I cross an overwater bridge that I spot a collection of picnic tables on a flat stretch of grass. Each table is spread out around a large firepit, and not too far from the pit is a throne. The throne is made of gold, with shapes of the sun, moon, and stars carved into it. Another round of children’s laughter echoes through the field, and I look to my right to find Caz seated at one of the tables with two girls who can’t be any older than eight or nine. They have flowers in their hands, and as I approach, I hear Caz grumbling, “I can’t tie the stem of this thing.”
You have to do it like this,” one of the girls says, a dark-skinned one with beautiful white hair. She shows Caz how to tie the flower stem with her own set.
The other girl, dark-haired with milky skin, sits right beside him. “Finished,” the dark-haired one says, then she climbs onto her knees on the bench and places a flower necklace around Caz’s neck that matches the blue and white flower crown on her head.
“You made this for me? Really?” he asks, and the girl nods, blushing. “Thank you, Maia. It’s beautiful. Now, if I can figure out how to tie this thing, I’ll have a gift for you too.”
Oh. My. Word. This is the cutest interaction I’ve ever seen in my life. Look at him with these girls! I’ve never seen him so…soft.
As if he hears my thoughts, Caz’s head turns, and his eyes find mine. I wave from where I’m standing, several feet away from his table. He hops off the bench almost immediately, excusing himself from the girls, but they trail right behind him as he ventures my way, like two little shadows.
“Am I interrupting?” I ask, partly teasing.
“Just the masterpieces of flower necklaces and crowns. You know how that goes.” The edges of his lips quirk up. “I’m glad you’re up and about.”
“Yeah, me too. I feel much better.”
“You have a weird accent,” the dark-skinned girl says. “Why don’t you sound like us?”
“Oh, right. Well, I’m not exactly from Vakeeli. I’m what Earth would call an American.”
“Ah-mah-ri-cuhn?” The girl frowns as she sounds it out.
I shift my eyes to Caz again, smiling. “I see you have your own little fan club now. Super adorable.”
“Oh. Right.” He turns a shade of red, looking between the girls as they step closer to me. “They’ve been lots of fun. Very welcoming too.” The dark-skinned girl folds her arms across her chest, while the paler one brings her hands behind her back with a coy smile.
“My name’s Minka.” Minka, the dark-skinned one, still has her arms crossed. “This is my sister, Maia.”
I drop to one knee. “It’s nice to meet you, Minka and Maia.”
Minka’s face changes, like she’s pleased that I’ve lowered to their level. “I’m only upset right now because Maia will probably be upset too,” Minka announces.
“Upset about what?” I ask, tilting my head.
“About you being awake, of course,” Minka says. “She was hoping you’d stay asleep another day, so we can hang out with Mr. Harlow a little longer. She knew when you woke up, he’d have to leave.”
Maia drops her head, a flush creeping up her neck.
“Well, Maia, if it helps, I only need to talk to him for a few seconds. Hey, maybe we can all hang out. Would you like that?”
Maia bobs her head eagerly. “Yes, please!”
“Great! Why don’t you find me some flowers too? I’d love to make a crown.”
“Oh, I can make you one!” Minka shouts.
“No, she told me to do it!” Maia retorts, and they both run off toward a line of trees, trying to outrace each other.
When they’re out of earshot, I slide my gaze to Caz who is already looking at me.
“Why are you staring?” I laugh.
“Look at you,” he breathes. “How can anyone not?”
I tuck a loose loc behind my ear, fighting a blush. “How long was I out for?”
“About twelve hours. You woke up around the fifth hour for a bit.”
“Yeah. I remember.” When he said he loved me more than anything.
Caz takes my hand, walking across the field with me. As we go, I can’t help feeling like everyone is watching us. I look over my shoulder at the woman who shoved Caz. She stands next to the bridge, the wooden handle of a spear clutched tightly in her hand, the bottom nestled in the ground. Her eyes are slightly narrowed as she watches our every step.
“They still aren’t trusting us about Korah?” I ask as we sit.
“Hassha believes it,” Caz says. “Milandra…well, she’s a different story. She wants to rip my head off, that one.”
“And I can assume Milandra is the woman standing by the bridge with the spear in her hand?”
Caz’s gaze flickers to Milandra. “That’s her. At this point, she’s just waiting for me to breathe wrong.”
“Hmm. And where is Hassha?”
“I’m not sure. I haven’t seen her since this morning, but she’s already sent a boat with some of her strongest women to look for some wood in The Trench. They’ll bring it back here, and we can make weapons. Hopefully they can find something.”
“That’s great news!”
“Yes, it is. Oh, while you were out, I tapped in with Cerberus again.” A look of concern washes over him. “He’s too afraid to go back to the castle. I feel his fear. He wants far away from Decius.”
“Poor wolf. It’s probably best that he stays away. Was Silvera with him?” I ask as we sit.
“She was. I believe they’ve been side by side since we left them.” He looks toward the throne. “I need to get to my family soon,” he says in a lower voice. “Once Hassha’s people return and those weapons are made, I’ll have to go to him.”
My brows dip. “Don’t you mean we?”
“No, Willow. Me. I’ll have protection from Hassha for an hour, at the least. I’ll kill him and free my family.”
I drag my thumbnail over the back of my hand. “And where will I be during all this?”
“You can stay here, in Kessel. I’ve already spoken to Hassha about it. It’s the only place Decius can’t get to you. Here, he can’t get into your mind, and if there is any danger, they’ll handle it. These women are warriors. They know how to fight.”
“But I want to be with you, Caz. I came back to help you.”
His lips press together, and he grips my hands, squeezing them on top of the table. “I can’t have another scare like yesterday, Willow. I can’t. I’m not losing you. I’d rather you stay here where you’ll be safe and taken care of.”
“But what if he hurts you—or your family? If I’m not there, how can I know you’re okay, Caz? I don’t like this plan.”
Caz’s head drops just an inch. “I’m going to do everything I can to get them out of his clutches. He wants me, not my family.”
That is true, but who is to say Decius won’t kill them—or hasn’t already—just to prove a point? I shake my head, looking toward one of the shops where they sell weapons.
“I don’t like this,” I mutter, lowering my eyes to the table.
“I knew you wouldn’t.”
“You shouldn’t have even told me,” I mutter again.
“I wanted to be honest. I could have left without telling you, then you’d have been angrier with me.”
I cut my eyes to his. “Who says I’m angry now?”
“I can feel it. Maybe not anger, but you’re upset.”
“Because it’s unfair, and you know it. I know I’m not the best fighter, but I’m sure I can help.” I lean in closer to him as a group of women pass. “If I lose you, Caz—if you never come back—I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“I’m putting up my fight,” he reminds me, bringing my hand to his lips. Right. I did tell him to at least try…but I don’t want it to be like this. “Relax. Don’t worry about me,” he goes on. “I’ll have protection from Hassha when I leave the island, and it should last me long enough to take down Decius and free my family. Once I do that, I’m all yours, and we’ll never be threatened again.”
I want to put up an argument, but I won’t right now. Not in front of everyone, because though they all seem to be minding their business (everyone except Milandra), I know they’re still watching. And even if I wanted to, I can’t because Minka and Maia come running back to us with arms full of freshly picked flowers.
They dump them onto the table, and Minka says, “Here! Now what’s your favorite color?”
I laugh and tell her pink, and she and Maia get straight to work. I sit and collect a few flowers for myself. As I do, a woman approaches with a glazed, handmade mug in hand.
“I’m Carra,” she says, and she takes the spot next to me, sliding the mug in my direction. “I’m sorry you were stabbed, but I’m glad you’re all better. Have this tea. It’s star berry, a favorite in Kessel.”
“Wow. Thank you.” I take the mug, cupping it in my hands.
“Are you the nanny for the girls, Carra?” Caz asks as I sip my tea. It’s delicious. Tastes like berries and mint.
“I’m their caretaker, yes. It is my assigned role in Kessel.” She moves in closer to me, pressing her bosom against my arm while studying my hair. “Your hair is so beautiful. May I?”
Normally, I don’t like people touching my hair, but she brought me tea, so I play nice. “Sure, yeah. Go ahead.”
Carra rises, moving behind me and pulling the hair tie out of my hair. My locs swim down to my back, and she murmurs, “Such beautiful hair,” again before picking up a few pieces and braiding them into sections.
“After this,” Carra says, twirling one loc around her finger. “Maybe I can show you to my bungalow. I have lots of hair accessories. Or we can simply relax and have more tea. Whatever you want.”
I look to Caz with inclined brows. Am I tripping, or is she hitting on me?
Caz remains passive but doesn’t take his eyes off Carra.
“Do you like mine, Caz?” Maia asks, stealing his attention away.
“I do, Maia. It’s lovely.” He pushes to a stand, clearing his throat. “If you’ll excuse me, ladies. I’m going to find Hassha. See if she has an update for me.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” I ask as he takes a minor step back.
“No, no. Stay here with the girls…and Carra.” His eyes flicker to her again, but she’s in her own world, toying with my hair. “I’ll be right back.” He plants a kiss on my forehead before walking away.
I watch him go but can’t help sensing something else is going on with him. Whatever is on his mind, he has his wall up, so I can’t hear him.
“There. Pink, blue, and gold.” Minka captures my attention, walking around the table to place the necklace around my neck, but not without bumping Carra out of the way.
“Mind your manners, Minka. Love of Vakeeli,” Carra mutters.
Maia ambles around too, handing her pink, yellow, and white necklace to me.
I put it on then smile at the girls. “Thank you, ladies. They’re gorgeous.”
