The Courier’s Collection

Chapter 30

30

Rasha kept her head bowed even after her friends were brought to the temple. She finished her prayer to the Universal and tucked her amulet back under her shirt. She’d been released. Her parents had sent word through the guard. She and her friends were free to leave if they chose. Rasha stood without turning, keeping her face to the eye of the Universal. She felt Jak behind her. She wasn’t sure how she knew it was him. Maybe it was all the nights of him tracking them. She’d gotten used to his stealth.

“Where are the others?” she asked.

“They’re talking somewhere.” Jak let his voice fade. He looked around, taking in the temple.

Rasha turned and faced him. “I wanted to explain why I didn’t say anything about all this before.” She gestured at the castle. Her fingers trembled, so she locked them together.

“You’re a spoiled little girl,” Jak said.

“What?”

“You were bored, so you left. I get it. The castle life must have been tough, all these servants attending you.” Jak waved a hand and turned in a slow circle, the disdain for the room and its furnishings on his face.

“Careful,” she warned.

Rasha’s hands remained clenched at her sides. She’d wait and let him get this out of his system. He needed to vent.

“No, I get it. Too much love and affection from this family of yours so you pack up and leave to become a courier. Something with a bit more freedom to be the spoiled brat that you are.” Jak said. “I can see why you left. I mean look at this place, the gold, the gems.”

“Are you mocking me?” she asked.

“Well, I don’t much see any reason to avoid the place for two rotations, or to lie about it.”

“You know why I can’t tell people who I am.”

Jak nodded. Then he ran his thumb across his neck like a knife.

“They wouldn’t dare,” Rasha said. He was teasing her.

“No, they won’t come after you. They’ll punish your family.” Jak said.

Rasha nodded. That’s what bothered her parents. They’d been shut out of royal events because their daughter refused to conform. They were proud and her actions were a constant blow to their status. Two rotations ago, she hadn’t given it another thought. Now she wondered if there was a way to restore her family and still maintain her own freedom. Hadn’t she done everything she could to distance herself from them?

“How do you come in here with the Eye of the Universal condemning you?” Jak asked.

“I’ll have you know that Eye has been in my family for generations. Only the guilty are condemned.” Rasha waited a beat and then asked him the question that had been worrying her since their arrival. “Are you still angry with me?”

“No,” Jak replied. The ease with which he said it calmed her heart. Perhaps Lu had said something to help him understand. She’d have to ask him about it later.

Rasha, feeling bolder and more at peace, took a step toward Jak. “I’m glad. I wouldn’t want this to come between us.”

“Between us? Is there something between us?” he asked, his false innocence making her tighten her lips to keep from laughing.

She made a show of looking around and in between them.

“I don’t see anything between us.” She took another step closer. She tilted her head and her lips parted.

“Princess, are you going to kiss me?” Jak asked, tipping his head forward and staring at her mouth.

“Don’t call me princess. Are you going to stop me?” she asked, a breath away from his lips.

Jak nodded but he let her kiss him. His hands gripped her waist before they slid up her back to her neck and into her hair. When they parted he ran a finger down her cheek and frowned when she winced.

“What happened here? Your skin—it’s swollen, and your lip.” He ran a finger along her busted bottom lip. When she tried to look away, he held on to her chin. “Who did this?”

Rasha gave him what felt like a half smile. “It’s a parting gift to the spoiled princess for speaking her true feelings to her father.”

Jak’s jaw clenched as his eyes traced the outline of the handprint on her face.

“We should get going.” Rasha wanted to be on her way before this conversation got any more uncomfortable.

“Yes.” Jak let go and straightened his coat. Rasha glimpsed the small disk she’d placed just under the collar. He hadn’t seen it. She reached up and grabbed for it. A guard chose that inconvenient moment to open the temple doors and announce himself. Rasha’s hand dropped back to her side.

“Your highness.” The guard inclined his head in her direction. Not a full bow. “The king sends his regards; your presence is no longer required. You are all free to go.”

The guard turned back around and exited the temple, the doors closing soundlessly behind him.

“Your parents aren’t ready to meet me, I suppose.” Jak pretended to be offended.

“Come on.” She pulled him along. Then she yelled for the others, “Lu, Chiza, it’s time to go.”

The two hadn’t gone any further on the inside edge of the temple. They were in the small entrance hall, with swollen lips and clothing askew. Jak laughed and gave Lu a pat on the back when they reached all reached the doors. Rasha shook her head. What could she say about it?

As if her parents couldn’t wait for them to be gone, the beasts were waiting outside the temple. Temi finished up a bowl of food they’d brought to pacify him. He trotted to Lu like a domestic animal and licked his hand. Lu gave him a pat on the head before helping Chiza up on their tuskin. Temi, too big to sit up on his lap anymore, trailed along beside them. Jak followed them with a smile and a wave to the guards.

Rasha raised her eyes to the windows of her mother and father’s rooms in the southern tower. There was no movement. She hoped someday, as her aunt had, they’d see her for who she was instead of what they wanted her to be. She had her aunt. Rasha would have to make more of an effort with her. Sochi had given Rasha shelter even after a two-rotation absence. She was like a mother to her. A shame she’d never married and had children of her own.