Daughter of Flood and Fury (Tidecaller Chronicles Book 1) by Levi Jacobs

Author:Levi Jacobs [Jacobs, Levi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Americon Industries
Published: 2021-01-17T16:00:00+00:00

19

Things are a little awkward in the morning. Not with me—I knew exactly what I was doing, realized that I’d been wanting it for a while. But Gaxna wakes up next to me and kind of jumps out of bed, muttering about being hungry or starting coals or something, and before I know it all her clothes are on and she’s lighting a cloveleaf and climbing out the window.

“Hey,” I say, when I’m dressed and get up to the rooftop. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Of course. Why?”

I take her hand. “Gaxna, we—something happened, last night, and you can’t pretend it didn’t. I don’t want you to.” I kiss her again, in broad daylight, to make my point.

She blushes but doesn’t pull away, and when I’m done her expression is softer. “I—floods. I don’t know what I’m doing, Theia. The last time I got involved with someone—” She looks away and pulls hard at the cloveleaf. “Well, you know.”

I take her hand. “I’m not Estrija. I’m not going to force you to join some cult, and I’m not going to stand by while you get hurt.”

She blows smoke, still gazing at the sea. “It’s just too similar, somehow. You teaching me the breathing, the temple after you like the witches were after me.” She sighs and turns back. “I don’t want to make the same mistakes again. I can’t. I don’t think I could take it.”

My heart lurches. I don’t want to lose her, lose this thing that we just now started that we should’ve done weeks ago. But more than that, I don’t want to hurt her, so I force myself to say it.

“We don’t have to do this. If you can’t stay any more, or if this is too hard, or whatever. You can go. You should.”

“No,” she growls, squeezing my hand. “I’m not leaving you. But this is what happened with Estrija. She wouldn’t leave the Guild, even after what happened. Just like you won’t leave the temple, even though they’re trying to kill you.”

“Some of them are trying to kill me. The other ones have my back. They want justice just as much as I do.”

“Justice,” Gaxna snorts, fragrant smoke puffing from her nose. “One woman’s justice is another’s villainy, that’s what the witches used to say. What if your dad was evil? Did you ever think of that? What if the traditionalists had good reasons for getting him off the Dais, however they did it?”

“If he was, then I need to know it. Find out the truth. And then I will walk away. But not before.”

She doesn’t say anything, pulling on the cloveleaf again. The sun is already high in the sky, cutting everything in sharp detail. I find myself wishing for the darkness again, for the simplicity of Gaxna’s touch.

“It’s the letter,” she says at last. “You want to know what’s in the letter, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” I say, taking the cloveleaf from her, pulling on it though it makes me cough. “I didn’t talk to my dad much, the last few years.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.