Heiress: Birthstone Series Book Two (6 page)

Gerigo appraised me for many silent moments. I stared back
at him evenly, refusing to look the least bit unnerved. The corner of his mouth
lifted in a sly smile and I knew I’d won.

“I don’t know what you’re up to, bro, but I’ll keep quiet if
you return the favor.”

“Always knew you were a smart one,” I said. I clapped him on
the back with my spare hand as I strolled past him. Gerigo grunted in response.
I left him to raid what was left of our weaponry closet knowing he’d probably
take the flak for the darts I’d stolen as well. Of course, once I was gone,
everyone would realize who was really responsible.

Whistling to myself, I moved toward the back of our hut and
disappeared into the forest before I could run into anymore nosy family members
or neighbors. I clomped through the foliage, aware I was making too much noise
to stay undetected if someone should walk by but I counted on most everyone
being too involved in their own activities to question mine.

When I made it to the tree near the beach where I usually
tied my boat, I lurched to a stop. Once again, Faema was there to greet me.
This time, I noticed the possessive way she lounged in my boat. She leered at
me suggestively and bit into the overripe mango she held in one hand.

“Don’t you ever get tired of following me around?” I asked
her. A fat, yellow drop of juice slid down her arm and landed on the bottom of
the boat. “You’re making a mess,” I pointed out. I dropped my pack onto the
sand.

She laughed. “You throw fish in the bottom of this thing.
It’ll be fine.” After one last nibble, she chucked the rest into the trees. One
by one, she licked the juice from each finger, watching me with sultry eyes as
she brought each fingertip to her lips.

“Nice try,” I said. “Now move. I need some space to work and
you’re taking too much of it.”

Faema crinkled her forehead for a moment before restoring
the heated look in her eyes. “I could help you. Two bodies are better than
one.”

“Only if you want the other person around.” I stared down at
her in stony silence, waiting for her to become embarrassed enough to get out
of my boat. When she turned a deep shade of pink and scrambled to her feet, I
smirked.

“Fine. I get the hint,” she snapped. “But I can still help
you, can’t I?”

“I don’t need your help.” I picked up the weapon bundle and
carefully settled it in the bottom of the boat. Grabbing the spare oilcloth I
always stored at the front of the boat, I began to unroll it.

“What’s this for?” Faema asked. She reached for one end.
Anticipating what I was doing, she pulled the fabric and stretched it over the
surface of the boat so it covered the bundle.

“I can’t talk about it.” I continued to unroll it until it
concealed the entire floor of my boat and could be tucked down the sides.

She pursed her lips, flipped up one side of the tarp, bent
down, and reached toward my weapon pack. Firmly, she patted down the bundle,
smiling grimly at the clank of the tools as she jostled them around. I dropped
my end of the tarp and grabbed for her hand but she yanked it away.

“So,” she said as she straightened back up, “you’re going
somewhere?”

“It’s none of your business.” I brushed past her and began
to smooth out the part of the tarp she’d disturbed.

“It’s your parents business, though. I’m sure they’d like to
know about any plans you may have to leave the island.”

I rolled my eyes. “What do you want, Faema?”

“Haven’t you figured it out yet?”

I snorted. “You know that will never happen, so try again.”
I turned from her and went back to securing the oilcloth.

Behind me, she was quiet until I finally glanced at her.
“What?” I asked when I saw the way she eyed me. It wasn’t her typical, intense
stare, like when she’s just begging me to notice her. Instead it was distant,
as if she was looking past me and seeing something else entirely.

“I want to come,” she said, her words soft and nearly
inaudible.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I turned to
face her.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re going after her and I want to come with you.”

I almost laughed but her expression didn't change. I’d never
seen Faema so earnest and I drew back.

“You hate Aylen. You want nothing to do with the mainland or
her people. Everything you love is here. If this is about me . . .”

She held up a hand to silence me. “This isn’t about you,
though I can see why you’d think that.”

“Right. Then what’s this about?”

“I have nothing left here, Sai!” she said with a gasp. “What
do you think this is about? I have no family, hardly any friends, and I can’t
stand being in the same place where I watched my father, the only person who
really loved me, take his last breaths. Everything in Vairda is a reminder of
what I’ve lost. And even though you never returned my feelings, it will only
get worse once you leave.”

“And you think coming with me will fix that?” I tried not to
sound skeptical but Faema heard the doubt in my voice.

“Nothing will fix it, but starting fresh can help. Maybe
there’s more for me than Vairda has to offer like there was for Aylen. I used
to laugh at her but at least she has a purpose. At least she has people who
need her.”

I took a step toward Faema, prepared to argue her down.
There was no way she could come with me. Not only would it throw the island
into a panic, but I didn’t think I could stand to be around her for that long.
Inhaling deeply, I opened my mouth to say the words I knew would crush her, but
before they left my lips, she grabbed my arm.

“Don’t tell me no,” she pleaded, her words low and fast.
“Don’t say it would be too hard or dangerous for me. Don’t say you don’t want
me around, even if it’s true. And don’t you dare tell me how much people would
miss me.”

“Then what do you want me to say?”

“I can be a help, you know. People are often more generous
toward a pretty face. I’m good at hunting and I’m a strong swimmer. And I’m
clever, Sai. I can help you if you’ll let me.”

“I’ll never think of you in the way you want me to,” I
promised. I shuddered as I envisioned weeks with Faema sidling up to me and
licking fruit juice from her fingers.

“If I promise to act as nothing more than your friend,
regardless of how I feel, will you let me come?”

“You could die. We both might.”

She blinked up at me sadly. “It’s better than living here
without a purpose.”

I shook my head at her. “Don’t be so dramatic, Faema.”

“Just tell me I can go, Sai.”

I groaned. I had no doubt I’d regret caving into her
demands. And yet . . .  “I’m leaving two hours before sunrise. Get whatever you
need together and hide it in the bottom of my boat until it’s time to go. We’ll
be swimming the entire way so make sure your gear is water tight and bring your
Sea Gem.” I took a step backwards as though I could distance myself from the
decision I’d just made. “And be on time,” I warned.

Faema’s eyes grew as round as plums and she flashed me a
brilliant smile. “I won’t be late. I promise.”

As she turned to leave, I called out to her, “Don’t say a
word about this to anyone.”

“Of course not,” she agreed.

I watched her leave. Could I really handle having Faema
along as a travel partner? A few minutes ago, I had planned on doing everything
alone, with only myself to worry about. Now I had another life to protect. I
groaned, ran a hand through my hair, and headed toward home. I still had a
family to say goodbye to, I realized. And that task needed my full attention.

My mother didn’t notice the food missing when she prepared
our meal that evening. I had packed a few things for Faema and myself to last
several days with the hope we’d find more on our journey. It was enough to leave
a hole in my family’s supply, but mom was so busy cooking with my brothers’
wives, she didn’t say a word about it.

I watched her for a while, not really wanting to join my
brothers and Dad while they boasted about whose latest hunting trip was most successful.
Normally I’d jump right in but I felt a little too sober. Instead, I asked my
mom if I could help with meal preparations.

She was already chopping the ginger root for dinner when I
offered to assist her. She stared at me as though I’d just sprouted a palm tree
out of my nose.

“What did you say?” she asked, her knife paused in midair.

“I asked if you needed help,” I repeated.

She looked at me for several moments, baffled, before she
shrugged her shoulders and motioned me forward.

“Put all this in the pot.” She waved her hand toward a pile
of vegetables.

I scrambled to obey knowing it would be one of the last tasks
I would complete for her.

“Something wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing more than the usual,” I mumbled. I breathed in the
smell of my mom’s cooking and closed my eyes. Even with our disagreements about
Aylen, I would miss home.

“Your girl left,” Mom said. I whipped my head around to look
at her but she continued to chop and slice and refused to meet my eyes.

“How did you know?”

“Several people heard a loud noise from the beach this
morning. They were worried it might be more mainlanders so they went to talk
with her parents. They discovered their home empty with most everything gone.”
She paused again. This time, she lifted her eyes to mine. “You weren’t at home
this morning. I’m guessing you already knew she left.”

“You guess right,” I said.

With a nod of her head, she abandoned her knife, gathered
the remaining vegetables, and passed them my way so I could add them to the
stew. I dropped them into the mixture, listening to the plop-plop of each piece
as they fell from my fingers.

“It was for the best, Sai.” She reached for the ladle and
took my place, stirring vigorously.

“We won’t agree on this,” I told her as I rested an arm
around her shoulders. “But I love you, Mom.”

She sampled a bit of the boiling liquid, her tongue long
accustomed to temperatures hot enough to burn, and grimaced. “I love you too,
Sai. What’s done is done and someday, I think we’ll see eye to eye.”

I tried to smile at her. I didn’t want to spend our last
moments arguing. In search of a change of subject, I asked, “What else can I
help you with?”

“Well, aren’t you selfless today,” she muttered. She dropped
the ladle back into the pot and said, “Go make sure your brothers have got the
fish on the coals. They always wait too long.”

I left a wet kiss on her cheek and headed outside. The
blazing fire my father had built earlier in the evening had long since melted
into hot, red embers. As I drew closer, I saw several tightly wrapped fish
already placed into the pit where they smoked with what remained of the fire.
Once more, I inhaled deeply, wanting to remember the scent of wood smoke,
roasting fish, and the sweet, evening island air.

“Sai, come sit down,” Gerigo called out. He scooted closer
to his eldest son so I would have room to plop down on the other side of log.

I dropped next to him with a sigh. Turning my gaze to the
coals, I watched them absently and half-listened to the conversation around me.

“No sign they’ll come back anytime soon,” Cord said as his
daughter tripped over a root. He picked her up before she could turn her
whimper into a wail.

“Course not. They were bound to go back at some point. I’m
just surprised it took so long. You’d think they would have announced it or
something,” my father said.

I felt everyone’s eyes turn to me but I refused to look up.

“Did you know Aylen was leaving today, Sai?” Ger asked,
jabbing an elbow into my side.

“I might have had an idea,” I muttered. I picked up a nearby
stick and poked the coals with its tip. Tiny red and black bits of ash flew
into the air. After a few beats of silence, the conversation continued without
me. This time it shifted to the struggle of settling the furthest islands.

Without warning, Ger gave me another nudge that nearly sent
me flying off the edge of the log.

“What was that for?” I hissed, shoving him back.

“You going after that girl?” he asked. He kept his voice low
and dipped his head closer to mine.

“You didn’t say anything, did you? Because if you did I’ll .
. .”

“Relax.” Ger took the stick from my hands and used it to
stir up another portion of the coals I’d missed. “No one knows but me.”

“You won’t tell anyone?” I dropped my voice even lower when
Cord glanced our way.

“It’s no one’s business but your own. But I’ll have to tell
them once you’re gone.”

I looked at him in surprise. “You’re not going to try and
stop me?”

“Don’t get me wrong, Sai. I think it’s stupid and I don’t
get what you see in Aylen, but you’ve always been sort of different. You’ve
always tried to forge your own path. I’m kind of impressed you’re so willing to
stand up to Mom. The rest of us never could.”

I didn’t answer for several moments. I wasn’t sure what to
say. I felt so much gratitude for Gerigo, a simple thank you didn’t seem like
enough. Finally, I clapped him on the back and he nodded in understanding.

A little later, Mom began to bring out the rest of the food.
My nieces and nephews jumped around her excitedly and argued over who would eat
more. Before I could dig in and enjoy my last meal with my family, however, a
familiar figure emerged from the trees and edged toward our group.

“Haji!” my mom exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

I glanced toward her and smiled before I noticed her glare.

“Is it alright if I talk to Sai privately for a few
minutes?”

My mother’s lips spread to toothy grin. “Of course.” Turning
to me, she snapped her fingers. “Sai! Talk to the girl.”

With a roll of my eyes, I stood and ignored Ger’s snort.
When I reached Haji she grabbed my arm and led me firmly away from the fire and
the curious stares from my family members.