Page 29 of Family Found

I sighed. “Food sounds amazing, actually. And I guess I could sleep.”

We got up and out of the warm water, Inkiri going first and taking my wrist to help me. He didn’t let go as he led me toward the exit, which meant we had to pass the other occupied pool.

The two bagua greeted us with your average onora kesh vaie, which was a polite way of saying hello. Then there was more conversation I couldn’t follow.

After a few beats, Inkiri turned to me. “These two protectors are the ones who helped you find your adder stone when we first came to Esaka and we had you entered as my mate. Do you remember?”

My mouth fell open before I gave them an uncertain wave. “Oh, of course. They made sure I was okay when I started crying outside the Raiken.”

Inkiri clicked. “Happy tears?”

“Yes, those.”

One of the Raikengana asked something, and once again, the only thing I caught was the “gu” question marker at the end of the sentence.

Inkiri hummed. “He wonders whether we’ll be coming with them tomorrow. To Earth.”

I tilted my head like a bagu. “You mean those two, what, signed up for the new exciting thing the Raiken is doing?”

“It sounds like they did. Hove has been selecting promising candidates for the outpost he’s been tasked with building. It’s necessary, especially with the news of the Koa Esher on Earth and the human mages who want to make sure the beasts roam there.”

“Oh, so Hove is in charge of all of that?” I moved toward the towels I’d spotted on a stone shelf, but Inkiri was faster, pulling one down and wrapping me in it. It was so big that it covered all of me, and it was very soft. Really, Earth could learn a thing or ten about how bathing should be done from the Raiken.

“He’s in charge of one of the outposts that are to be built. He will be the dena of that outpost. The goal is to properly establish it as a Raiken, and Hove has border experience, tactical knowledge, and he speaks the language.”

“Oh. Well, that’s cool. Makes sense to have someone higher up there, what with Zeddira still healing, right?”

Inkiri nodded then spoke to the two bagua again. I heard him use Zeddira’s name, so he was probably just translating. Both said something back, and they seemed eager from how they nodded. The water broke into tiny waves around them.

“They say how glad they are that Zeddira is safe. When news came that he had been killed by the Koa Esher, everyone was shocked. The Koa Esher have not been able to deal the Raiken or a House that kind of loss in a long time.”

I inwardly reached for the land, who was distant. It was a bit like talking over the phone with someone, but through a very bad connection. I got the feeling that it wasn’t putting too much stock in other bagua being happy about Zeddira not being dead, but it liked that the Koa Esher had failed at getting their way. Really, no one seemed to like those guys.

Inkiri and I said our goodbyes after a little more small talk, during which I mostly just smiled like the amazing trophy mate I was.

We’d been given a guest room a short walk away from the baths. It was bright and simply furnished, with a table and seating pillows in the front room and two bedrooms in the back. Lissir, and maybe Vergis if he got back soon enough, would be taking the other room. On the table in the front room, there was a selection of food, some of which I recognized, and next to the table, baskets with fresh clothes had been set out.

I stretched, wondering whether it was worth changing out of the too-large shibiya clothes from the baths just for dinner when the day was already waning while Inkiri uncovered the dishes, most of them cold except for one pot that sat on a little heated stone.

“Hey, should we bring some food over to Kinnek? And to Lissir?”

Inkiri patted the cushion next to him, and I sat, deciding that getting changed was way too much trouble.

“We don’t have to. The healers are going to make sure they get food too. You don’t have to worry about them.”

I nodded and reached for some vinné. “Okay. Hey, do you think Kinnek is going to stay here? For Aragis, I mean.”

Inkiri put a few things on a plate and put it in front of me. More unfamiliar food for me to try.

“I don’t know.” He narrowed his eyes. “It’s a difficult situation. Charles has never spoken about it to me, and I wouldn’t ask Kinnek himself, but it’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”

I nodded. “He thought Aragis was dead.” I wasn’t sure how much I should tell Inkiri about what I knew, so I left it at that.

Inkiri sighed. “It’s—ah, you have a word. Incorrigible?”

“Inconceivable, you mean?”

He hummed. “Yes. It’s inconceivable. But Kinnek has him back now. There is a future there again, although it will look different from what could have been.”