No, it didn’t, you liar.
Mikoh ignored my mental taunting.
“I’ll bite you, and it’ll hurt worse if you try to use sweet words and touches to get out of helping me again. Stand next to Ezah and close your mouth. I’m tired of hearing your annoying voice.”
Mikoh scowled at my sister, and when I snorted, he looked like he was about to attack me but thought better of it, which made me snort again. Mikoh, like me, was an Elite member of the Guard … but he remembered who he had to frequently spar with. He’d looked up from the ground at me many times when I put him on his behind. He knew that I knew he didn’t want another repeat of that, which amused me greatly.
“Such a good intended.” I cooed to him. “Helping your female … you’ll look so pretty.”
Surkah ignored Mikoh’s growl as she held up a sheet of shockingly bright pink fabric that thrust both Mikoh and me into a sudden silence.
“Its beauty has stolen your voices.” Surkah squealed. “You’re both going to look wonderful.”
Mikoh and I stood as still as statues after we stripped down to nothingness and only had a strip of fabric around our hips to keep from terrifying my sister. She measured, pinned fabric in place, cut, sewed, and somehow made female’s clothing. I had the bright pink ensemble on, and Mikoh had the moon silver outfit covering his body. Neither of us would look at the other, but that rule didn’t seem to apply to everyone.
“So pretty.” Surkah clapped her hands together. “I love them.”
“Yes,” a voice from the doorway cackled. “So very pretty.”
“The prettiest females in all of Ealra.”
“You’ll dazzle males everywhere you beauties go.”
Mikoh and I snapped our attention to Killi, Arli, and Arvi, who were now on the floor at the door after falling over one another with laughter. I looked at Mikoh, and he looked at me. A silent understanding passed between us as we jumped down from the perch we stood on and made for my brothers, who had yet to understand the approaching threat. The sound of ripping fabric filled the room as Mikoh and I shed our colourful outfits.
My brothers stopped laughing and jumped to their feet to defend our impending attack, but it was too late. Surkah screamed as I landed a punch to Killi’s face. Though I wasn’t sure if it was because we were fighting or because Mikoh and I were as naked as the day we were born, having ripped the ensembles she worked so hard on.
When I felt her spring onto my back and sink her teeth into my shoulder, I had my answer.
Chapter Six
Levi
If I wasn’t such a chicken, I wouldn’t have found myself in the situation that I was in. I made a really, really stupid decision. I had purposely made myself sick because I was too scared to meet Ezah after dark on the hill. As I looked back on my decision, it was easy to see that I was a complete and utter idiot, but at the time, I thought my idea was sheer genius.
Nuni often spoke about herbalism, and she had recently shown me a plant that grew in our back garden that the Maji avoided eating because it gave them an upset stomach. She made sure to teach me which one it was so I wouldn’t make the mistake of accidentally ingesting them. Never in a million years did Nuni think I would purposely eat the damn thing when she educated me on it. I stupidly thought that I would eat a leaf of the sick plant because it would give me a good excuse not to have to meet a prince of the freaking Maji on a hill in the dark of night.
I never considered that if one leaf could make a Maji feel sick, then one would possibly make a human feel like they were dying … because I seriously felt like I was dying.
“Levi?” A soft knock sounded on my door. “Are you awake, honey? You have a visitor.”
I squeezed my eyes shut as burning hot pain rolled through my body. I tried to reply to Nuni, but the best I could do was grunt and grumble. Nuni knocked again, then she opened the door to my room and popped her head into the room.
“Levi? Did you hear … Levi!”
I had no idea what I looked like lying on my bed, but it must have been bad because Nuni’s scream pierced my skull and caused my already aching head to throb with pain. When I looked at Nuni, she was at the doorway, but when I blinked and opened my eyes once more, she was hovering over me and pressing her ice-cold hand to my face. I groaned at the cooling sensation.