The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms - By N. K. Jemisin Page 0,116
nod, and a moment longer than thatmaking sure. Then he leaned in and kissed me again.
And this time it was different, because I could taste himnot Sieh the sweaty, slightly dirty child, but the Sieh beneath the human mask. It is difficult to describe. A sudden burst of something refreshing, like ripe melon, or maybe a waterfall. A torrent, a current; it rushed into me and through me and back into him so swiftly that I barely had time to draw breath. Salt. Lightning. That hurt enough that I almost pulled away, but distantly I felt Siehs hands tighten painfully on my arms. Before I could yelp, cold wind shot through me, soothing both the jolt and my bruises.
Then Sieh pulled back. I stared at him, but his eyes were still shut. Uttering a deep, satisfied sigh, he shifted to sit beside me again, lifting my arm and pulling it round himself proprietarily.
What was that? I asked, when I had recovered somewhat.
Me, he said. Of course.
What do I taste like?
Sieh sighed, snuggling against my shoulder, his arms looping around my waist. Soft, misty places full of sharp edges and hidden colors.
I could not help it; I giggled. I felt light-headed, like Id drunk too much of Relads liqueur. Thats not a taste!
Of course it is. You tasted Naha, didnt you? He tastes like falling to the bottom of the universe.
That stopped my giggling, because it was true. We sat awhile longer, not speaking, not thinkingor at least I was not. It was, after the constant worry and scheming of the past two weeks, a moment of pure bliss. Perhaps that was why, when I did think again, it was of a different kind of peace.
What will happen to me? I asked. After.
He was a clever child; he knew what I meant at once.
Youll drift for a time, he said very softly. Souls do that when theyre first freed from flesh. Eventually they gravitate toward places that resonate with certain aspects of their nature. Places that are safe for souls lacking flesh, unlike this realm.
The heavens and the hells.
He shrugged, just a little, so that it would not jostle either of us. Thats what mortals call them.
Is that not what they are?
I dont know. What does it matter? I frowned, and he sighed. Im not mortal, Yeine, I dont obsess over this the way your kind does. Theyre just places for life to rest, when its not being alive. There are many of them because Enefa knew your kind needed variety. He sighed. That was why Enefas soul kept drifting, we think. All the places she made, the ones that resonated best with her, vanished when she died.
I shivered, and thought I felt something else shiver deep within me.
Will will both our souls find a place, she and I? Or will hers drift again?
I dont know. The pain in his voice was quiet, inflectionless. Another person would have missed it.
I rubbed his back gently. If I can, I said, if I have any control over it Ill take her with me.
She may not want to go. The only places left now are the ones her brothers created. Those dont fit her much.
Then she can stay inside me, if thats better. Im no heaven, but weve put up with each other this long. Were going to have to talk, though. All these visions and dreams must go. Theyre really quite distracting.
Sieh lifted his head and stared at me. I kept a straight face for as long as I could, which was not long. Of course he managed it longer than me. He had centuries more of practice.
We dissolved into laughter there on the floor, wrapped around each other, and thus ended the last day of my life.
* * *
I went back to my apartment alone, about an hour before dusk. When I got inside, Naha was still sitting in the big chair as if he hadnt moved all day, although there was an empty food tray on the nightstand. He started as I walked in; I suspected he had been napping, or at least daydreaming.
Go where you like for the remainder of the day, I told him. Id like to be alone awhile.
He did not argue as he got to his feet. There was a dress on my beda long, formal gown, beautifully made, except that it was a drab gray in color. There were matching shoes and accessories sitting beside it.
Servants brought those, Nahadoth said. Youre to wear them tonight.