Kossira drew in a deep breath, her eyes flittering cautiously up to Erin’s.
She went on. “The house that we lived in had all sorts of colorful things in it. There was a fire pit, where we’d spend our evenings, and plush rugs stretched out along the floors and tapestries on the walls. And the washroom…it was this giant pool of steaming, hot water that you could swim in, it was so big.” Kossira’s mask slipped again, that careful mask she hid behind. And what Erin saw was longing. For something new? Or for something just…not here? “And I’ve never seen it, but I know there is a marketplace on one of the lower terraces. They sell silks and fruits and jewelry from all the outposts.”
Kossira stood then and Erin thought she’d said the wrong thing. Her mask was back in place.
“Wait,” Erin said, her eyes flickering to the lantern, to the light. “Don’t go. Please.”
Kossira’s gaze went to the lantern too. In the blue light, Erin saw her frown, her anger. Erin didn’t understand it at first, not until Kossira said, “When Tavar takes control of the Golden City, I will see it all for myself anyways. I will raise my son there. We will,” she amended quietly. Meaning Tavar. “My son will be a prince of Luxiria, the first born in the new age.”
Then she left so quickly that Erin hardly had time to process her words. She watched Kossira look back at her and then she ascended the stairs with the guard. The guard said something in their language, but whatever Kossira replied made him fall silent.
It took Erin a moment to realize that she could see.
It took her another moment to realize that it was because Kossira had left the lantern behind. That was what the guard had questioned, no doubt.
Erin dragged the lantern towards her and prayed, perhaps even to Kollasor, the Fate Jaxor had prayed to once, that it would never go out again.
Erin roused from a deep sleep when she heard the door to her cell open. Groggy, she saw it was twice as bright, but that was because there was another lantern.
“What—”
It was Kossira. But she was alone, without a guard. And she had already come by to give Erin her dinner, though after that morning, her visit had been brief. Still, she’d let Erin keep the lantern again, which she’d been worried about.
So why was she here now?
Have the Jetutians come? was Erin’s next panicked thought.
Kossira cast a glance over her shoulder at the stairs. The pregnant female crouched low and said softly, “I cannot save you, but I can warn you.”
“What?” Erin asked, scrambling to push up to a sitting position. Her head spun when she rose too quickly. She felt weak, her limbs heavy. “Warn me?”
“The Jetutians will come. Tomorrow, once the sky is dark. But when they do, Tavar is planning an attack.”
“Why?”
“It does not matter, but he is,” Kossira whispered. “And when it happens, that is when you can try to make your escape, while the Jetutians are distracted. Their vessel usually docks east of here. That is where Tavar will take you. There is a long hallway on their vessel, one with shapes like this,” she turned to the dirt and drew a circular pattern with two vertical lines running through it, “etched into the floor. Follow them until you find a large white door. Once you see it, do not go through. Instead, turn left and go through the grey door. That will lead you off the vessel. And if you escape, head west. Follow the brightest star in the sky. It will lead you towards the Golden City.”
Erin absorbed her words quickly, her mind working, realizing the severity of this situation.
Her eyes flicked down to the shape in the dirt and then Kossira wiped it away.
“Why are you helping me?” Erin whispered, taking her hand through the bars.
Kossira looked at her. Her mask slipped. Erin saw the sadness in her eyes, the fear.
“Because I know what the Jetutians do to females,” Kossira said, her voice rough yet brittle. “They kept me for some time on their vessel before they cured me. Tavar knew, but he still let me go to them, knowing what they would do.”
Erin’s blood turned to ice in her veins and she squeezed Kossira’s wrist a little tighter. She knew what the Luxirian female was telling her. That the Jetutians may have healed her, given her the ability to bear children