Turning back around slowly, I do as she says, all while knowing what is about to come.
She lets go of my hand and cups my cheeks. Her voice lowers. My heart cracks. “I know we have hurt you, have dishonored you. I know having Leith taken away to be given to your sister is not an easy thing to accept, not when you’ve been told your whole life that he and you were destined.”
Unable to look away, I drop my eyes.
“I wish the elders could have spared you. I wish Delina had an ounce of empathy to show you, but don’t you see? Can’t you see why we decided to make Delina Leith’s mate instead of you?”
“You think she’s more fertile,” I whisper harshly, feeling a little jolt of anger rise within me.
“No, Aida,” my mother says, leaning in close to whisper in my ear. “You’re worth more to the tribe with all your strength, with your courage and tenacity. Delina… well, Delina can barely lift a spear or create an ointment for pain.” She lets out a little laugh. “Let her be weighed down in pregnancy for all the years to come, not you, my dear daughter. As I, your cousins, and the other dying families grow older, we will need your strength to survive. We will need you as you are.”
She’s trying to make me feel better, but instead, her words only make things worse. Mother was a great huntress and guardian, even while she was pregnant with me and my sister, and Delina is more capable then she’s saying.
I know Delina’s worth. As my sister, she is worth my life.
Yes, Delina lacks empathy, but she’s strong-willed, and an incredible cook. Her fingers are dexterous and she stitches the most beautiful shell jewelry and hide coverings. I love my sister and mother—even when she tries to cow me—as I love the tribe.
But this… I don’t need this, whatever this is.
Mother is focused on the tribe as a whole, and not the whims and wants of a single member, not even if that member is her own daughter. I can’t blame her.
It’s people like her that keep us alive.
“Yes, Mother,” I say, all I can say.
She smiles. “Good. Now, stop this nonsense and be the Aida I raised. The Aida your sister and Leith need, the tribe needs.” She lets go of my cheeks. “I’ll send Milaye to guard your sister and Leith while they bathe, but next time, I’m sure you will make the right choice.”
I watch Mother walk away, back toward the central bonfire where some of the other older women sit around cooking.
The clouds shift overhead, streaming red down upon the village in waves, shadowing sections in red and brightening the rest with sunlight as they move over the comet and sun above at different times. I catch the gazes of some of the tribeswomen, and they glance away at once. But I don’t feel shame knowing they heard everything my mother said.
No, there is only numbness in me right now. Numbness that allows me to think.
Instead, I look back up at the sky, out towards the ocean to my right and over the cliffs of my home. I notice darkness begins taking over the sky.
The clouds are not friendly puffs but one long miasma that shadows the usually twinkling blue ocean into a somber grey. It’s hazy in the distance, making the sky and ocean become one. It’s rain, lots and lots of rain.
I frown.
I hope Issa made it home to Shell Rock. I think of my friend who promptly left after delivering her brother here to return home. Thunder hits my ears.
And with it, an ear-splitting roar.
My muscles tense, and my palms slicken with sweat as a shiver streaks through me. Birds ascend into the sky, fleeing. Another scream assaults the air, one after another.
They’re closer.
So close, the screams vibrate my bones, my soul.
Glancing at my mother, she’s looking straight at me, her expression worried.
“Storm!” someone yells. The rest of the women get to their feet in a flash.
A drop of rain hits my cheek. Without another thought, I rush after Delina and Leith.
2
The Downpour and the Dragon
Drenched in rain, I race over the rickety wooden bridge that connects the cliff of Sand’s Hunters home to the jungle. From there, I stumble down the slopes to the west that lead to the springs.
Within minutes of that first raindrop, the tribe fell into chaos. The clear skies of the morning vanished under clouds that gusted over our home, bringing with them an angry and wild surge of wind.
Following the path, I see the small waterfall up ahead that pools into the basin in the rocks, water that will eventually lead into the gulf. But it’s the deep cave beneath the pool that makes it a spring, and the water fresh and unsalted. A private, beautiful place hidden by large rocks and tall trees with sweeping leaves.
Branches shake and lower with the rain as Delina and Leith come into sight. Naked, under the falls.
Delina is against the rocky wall as Leith thrusts into her. My mouth drops.
I come to a stop next to Milaye, the tribeswoman guarding them.
“We need to go!” Milaye screams from the shore, but neither Delina or Leith hear her. Milaye flinches when she sees me. “They can’t hear me from under the falls,” she huffs.
Rain plops down on both of us as she says it. “I’ll get them. Go back to the tribe! They need help getting everything inside.”
She nods and jogs up the path. I pivot back to my siblings…
“Delina!” I shout, waving my hand, getting no reaction or notice from my sister.
A streak of lightning sparks through the canopy and without waiting, I dive into the water and swim to them. Under the falls within seconds, I grab Leith’s shoulder and tug him back.
They meet me with muted screams and one boyishly shocked expression.
“What are you doing!?” Delina cries, shielding herself. Leith wades back. I keep my
