Chapter 37

When we arrived at the campsite, I changed back to human and dug the map out of the rucksack, studying it to confirm that we were in the right place while Liam-Dax scanned the surrounding area, raising their muzzle to scent at the wind.

“As best as I can tell, we’re where the Major indicated on the map. Let’s select a spot to make camp and then we can bathe.”

Liam shifted back to human and soon we found a perfect spot, though the trees were peculiar. Instead of straight pines, they were indeed twisted as the name suggested, each having a spiral at the base of the trunk.

The little clearing was in a roughly circular shape big enough for our purposes but small enough to still be in the shade of the strange trees, so it would keep the hot summer sun off of us. At the riverbank was a pool of slower moving water, perfect for bathing and washing clothes.

I called out to Liam, “I like this clearing. Shall we make camp here?”

He nodded affably and set the rucksack down. “What do you want me to do? I’m without a clue but if you point out what we need, then I’ll put in the work.”

I gave him a pleased smile. I was glad that he didn’t have the noble mindset that he was “too good” to bend his back a little, or that manual labor was “beneath” him.

I sent Liam off to fetch firewood and kindling while I tidied up the clearing and cleaned out a fire pit that someone had made previously. Since we hadn’t brought much with us, we were done in short order and set about bathing and washing our clothes.

Once the clothes were hanging on low branches to dry, we lazed in the water. I was delighted by how pleasantly warm the water was from the sun; even on the warmest summer day, the waters in Astmenai contained a chill. I swam languidly around the pool, enjoying the feel of the sun and water on my bare skin.

“I could stare at your loveliness all day.”

I glanced back at Liam over my shoulder. His lips were curved up in a small smile and he looked relaxed.

“Oh, aye? I feel much the same whenever I look at you.”

He snorted as if in disbelief. “You think I jest? Everytime I see you naked, I admire your muscles, especially that glorious backside of yours.”

He chuckled at that. “I guess all those squats the Major makes me do are paying off then.”

I gave him a pointed look downward. “Speaking of naked, you may want to bend your knees or come in deeper so that you don’t get sunburned.”

He looked down in puzzlement and then when my meaning dawned on him, he laughed uproariously and sunk himself into the water. “I didn’t think to bring a cozzie.”

Cocking my head in confusion, I asked him what a mozzie was. He explained it to me and I, in turn, explained to him that the Astmenai just swam naked.

He grinned impishly and said, “That is by far the better option.”

I shifted around so that I could float on my back, staring up at the cerulean sky and watching the clouds drift by for a little while.

As I floated, I realized that sometime in the last day or two, I’d accepted that Liam liked my body just the way it was, different from Zanskan women’s though it may be.

I vowed to myself then and there that I would no longer care about such things. I never had before being brought to Zanska and it had been unpleasant to be filled with such doubts, which had certainly been brought about by the abuse I’d suffered as a slave. I would no longer let the ghosts of those that had harmed me to whisper in my mind.

I'ikki gave an approving woof, making me smile.

Feeling a weight lifted from my shoulders, I straightened up and looked around. I’d floated a little ways from Liam and he was engrossed in washing himself. I dunked under the surface of the water and swam along the bottom of the river until I reached him, popping up like a gopher from its hole, spraying water every which way.

Laughing, he wiped the water from his face and then, quick as a flash, he picked me up by the waist and flung me several feet into the air. I just barely managed a squeak of surprise before landing in the water with a huge splash. I came up with a gasp of air and then launched myself at him, flinging my arms around his neck and knocking him backward, both of us going under.

He found his feet and stood up with me hanging from his neck like a monkey from a branch. Spluttering water and laughing hard, he wrapped his arms around my waist pressing me to him tightly. “Damn, woman, you have fearsome reflexes.”

I smirked at him. “I had an uncle who used to toss me and the other children just like that when we were little. It turned into a battle of sorts as we got older to see who could knock him into the water first.”

Liam grinned and pressed his forehead against mine. “I’ve never seen you so at peace before, Xia Wind Song.”

“I… I feel myself for the first time since….” I let the words trail off.

Liam seemed to understand what I was feeling and didn’t press me.

After a moment, I loosened my grip on his neck. “Why don’t you set me down and I’ll wash your back.”

Liam’s eyes twinkled with good humor. “I’ve always wanted to have my back scrubbed by a beautiful woman.”

“Well then, today is your lucky day.”

“Every day that I get to hold you in my arms and cherish you is a lucky day.”

“Ohh, now aren’t you a silver tongued beast.”

He laughed and set me down and I set about scrubbing his broad back. As I was rinsing him, he yawned hugely. I was feeling a bit tired myself after that long run, so I suggested that we lay in the shade and have a rest.

“We didn’t bring any towels. How do we dry off?”

“I’ll show you a trick.” I waded back to shore and shifted to wolf, then we gave ourselves a mighty shake, rippling from head to toe and flinging the water off our fur. I shifted back and told Liam, “It’s not as thorough as a towel, but it gets the vast majority of the water off.”

Liam followed suit and looked pleased when he changed back to human form. As we dressed in the clean clothes that I’d packed, he asked me, “Do you want to rest as wolves?”

I shook my head. “I’d rather lay in your arms.”

Smiling, he beckoned to me. “I’ll never say no to that, wife.”

Using the rucksack as a pillow, Liam lay down on his back and I nestled against his side, resting my head on his arm. Looking up at the blue sky beyond the edge of the canopy, Liam taught me the clouds game and we laughed and played, pointing out dragons and butterflies and ferrets. At one point, Liam swore up and down that he saw Nanny looking disapprovingly down at us.

My heart was full and a part of me wished that we could go on like this forever, just he and I, no Kin politics, no nobles, no slaves, no one trying to kill or torture me. But I knew Liam had to return to his people; they needed him even if they didn’t realize it.

Liam’s voice broke into my thoughts. “What did you say to Jerrek Pirz at the Pel Zhi?”

I was drowsy and didn’t take his meaning at first. “Hm?”

“Right before you both took your positions, the two of you were talking and for a split second, I could have sworn he was going to break protocol and attack you before the gong sounded.”

“Ah, yes, well…” I hesitated, not exactly proud of how I’d spoken to Jerrek. “He kept calling me a whore, so I pretended to be concerned about his eye and asked him if it hurt.”

Liam barked a single, hard laugh. “The bastard deserved that and more.”

I couldn’t argue with that but didn’t really want to talk about Jerrek Pirz anymore, so I changed the subject. “Do the Zanskan Kin have any idea where our clothes go when we shift?”

“Finli has told me they go to the magic realm where our wolves live. What do the Astmenai believe?”

“It sounds like it’s basically the same. My mother used to say that our clothes and belongings went to the dreamland of the wolves.”

Liam grunted softly. “Thousands of miles apart, vastly different cultures, but basically the same beliefs. Just goes to show how foolish it is for the Zanskan Kin to fear outsiders.”

I frowned slightly. I had learned firsthand about the Zanskan fear of foreigners and so understood what Liam was referring to, but had never understood the whys. “What are the Zanskans so afraid of?”

He pondered for a moment before answering. “I don’t know this to be factual, but I’ve always wondered if it’s because the majority of Kin have lived in the citadel for thousands of years since the War of the Gods. All Kin used to roam free like the Astmenai, but after the war, so many humans were mad with fear of anything magical and were ruthlessly hunting down and executing anything that wasn’t regular human like the Kin and the Blood Eaters.

“The Kin were on the edge of complete destruction, so that’s when I-izu of the Black Thorn clan declared himself king, forged the Triumvirate Treaty with the human Zanskan king and the Blood Eater king and built the citadel.

“Ever since then, the Zanskan Kin have been insulated, shut away from contact with the outside world for the most part. I think perhaps the original fear of being hunted by humans evolved over the centuries into xenophobia, which in time progressed to bigotry as some of our ancestors espoused that Kin were superior to all other creatures and it was beneath us to associate with outsiders.”

Liam sighed in vexation before continuing. “So they enclosed themselves in walls to protect their lives but wound up closing off their minds, too. Which is truly absurd when you consider that all Kin are creatures of two kinds melded into one, as well as the fact that there are Kin all around the world of many different nations and cultures.”

I mused over his words for a minute and then asked, “Is the citadel why there are so many Zanskan Kin? I’ve heard there are something like twenty thousand.”

Liam’s answer shocked me. “There’s probably more like a hundred thousand Zanskan Kin and yes, the citadel has given us greater numbers because of the safety it provides. We don’t die off as easily as Kin who live in the wild like the Astmenai. But over time, our numbers grew too great to contain every single Zanskan Kin within the citadel walls and our kind have spread throughout our territory, some in villages like the ones outside the citadel walls, some out in the countryside. There are even some who have chosen to migrate to human settlements, though that’s rare and they have to hide their true natures lest the humans turn on them.”

“That must be terribly hard for them. I wonder why they would do that.”

Liam sat up and dragged me into his lap until I was facing him and he had a soft smile on his lips. “There are many reasons but often it’s love that compels them. One way or another, they fall in love with a human and choose to leave Kin life behind. It doesn’t happen often, but enough over the centuries so that there are quite a few human settlements with a handful or two of Kin hiding in plain sight.”

I recalled Maezi’s story of not wanting to stay in a human village after her father tried to murder her because it would be too difficult to hide her Kin nature as well as her need to live as a woman. My voice took on a sad note. “That’s both beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. To love so deeply that you would risk everything to be with the one you love.”

“Like we’re doing, Xia Wind Song.”

I lifted a hand and caressed his cheek. “Yes, like we’re doing. It may sound strange, but it gives me courage to know that others have sacrificed so much for love and managed to make lives for themselves despite the obstacles.”

I kissed Liam and for a fleeting moment my fears disappeared and a bloom of hope grew within me that no matter what may come, we would find happiness and be able to love each other freely.

A sudden desire to create as many happy memories with Liam as possible ran through me, so I leapt up from his lap and held my hand out to him as I looked at his sun dappled face. “Do you feel like going for a run in the woods?”

He stood and took my hand, brushing a kiss across the knuckles before leading me into the forest.