The Reawakened by Jeri Smith-Ready Read Free Book Online Page B

the ring back together.” He unhooked a flask from his belt and held it out. “Water?”
    “Thank you,” she said quickly. The container was nearly full, and she took a deep draught, hoping it would cool her skin from the inside out.
    She handed the flask back to him, careful not to touch his fingers. He emptied it in two long gulps. They looked at each other again, then simultaneously jerked their gazes to the ring.
    Dravek cleared his throat. “First I need to bring all the wood to the interior and sort it. They left it on the wrong side and just threw it all into one pile. That’s what I was griping about when you walked up.” He wiped his mouth, then his forehead, which was beaded with sweat.
    “I’m sure they just forgot.”
    “No.” He shook the empty flask and frowned. “My sister loves to plague me.”
    “I think she loves to plague everyone.”
    He grinned at her, giving his face a boyish, less treacherous cast. “You picked up on that, then?”
    Feeling her face flush, Sura turned to the pile of boards and put her glove back on. “But Kara seems lovely.” She grasped as many boards as she could carry. “Why would she want to cause you trouble?”
    He snorted and reached his long arms around the rest of the wood. “To make me call off the wedding?”
    “Oh. Congratulations.” Sura hoped her voice disguised her odd sense of disappointment. She made her way carefully over the rocky trench. “I heard Kalindons didn’t marry anymore, that everyone just, you know—”
    “Sleeps with everyone else?”
    She dropped the wood on the pile. “Yes.”
    “Exaggeration.” He chose a pair of long boards. “Mostly.” He fastened the boards to the sides of the ring, then locked them together with their notches.
    Sura put her hands in her pockets, for lack of any task to occupy them, and to hide her nervousness. “When’s the wedding?”
    “Next week. You should come. I’ve heard Kalindon feasts are quite an experience for outsiders.” He glanced at her as he picked up another, shorter pair of boards. “Is it true that in Asermos, parties only last one night?”
    “There’s not much to celebrate these days.”
    “All the more reason to do it.” He stopped and looked at her. “After the Descendants invaded, killed all our elders and stole half the population, including—” His voice tightened, and he took a breath. “Kalindos went back to the old ways. The Spirits protect us as long as we follow Their wishes.”
    “Which are?” She’d heard tales of Kalindon excesses.
    He swept his arm toward the forest around him. “Living close to the trees. Taking care of each other, whether we share blood or not.” His eyes met hers. “Indulging our appetites.”
    She wanted to look away but forced herself to hold his gaze. “What do appetites have to do with honoring the Spirits?”
    “We give thanks for our lives by living them, every moment.”
    He rested the other end of his board on a rock and spun it on the tip. “We live as if life is more important than survival.”
    “Nothing’s more important than survival. You’d know that if you lived in Asermos.”
    He snorted. “You have more food, more healers, no wild animals big enough to eat you. Seems to me Asermos is—”
    “They’ve outlawed grandparents.”
    He stopped spinning the board. “Outlawed?”
    “Last year. The Ilions are afraid of our third-phase powers. When they find out someone’s pregnant, they make their parents move to Tiros.” She rubbed her arms. “So women don’t get pregnant anymore, or if they do, they don’t stay that way.”
    “I hadn’t heard that.” He turned and shoved the board into its proper place. “I’m sorry. Guess we’re pretty isolated out here. Did you tell the Council about this?”
    “I told Elora.”
    He stopped suddenly and looked at her. “Is that the real reason they put your mother in prison? You’re pregnant?”
    “No,” she hurried to say. “It’s because of the