Blood of the Guardian by Kristal Shaff Page B

stronger than she seemed.
    “ Tukeenek! ” she said.
    He stopped. “Tu … what?”
    She yanked the cup from his hand, brought it to her lips, and took a sip. “ Tukeenek. ” She handed it back to him.
    He eyed her suspiciously.
    She sighed. “ Tukeenek .”
    “You want me to drink?”
    She studied him, and then said, “Trink?”
    Alec snorted a laugh, but he stopped as nausea came over him. He waved the offered cup away and assumed his most frequent position of leaning over the rails. But before the illness could take hold, the girl shoved the cup to his mouth and tipped it back. Warm, spicy liquid splashed down his face and over his chest. He swallowed and coughed, gagging on the drink.
    Alec clenched his fist. How dare she! His rage abruptly stopped as he realized his nausea passed. She held out the half-filled cup, her face smug. Could a Talasian be smug?
    “Trink,” she said.
    He stared at the cup … and then he chugged the remainder. Warm fluid spread down his throat, coating his stomach in sweet relief. It was an odd flavor, but not bad. Not bad at all.
    He relaxed his shoulders and smiled. “Oh! Thank Brim!”
    “Brrim,” she repeated. She touched his chest, pointing. “Brrim?”
    “Did you just call me a god?”
    “Brrim?” she asked again.
    “Darkness no.” He put his hand to his chest. “I’m Alec.”
    “Eleak.”
    He smiled. “Close enough.”
     
    ***
     
    The minutes crept by, and she quietly stood next to him at the rail. He expected the pleasant, non-sickness wouldn’t last; however, the longer he waited, the better he felt.
    His stomach rumbled, this time with hunger pains. He frowned. Even if he was hungry, the grain and meat dish had tasted a lot better going down than coming up. He didn’t want to rush down the stairs to eat it again.
    He glanced at his hands, realizing he still held the cup. He offered it back. “Thanks. Can’t tell you how much—”
    She reached up and touched his lips.
    He yanked back. Why did she keep touching him? Then she traced her own lips and pulled up the corners in a pathetic version of a smile.
    Alec grinned.
    She stared at him, her dark eyes combing his face, studying his smile.
    “Oh, you poor girl. If I am the most interesting thing you’ve seen, then you have had a sad life, indeed.”
    His smile quickly faded when her eyes dropped to his chest. He could see her studying him, examining his scars. He crossed his arms in a feeble attempt to hide them, but his arms were more scarred than his chest. He remembered when Taryn had examined him in a similar way. Although, when Taryn had looked at his scars, it had been brief. This girl studied him so intently, heat rose to his face.
    Her eyes shifted to his face. She touched his cheek, studying the blush most assuredly tinting his skin. This, of course, made him even more embarrassed, and the heat traveled down his neck.
    He turned away, his back to her, probably giving her a pretty good view of the scars there. By Brim, what was with this girl? What was she doing here, anyway? Why didn’t she leave him instead of standing around here silently examining him? How did he interest her? He stared at the sea, pretending she wasn’t there. After taking a few deep breaths, he turned around. The girl was gone.
    He scanned the deck. A few Talasian soldiers walked by, gawking. Where was she? Across the boat, the gypsy came toward him. Whatever good mood he’d started to gain plummeted. Oh, for Brim’s sake! What does she want?
    He considered flaring his Speed and taking off, but her usual flirtatious expression was gone. She seemed annoyed even, enough to make him curious. As she closed the distance, she glared at him in disgust.
    “King Kamalin has requested your presence for dinner.”
    “When?” he asked. He was a bit hungry.
    “Soon,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Which means I need to go as well, I suppose.”
    “What?” he said. “You don’t have somewhere better to go? Some savage to visit