It was hard, long work—the sweat that glistened on Lexa's tanned skin and laced her clothes was proof of that. But she much preferred spending her mornings tilling the fields to stitching clothing and quilts inside with Costia's mother.
Lexa reached for her clean shirt, one that would keep her nice and cool for the rest of the day, but she sighed at the fresh hole in the side stitching, just big enough for her to slide two fingers through. Nevertheless, she put it on.
She rubbed her fingers across the fresh scab on her arm—an accident from the week prior when she had been helping Costia's father Abel pick out weeds. She remembered the quizzical look he had given her as she dropped her garden hoe and scurried into the barn. Fortunately, he wasn't as abrasive as his wife, but either way, she knew tending to the wound was of the utmost importance. The cut had not been deep enough to leave her with more than a throbbing sting, yet the nightshade stream that flowed from it said different. Covering up the wound meant losing one of her three shirts, but she knew it was a worthy sacrifice.
Just as she was starting to weave her hair into a simple braid, she heard a double knock on the door. Her face immediately flooded with warmth because she knew that knock and the sweet voice of the girl it belonged to, asking eagerly, "Is it okay for me to come in?"
Lexa rolled her eyes at this, fighting off a smirk. "You don't have to ask."
The next moment, the heavy wooden barn door scraped against the ground as a pair of delicate, brown hands propped it open. Slowly, the afternoon sunshine came flooding through and in the middle of the doorway stood Costia. She had just bathed, Lexa could tell, by the way the girl's hair coiled even tighter than usual around her head into a perfect mess of curls. And she was wearing new clothes—not newly woven, still worn and aged. Lexa figured Costia's mother had traded for them at the market, a forest green piece that acted as a top and blended itself into pants.
"You deserve your privacy, just like anyone," Costia replied, her tone light but her face earnest.
Lexa noticed the folded cloth in Costia's hand that she somewhat hid and somewhat teased. "I brought you a gift."
"Oh, no, Costia, you shouldn't have traded anything for me—"
"Calm down," Costia said, holding up a finger. "I made it for you."
"Oh." Lexa said, her heart racing with what Costia could've possibly made just for her. This wasn't the first time Costia had given her a gift—she'd sneak Lexa a piece of a decent meal her mother had made, specifically the ox tail soup that she knew was Lexa's favorite. Another time Costia had stolen moonshine from a trader passing through town and she and Lexa had drunk the bottle clean, trading disgusted, scrunched up faces at the bitter taste between sips.
"Close your eyes," Costia simply said, then waited for Lexa to oblige. Lexa opened her mouth but quickly swallowed her protest realizing her friend was not taking no for an answer.
She shook her head, but closed her eyes, feeling a little ridiculous and also subtly enjoying the feeling of being spoiled.
She heard Costia walk closer, her steps light and easy, until she could sense the other girl behind her and hear the sound of the cloth unfurling. Then suddenly she felt Costia's fingers, warm and gentle against her neck, making her flinch and sending another rush of red up her cheeks. She bit down on her bottom lip, trying to release this feeling of delightful anxiety into it.
Costia only barely grazed Lexa's skin, busy tying what seemed to be the gift around Lexa's neck. The material was soft—it reminded her of the colorful curtains that hung down the windows of Costia's house, silky and free.
She felt Costia pull the ribbons around her neck into a bow, one that sat just right against her throat. Next came a slightly heavier material draped over her shoulders and running down her back, resting at the back of her feet.
"Open your eyes," Costia said.
Since the piece of clothing was attached to her back, she could feel it before she could really see it. She roped the cloth around her fingers, a cloak that was a fiery, royal red and was so soft it seemed to melt into her skin. Even though she wasn't cold, she hugged it to her body.
"What do you think?" Costia asked from behind her.
Lexa slowly turned around, not entirely able to hide the look of satisfaction on her face. And she knew Costia could see it, too.
A smile began to creep onto Costia's face as Lexa struggled to hide hers.
"You didn't have to," Lexa said softly. She loved it and she loved seeing Costia so giddy to give her something she had probably worked on for weeks, out of the sight and criticism of her mother who would've probably thrown Costia's little project away if she had known who it was for. Even though the cloth wasn't expensive, it wasn't cheap either, and in Costia's mother's eyes, using even a patch of it for the orphan servant girl who lived in their barn was a waste. So it was for that same reason that Lexa didn't want to seem too excited and encourage Costia to keep making her more gifts that could get her into trouble.
"You're welcome," Costia said with a haughty roll of her eyes. But then she paused with a self-conscious tilt of her head. "You do like it, though, don't you?"
Lexa relented at her friend's worried expression. She stepped closer, placing a hand on Costia's shoulder. She met her friend's eyes. "I love it. Thank you."
A wide grin spread across Costia's face and suddenly the girl's arms were around Lexa, capturing her into a tight hug. A surprised, strangled laugh escaped from Lexa as she gently held her friend back. She closed her eyes for a moment, inhaling the fresh scent of rosemary on Costia's hair and neck.
She cleared her throat and drew back from Costia before she could get lost in the aroma. "I really do love it. But I can't wear it around the village or in sight of your parents. I don't want them to get upset at you."
"I know, I know, which is why we're leaving for the afternoon," Costia announced coolly. "No one will bother us outside. Come on."
Costia took Lexa's hand and pulled her towards the barn door and even though her hair was still not done up in its usual braids and she was still concerned about being seen in her beautiful, new cloak, she let Costia lead her away to a place where she knew they could both be free.
/
Lexa allowed herself to be pulled along, careful to pick her feet up through the tall grass. The golden-green blades gently slashed against her ankles and calves, but her attention was focused on the melody of laughter and singing that flowed out of the girl before her. Now that they were alone, surrounded by the trees, in their favorite spot, a meadow with flowers from every color of the rainbow, Lexa felt like she could finally breathe—that is, until suddenly the ground ran up to meet her face and she got the wind knocked out of her.
She heard a loud gasp from Costia as she let go. "Lexa!"
Lexa groaned at the subtle taste of dirt in her mouth, but she narrowed her eyes at the sound of Costia slowly erupting into laughter.
Lexa looked up, watching the other girl's entire body, but especially her tightly coiled curls, shake with humor, her eyes closed and her head thrown back.
"You think that was funny?" Lexa asked, struggling to hide a smile of her own.
"I'm sorry, but yes. I think it was the way you fell." Costia does an impression by twisting her face into a ridiculous expression, giggles still erupting out of her. But as she calmed down, she fell to her knees, planting herself in front of Lexa, between her legs.
Costia reached up to Lexa's cheek and softly thumbed the dirt off, before resting her dainty fingers against Lexa's skin. Lexa tensed at this, shyly lifting her eyes up to meet the golden brown ones that stared at her, laced with sympathy, playfulness, and something else Lexa couldn't quite place, but it made her skin even warmer and red with tenderness. They stayed like that for a moment before Lexa gathered enough courage to clear her throat and threw her gaze to the ground. Her eyes settled on the book she had been holding in her other hand, the already worn pages now caked with specks of earth, the cover bent and crinkled.
She lifted the book up to Costia and Costia seemed to awaken from whatever spell she had been entranced by as well. She moved back, her face showing a genuine apology. "Oh, Lexa."
Lexa shook the book out, allowing for some of the dirt to sprinkle out. "I think it will survive."
Costia took her word for it. "Good." She then hobbled on her knees so that she was behind Lexa and in one gentle swoop, she began to part Lexa's hair, running her fingers through Lexa's thick, wavy strands, slightly pulling in a way that made her want to wince but also sent a rush of excitement through her chest.
"Are you going to read?" Costia asked as she began to braid. Lexa always read when they came outside the walls of TonDC. It was the only time she could without feeling paranoid that Costia's parents would see and take away her book. But if Costia wasn't singing one of her songs or attempting to climb a tree way too tall and complex for her, Lexa would read aloud for the both of them. She didn't think much of her own voice, but Costia told Lexa she loved the way words sounded on her lips, strong but also soft.
So Lexa read as she usually did and Costia went to work on her hair, patiently kneading through and weaving her strands into what would turn into a practical but elaborate braid, but Lexa didn't truly hear the words coming from her own mouth. Her mind could only pay attention to the way Costia skin would occasionally graze the back of her neck every time she grabbed a new piece of hair, and the steady inhale and exhale of her breathing, and the scent of rosemary, with a tinge of pine, and the taste of mangoes that still laced Costia's lips from earlier that day, all wrapped into one beautiful scent that made Lexa lose all coherent thought.
She wasn't sure when things became like this. She had known Costia since they were little children, waddling around their parents' farms, getting into messy, mischievous games with the cattle. Then when Lexa's parents had passed they had grown closer—even though she became an orphan servant girl who was lucky enough to be allowed space in a barn shared with a horse and chickens, Costia had always made her feel wanted. But lately there had been something else lingering between, just barely hidden. It was in the way Lexa would sometimes catch Costia staring at her with a faraway smile on her face, or feel her stomach tumbling in on itself when Costia came to visit her in the mornings, or even just moments ago when Costia had held Lexa's cheek, their faces only inches apart, and Lexa had struggled to keep her eyes from wandering down to the girl's lips.
Again, Lexa shook the thoughts away and tried to force herself to focus on the words on the page before her.
/
Lexa woke up to being shaken, a feeling that immediately startled and put her on guard, but when she picked up the familiar scent of rosemary and pine, along with the feather-light touch of Costia's curls, she relaxed, realizing they must have drifted off at some point into a comfortable slumber.
Still, Costia shook Lexa again. "Look, Lexa. Look! The starflies."
Lexa glanced up lazily at the glowing orbs that bounced around in the dark air around them, lighting patterns in the night. Neither Lexa nor Costia knew where these strange creatures came from, beauties like no other in Trikru lands. Costia once theorized they must be the left-over spirits from the ancient world, the ones who couldn't rest and now lit a path for others to follow in the night. Lexa didn't think much of them in that way. She knew they were special, but she admired them more so because they amazed Costia. No matter how many nights they came to lay under the stars in the company of the trees, the sight of them never failed to light the other girl up.
"Lexa, you're not looking."
"I am. I think they are beautiful."
Costia suddenly tore her eyes away from the starflies and her gaze drifted towards Lexa, hesitant. Lexa could sense that feeling again, the one she had felt earlier when she fell, when Costia sat before her and rubbed the blemish out of her cheek. But now Costia's eyes were a little more open than they always were, the brown clearer, the desire written across them more evident.
Lexa grew still, knowing what was about to happen, as she and Costia traded glances at each other's lips and in the next moment, the starflies were out of sight, and the only sure thing Lexa knew was the feeling of Costia's lips on hers.
She brushed her mouth gently against the other girl's, testing, her eyes closed, breathing her in and willing the moment to last forever. And she felt enormous relief when Costia stayed there with her, leaning further into her, deepening the kiss, and netting their fingers together. She tasted like the last rays of summer, a hint of the ripest mangoes that hung on the trees as they traded their green for browns and oranges, rich and warm.
Lexa opened her mouth slightly, unable to help the wanting sigh that escaped. At this, Costia let out a laughing breath, pressing their foreheads closer together. Lexa smiled back.
She had let Costia kiss her many times throughout the years—on her cheek, loving and spontaneous, whenever she would sing a song and throw her slender arms around Lexa, spinning her into a dance. Lexa always treasured those moments, but she also wanted something more. She would take note of Costia's parents, the way they would sometimes just hold each other after a long day in the fields and let their lips eventually find each other, sometimes in a simple peck but other times they would just linger and breathe each other in. Lexa had craved to know that intimacy.
"I've wanted to do that for a while now."
"Me, too." Costia leaned forward and kissed Lexa on her nose. Lexa blushed and glanced away, as if Costia could see how red her cheeks were in the darkness. But she also noticed that the flies that had lit up the air around them had now dispersed, leaving them in the company of just the trees, the moon, and the night.
"We should get back. Before your parents think something is wrong."
"They won't blame you. I won't let them."
"I don't think you have the power to do that."
Costia sighed, gazing at the space around them, their little hideaway, and now a place where they had changed their relationship for good, for the better.
Lexa came up to her and touched her cheek. "We will have many more days like this here. I promise."
Costia nodded, dusting off her pants.
"Come on." Lexa took her hand and they started their journey back.
When they made it back through the walls of the village and to the cottage, Costia's mother, Jana, was already waiting for them. She sat on a makeshift stool with a tattered piece of clothing, her fingers furiously moving the needle through the fabric.
Costia and Lexa walked slowly into view, and at the sight of the fire in her eyes, a fire that focused on Lexa, Lexa stepped away from Costia, knowing the sight of the two girls close together, never mind holding hands would only add fuel to the flame.
Jana crossed her arms over her chest, suffocating the article of clothing she had been working on between her stomach and forearm. She at last looked at Costia. "Where were you? I told you, Costia, you two cannot just run off and stay out until night."
Lexa stayed back, remembering the beautiful cloak attached to her back side. She couldn't be sure if Jana had seen it with the fortunate cover of the night, but she didn't want to antagonize the woman any more by showing it off.
"I know, mother, I know. We're sorry," Costia said plainly. "It won't happen again."
"Sure. Come inside now. You are going to eat and then straight to bed." Jana turned away, heading into the cottage.
Costia rolled her eyes, but Lexa knew deep down the girl was starving. She was almost sure she'd heard the girl's stomach growl three times on the way back.
Lexa felt the same need for more fuel stirring in her belly, but she needed to do away with the cloak first.
"Lexa," Costia said, noticing her friend's hesitation. "Let us eat."
Lexa knew Costia would likely argue with her about boldly wearing her fancy new piece of attire, so she gave an excuse. "Yes, but let me go fetch something first. I will meet you inside."
Before Costia could volunteer to come, Lexa bolted towards the barn with a sly smile. Costia simply shook her head and followed her mother inside.
/
Lexa rested her head against her propped up knee, reveling in both the warmth and light that the candles throughout the cottage provided as she watched Costia and her father battle their way through chess. With full stomachs, everyone's spirits had been lifted, and Abel suggested a game against his daughter.
Jana hadn't been too happy about everyone staying up even longer, but she also hadn't been grumpy enough to shoot them down. While she busied herself by knitting an elaborate winter scarf, Costia, Abel, and Lexa, crowded around the chess board, deeply entrenched in the game.
Lexa stared at the black and white wooden pieces, moving them around in her head, already five moves ahead but stuck on how to checkmate. They all knew the battle was almost over but the question was still over who would take the victory. Everyone waited on Abel who had hardened his face in frustration as he contemplated whether to move his king or use his rook against Costia's bishop.
"Any day now, father," Costia taunted and winked at Lexa. Lexa bit back a smile. They let their eyes linger on each other, only for a quick moment before Lexa drifted her gaze back to the checkered board—before Abel or Jana could see the tinge of red beginning to flood her cheeks.
Costia squeezed Lexa's hand under the table. It was a simple, comforting gesture, one they did often, that had taken on a new meaning after their kiss, but it was especially useful when Costia would play against her father.
They had a system—if Costia ever got stuck, she would start toward a piece and if Lexa disagreed with the move, she would lightly drag her nail across the back of Costia's hand until Costia found the better move, then Lexa would soften her touch into an encouraging rub of her thumb against the other girl's skin.
When Abel at last made a move—jumping his rook in perfect position to capture Costia's knight, Lexa waited for her friend to play defense and simply move her bishop, which was her last most valuable player amongst a few pawns. But when Costia instead eagerly inched her hand toward her pawn, attempting to inch it to the other side of the board, Lexa traced her nail across the other girl's wrist. Costia froze, glancing at Lexa, her face twisted in confusion. Lexa shook her head no, telling her friend that she disapproved.
Costia huffed in frustration but used her move to take her bishop out of harm's way. Abel proceeded to easily capture another one of Costia's pawns, causing his daughter to groan.
Abel chuckled. "It's okay to play the offense sometimes."
Costia threw a sardonic look Lexa's way. "Agreed."
Lexa ignored the quip, knitting her eyebrows in concentration at the board. And that's when she saw it. A clear path to trap and capture Abel's king. She squeezed Costia's hand, regaining her friend's attention, then she nodded at the bishop.
Costia refocused on the board, her eyes scanning the pieces to understand what Lexa was seeing. And then she got it.
A mischievous smile spread across her face as she picked up her bishop, positioning the piece to threaten her father's king. In defense, Abel moved his rook, falling right into a trap. Costia beamed in delight at Lexa before continuing with her next move, capturing the rook and moving into position to get the king. "How do you like that offense?"
Abel chuckled as he helplessly moved his king, but it was no use. Within the next few moves, the king had nowhere to run.
"Checkmate!" Costia exclaimed, leaping out of her seated position and grinning triumphantly at her father.
Abel shook his head with regret but eventually looked up at her with a hint of pride. "Well done."
Costia nodded in thanks at her father before turning to Lexa and holding out her hands. Lexa grabbed on, but still used most of her own weight to hoist herself up. They stood for a moment in each other's grasp, but Lexa caught the way Costia had to restrain her natural urge to throw her arms around Lexa and embrace her. Lexa wanted it more than anything, but they both knew it wasn't the time or place. She settled for gently squeezing her friend's hands instead before letting go and pulling back.
When Lexa glanced away, she noticed the shadow of vileness across Jana's face, her eyes burrowing into Lexa. Jana suddenly set down her knitting utensils and smacked her hands together. "Well, it's time for bed. There is much to do tomorrow besides playing silly little games."
Both Costia and Abel rolled their eyes while Lexa choked back an annoyed sigh, but they all began to clean up.
After they had blown out most of the candles and put away their cushions, Lexa said a quiet goodnight to Costia before heading for the door. But Costia felt hopeful. "Mother, it's chillier out than usual. Perhaps, Lexa could stay with me, just for the night," she said, with her hands humbly knitted before her and her mouth fixed into a pout.
Lexa shook her head, knowing they had already pushed it by staying out past sunset. "That won't be—"
"Autumn has only just begun, and the girl has endured crueler climates throughout the other seasons. Besides, we wouldn't want her beastly friends in the barn to get lonely," Costia's mother said, with a tight smile. Abel sighed in disapproval, but as usual, refused to get involved, busying himself instead with extinguishing the remaining candles.
Lexa threw her gaze down in anger but quickly swallowed it down, as she had so many times before. Before Costia could object, Lexa turned to her with soft eyes. "I will see you in the morning."
Costia's shoulders slumped in disappointment, but she eventually nodded. The two girls traded longing smiles with each other, knowing that even if they weren't physically together, they could always find each other in their dreams.
Then, Lexa headed out the door.
/
Jana wasn't wrong—the family horse appeared to have waited patiently for Lexa, whinnying in glee once Lexa propped open the barn door and slipped in. She greeted the animal back with a warm smile, also surveying the cows and sheep that slept soundly within their own sections.
Despite the nap from a few hours before, sleep still tugged at her eyes and her body, and she couldn't welcome her bed of hay sooner. But before lying down, she picked up her cloak from the place she had laid it down and tied it back on. As she crashed onto her place of rest, the strands of hay at last didn't feel so rough under her, for she had the silky symbol of Costia's affection to hold and shield her. And with that, she drifted off peacefully.
/
When Lexa woke the next morning, instead of being greeted by the morning light seeping in through the cracks of the wooden barn ceiling or the crowing of the rooster that stood guard at the top of the barn wall, she was met with Costia's eyes, which held a worriedness that was foreign to her.
In fact, the morning light, while visible and dim through the cracks of the barn, had hardly touched the hay floor, which meant that it was still very early, too early for Costia or her family to be up. And something was wrong.
"Lexa, you have to get up," Costia said, taking Lexa's hands in hers, pulling her up.
Lexa felt somewhat disoriented still, but tried to follow Costia as the rest of her body slowly came to. "What is it?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.
"Fleimkepas."
Lexa tensed at the word and suddenly any sleep her body had been harboring quickly left her.
Costia, still holding Lexa's hands, guided her onto her feet. "I heard the guards speaking about them on watch. They're heading straight for our village."
"But I thought they had taken all the natblidas. They haven't searched for years."
"Something's changed."
Lexa stared into space as the realization hit her. "They know about me."
"Maybe not."
"Costia—"
"No." Lexa looked up at the other girl, in that dark space still able to make out the fear in her eyes and the overwhelming need to protect. And Lexa felt she couldn't love her friend more.
"We need to hide you." Costia went to the worn wooden chest in the side of the barn where Lexa kept her belongings, which weren't much to begin with—her two changes of clothes, a ring that had belonged to her mother, and her book—and she began to rummage through before picking out the cloak. She threw it at Lexa and Lexa caught it, willing herself into action.
"We'll go through our secret exit and go to the cottage. They shouldn't look there."
But Lexa stopped, grabbing Costia's shoulder before the other girl could lead the way. "Wait."
She drew a breath as Costia turned around with an impatient hiss. "We have to go now, Lexa!"
"No. I go alone."
A list of disagreements started to form on Costia's lips, but Lexa silenced them by taking Costia's hands into hers, a move that took Costia by surprise.
"You have to stay. If they were to find us, they would kill you for helping me. I refuse to let that happen."
"I want to protect you."
"Then stay here. Stay with your family. You have to act as if everything is normal. If we're both gone, they'll know something is wrong and that will put everyone in danger." She then squeezed Costia's hands and Costia's shoulders at last slumped in acquiescence. "I will be fine."
Lexa began to pull away, wanting to leave before Costia could continue to argue, but she couldn't bring herself to leave before doing one thing. In a quick moment, she pulled the other girl back into her and kissed her gently on the lips. Costia was again caught by surprise and Lexa waited just long enough for Costia to give in to the kiss before she pulled away for good this time.
Lexa took her cloak from Costia and tied it on, trying to put on a reassuring smile for her friend, and after a few moments, Costia returned the gesture.
They stepped out of the barn into the cool autumn morning. The air around them was blue with the start of the day but the roads were free of the villagers and lit only by spread-out torches lined up all the way down the main road. Lexa could see the guards from far away, walking nonchalantly near the main wall. But Lexa would be using a different wall to escape. She and Costia took quick but light steps past the barn to the back of the cottage Costia's family lived in.
She then rushed to pull back the shrubbery that hid a small gap in the wooden fence that separated their village from the rest of the forest, a gap just big enough for a petite human to slide through.
Lexa bent down, careful not to get her cloak snagged in the splintered part of the fence, and she put one foot through the hole.
"I'll come and get you when it's all clear. I promise," Costia said from above. Before Lexa slid through completely, she stared up at her friend, her heart dimming at the look on Costia's face, trying so hard to seem strong and confident for the both of them.
"I know. Everything will be okay," Lexa said, nodding at Costia before slipping under the fence for good onto the other side.
/
She let her feet guide her down the path she and Costia had gone down so many times to the point that she didn't even need to think of where to go, even in the low light of the morning. Lexa was careful as she made her way through the forest, keeping her steps delicate so as to avoid making any noise, but she was also quick, agile and skilled in the way she maneuvered around the trees, avoided random holes in the ground, and kept herself from tripping over some sudden obstruction. She began to work up a sweat but found some relief from her worries as she moved. The feel of the crisp air scraping against her skin, the early songs of the birds that flew from tree to tree above her, the scent of damp moss and pine filling her nose, the soft flow of the river nearby. The village was where she lived, but the forest had always felt like home.
She made it to the Hole, a place she and Costia had discovered years ago with the help of Costia's brother, Sango. She lit a candle.
They knew it had belonged to someone from the ancient world—with all the foreign books it held, technology dusted with time, pictures of strangers in strange clothes. It fascinated Lexa, the desire to know more about these ancient people. So, on lazy days, after she'd finished early in the fields and Costia's mother had gotten all the help she needed with her clothes and quilts, Lexa would nearly drag Costia into this secret room just so they could explore. The two of them would spend hours down there—with Costia making art pieces out of whatever she could find and Lexa sifting through all the books, discovering new words and struggling to discern foreign stories. She could hardly understand most of it, but it only provided more of a challenge for her, something she would always be up for.
It had always felt like a safe haven for her, but now as she sat on the floor of the room, trying to find comfort in the soft quilt beneath her, she couldn't help but notice how quiet it was.
She lay down, considering that if she could just close her eyes and slip back into some much-needed sleep, when she woke up, she would see Costia's beautiful big brown eyes staring back at her and everything would be okay again. But with her face pressed against the fabric, she noticed the faint scent of her best friend, and it only made her want Costia there now to hug and to hold.
She might've stayed there for hours, waiting. Everyone knew the flamekeepers' routine—if a nightblood was suspected in a village, the flamekeepers would come and demand proof from the child, normally a cut on the hand or arm that would in turn produce slick, unambiguous black blood. But if there appeared to be no nightblood present or the villagers attempted to lie about not having a nightblood, the flamekeepers would call for every young child and teenager to come to the center of the village and draw out their hands for the flamekeepers to cut. If the flamekeepers were nice enough and practical, they would only call for the children, but sometimes, out of spite and the sheer arrogance of power, they would force every villager to draw blood, including the elderly.
Lexa remembered her mother telling her about when this had happened to their village, the day after she was born. About how she'd had to deliver Lexa with the help of her father as silently as possible, how they had to scrub every last bit of her midnight blood from their cottage and how they had to hide little Lexa from the flamekeepers and everyone in the village until the ritual was done, hoping that would be their lucky day and they would get to hold and keep and love their daughter for years to come instead of seeing her whisked away to die for the Spirit of the Commander.
Lexa clutched the ring that had been her mother's, yearning to fill the dull ache the memory caused her. But she also remembered why her parents had been so meticulous with not just hiding her from the flamekeepers, but hiding her from the villagers the day they came. The flamekeepers were merciless when it came to anyone who disobeyed or got in the way of them fulfilling their mission. Her father had told her the story of a boy from Sangedakru, also hidden by his parents the day the flamekeepers came. Only one of the villagers knew of his secret, and when his family tried to hide him, the flamekeepers not only took him away, but they slit the throats of both his parents and anyone who had a hand in trying to help.
All her life, Lexa had been meticulous about keeping her blood a secret, always careful around the sharp tools used for plowing and planting the crops, always cautious not to snag her skin on the splintered parts of the doorway into her barn room. Even when she would play with Costia, like when they would climb the rough-bark trees or swim in the part of the river with the jagged rocks at the bottom, she was always extra careful—until a week ago, when she had cut herself while working the fields. She had been so quick to get up and tend to the injury, and it hadn't taken too long for her to stop the bleeding, but could it be that someone had seen her? Could that incident be the reason why her whole life as she knew it was about to go up in flames?
She couldn't take the wait any longer.
She hustled back towards the village, her movements through the woods less measured and much more frantic. In the pit of her gut, she could feel something was very wrong. She just knew. And she was proven correct when she at last made it to the entrance of the village and was met with the sounds of screams.
She ran towards the source of the noise and was met with a crowd of her fellow villagers, all focused on whatever terrible incident was taking place in the center. Lexa pushed her way forward past everyone in her path until she came to the heart of the commotion.
There had been very few times in Lexa's life when she had felt pure, unrestricted fear. She only remembered the time Costia had fallen out of a tree, twenty feet above the ground, and feeling a wave of nausea quickly swoop into her stomach. She remembered when a traveling flamekeeper came through their village and stayed until the next day just to catch his bearings before returning to Polis, and even though the flamekeeper had had no reason to suspect her in the least, Lexa had not been able to sleep at all that night.
But nothing, none of those memories could compare to the horrible shock that hit Lexa when she saw Costia's mother and father, on their knees, at the feet of two flamekeepers with blades pressed into their throats. And worse, the screams hadn't come from them, but from Costia who was being held back by a guard as she tried so desperately to clamor her way to her parents, her face tearstained.
"Once again, where is the nightblood?"
"We don't know. We didn't know she was a nightblood! She just helps my husband in the fields. I swear on the graves of my ancestors, we were not hiding her."
"Costia, just tell them where she is," Abel shouted next to his wife.
Costia hesitated, not in a way that was obvious to just anyone, not even her parents, but to Lexa, who felt like she knew her best friend better than she knew herself sometimes, it was clear. "I told you I don't know." She turned to the flamekeepers, "She's not a natblida!" Costia was covering for her still, even with death pressed to her parents' necks for her to see.
If Lexa hadn't been consumed by fear and shock in the moment, she might have swelled with gratefulness and pride and love at her friend's loyalty. But she could also see what was about to happen. Lexa may not have known how long this had been going on but she could see the flamekeepers were about to lose their patience.
She wanted to move forward, she was going to move forward, but he acted too fast. In one moment, the space around them was quiet after Costia's last words, and in the next, the flamekeeper's hand moved in a clean, swift motion. Lexa heard the blade cut through skin, and just as Costia's mother began to grasp at her throat. Costia's father let out a devastated cry. Costia fell to her knees. "Mother..."
And finally Lexa's voice broke out, "Stop! Stop! It's me."
Everyone's attention shifted from the woman who was choking on her own blood to Lexa, the village orphan, and for the first time in her life, she was no longer the invisible girl.
She knew from that moment on she never would be again.
Lexa marched forward, a numb confidence somehow driving her. "I am the natblida. Take me, but please, don't harm anyone else."
"Lexa, no!" Costia's voice cried out.
Lexa risked a glance at her and it took everything in Lexa not to break down at the look on Costia's face. The girl's brown eyes, the precious brown eyes she couldn't wait to see everyday of her life shined with so much confusion and, worse, betrayal, it physically hurt Lexa to look. She broke eye contact and subtly shook her head in Costia's direction, warning her. She then took a deep breath and turned her gaze up to the flamekeepers, presenting her arm to them.
They observed her for a short moment before the flamekeeper who had slit Costia's mother's throat walked over to Lexa and in another quick move, sliced her skin open, allowing her shame, the dark secret she had hid all her life, to seep out for all to see.
Villagers all around gasped, and the crowd went from a deadly silence to mumbled whispers to outcries of shock and anger.
"Take me, but leave them," Lexa said, her gaze raised at the head flamekeeper, even as her voice shook. She continued, "They did not know I was a nightblood. I hid myself amongst them and all these people. They are all innocent."
Lexa waited as the head flamekeeper weighed her words, a skeptical but intrigued expression on his face. She risked another glance at Costia, whose face still glistened with tears, but she now also looked to the flamekeepers.
"I think she lies," one of the guards announced lowly to the head flamekeeper, eyeing Lexa carefully. He nodded to Costia and her father. "They are traitors to the flame. They should be executed."
A knot formed in Lexa's stomach. "Please," she cried out, desperate, perhaps too desperate. She bit that glimmer of emotion back down before they could use it against her. She took a deep breath as another thought came. "I will come with you peacefully and willingly, if we leave these people and this village now."
She ambled closer to them, holding out both her hands.
"No, please," she heard Costia breathe faintly.
But it didn't take long for the head flamekeeper to come to a decision. He at last sheathed his sword. "I have no taste for unnecessary executions. And the people of this village have done their duty by bringing us to this nightblood. Let us leave in peace."
He nodded to one of the guards and the guard marched to her with rope, tying her hands together in a thick knot and then pulling her forward.
"Lexa!" Costia tried to throw herself forward, raging against the men who held her back, her face a mess of tears, fury, and determination, yet she was still powerless. She fell to the ground and broke down. Lexa turned away.
The crowd parted themselves before the flamekeeper and his cabal. Lexa willed herself forward even as everything in her being screamed at her to run, to hide, to fight back. But she knew it would be for nothing and foolish. She had made the decision for a reason—and she now had to stand by it. She tried to crane her neck to take a glimpse at Costia before she would get lost in the path the crowd created, but all she could see were the tight, black coils of her friend's hair and the red ribbon she wore around them, fluttering in the wind.