The overhead canopy from the trees did little to shield them from the rain, the larger leaves acting more like big funnels, gathering water and then pouring it over them if the little group should stop beneath one of the taller kapok trees. Drops of water collected in the vines going up the trunks of trees and in the petals of flowers so that if they brushed against them, they’d get soaked.
Trees lined the swollen banks of the river, hanging over the raging waters, the root systems looking too much like distorted cages, with thick vines shooting out like snakes, eager to grab unsuspecting prey to bring them into those waiting cages. At least, that’s what it looked like to Adalasia.
She had to admit the rain forest was beautiful, if she actually looked around at the flowers climbing the tree trunks, but mostly she looked at the insects covering the ground and swarming up the trees. Brightly colored frogs followed them with their eyes. Huge birds of prey seemed to follow their slow progress. Eyes looked at them from everywhere. There seemed an abundance of nocturnal animals and birds with large yellow or red eyes staring at them from the branches of trees. That didn’t include the thousands of lizards, or spiders, not to mention the many amphibians that seemed to be all over the trees. Didn’t Sandu and his brethren see all the potential spies?
This didn’t feel the same as when they had walked in the rain forest to find the hidden cave system just along the river. This was far different. The path took them farther into the interior, although she knew the river wasn’t too far in the distance. There was a muggy feel to the air whenever the trail would take them closer to one of the dark ribbons of water that sometimes ran in the shallow reed-choked, mosquito-infested tributaries.
The five Carpathian males walked with absolute confidence along the narrow trail through the darkened forest. The rain didn’t bother them in the least. They kept the drops from hitting them. The temperatures of their bodies were always regulated. She had insisted that Sandu not help her. Those were small things she should be able to do for herself, and she wanted to practice. She found herself too busy staring at the sights around her to remember to keep herself cool and not have the rain pouring down on her.
A small sound mixed with the incessant drone of night cicadas and the scurrying of lizards and other creatures under the vegetation on the forest floor caught her attention. She turned her head to look at the two men behind her suspiciously. Benedek and Petru brought up the rear. Siv and Nicu were ahead, with Sandu and Adalasia walking in the center. She knew Nicu was in front because he had such an affinity with wildlife, and he had the most interaction with Dominic and Solange, the couple they were meeting.
“Is there something either of you would like to say?” She challenged. How was it possible to grow so fond of men who seemed to never change expression? And yet she had grown attached to them very quickly, regarding them as the family she no longer had. “I’m fairly certain one of you snickered. It sounded suspiciously like you, Petru.” She was wary of them now, certain that after her prank with the leeches, they might try to get her back.
Petru looked straight at her with his strange silvery eyes. His hair color intrigued her. It was as different as his eyes. It wasn’t gray, but like his eyes, it was also silvery, almost a platinum.
“Sisarke, you wound my heart.” He kept walking without breaking stride. There was no change in his facial expression. She still had the impression of amusement through the connection with Sandu. That put her on even more of an alert.
There was happiness in her that she could give some small relief from the unrelenting darkness they were in. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to keep them going. She knew sisarke meant “little sister.” She loved that Petru and the others cared enough about her to give her that honor. She regarded them as siblings and was so honored that they viewed her in the same light.
“You look a bit like a drowned rat, your hair hanging in long stringy dripping strands around your face and down your back,” Benedek contributed. “Your clothes are soaked. And you’re shivering continuously. You will make a wonderful impression on Dominic and his woman. Dominic is a Dragonseeker.” As if that said it all.
What is a Dragonseeker, Sandu? I’m clearly supposed to know. They used that term interchangeably, as if it was his surname, and she’d thought it was. Now, she wasn’t sure what the others meant.
She realized that as much as they might be teasing her, they were also reprimanding her lifemate for allowing her to be in such a condition.