***
Kali
Her father sent her back to the village two days after Drina’s death. Her mood had infected the camp, he told her. Now was the time to show them what she was made of.
She didn’t go to the village. She found the spot where Andriy waited for her and stayed there most of the day. She had some water and a little food, but her appetite had left. She waited, wondering what she would do if he didn’t come. She might turn into stone and become part of the earth.
Two men approached her in the evening, around the time she would normally be walking home. Deep in her heart, she knew they carried ill-will toward her. Even before they called to her, she knew. Even before one tried to grab hold of her. She dodged his grasp and ran, hoping they weren’t as fast as she, but her skirts weighed her down. And the men were determined.
One caught up, and gripped her arms tightly as he tried to carry her across the fields. She launched her knee at his groin, and he let go in surprise. Though she ran again, another was waiting, and clamped his hand against her mouth. She bit hard, and with a yell, he let go and pulled her arms behind her back. She tried to kick, but the first man had recovered. He grabbed her legs and helped carry her off.
She squirmed and wriggled, yelled and screamed, and the men seemed to change their minds, because they threw her down into a ditch where she landed in deep muck.
They disappeared from view, but she heard shouting and realised Andriy had come. Andriy had found her. But what if they hurt him? Long minutes later, Andriy gazed into the ditch and raised his eyebrows.
“Do you need help?” he asked.
She held her hand in the air in response. He climbed down the sodden embankment, trying to avoid the softer parts, but as he gripped her hand and pulled, she slipped back heavily, pulling him on top of her. With his entire weight on her body, his mouth barely an inch from hers, and his gaze unwavering, she felt excitement and hope. A reason to fight.
Feeling a burst of bravery, she raised her hand to his face and traced a muddy streak across his cheek. He didn’t move, save for the trembling, and she kissed him for long seconds. His lips responded to hers; his arms held her tight, and she felt as though a dream had come true.
The moment ended too quickly. He pulled back, sadness in his eyes, and he apologised.
“Don’t say you are sorry,” she whispered, “for I am not.”
His breath seemed to catch in his throat, but he lifted off her and helped her up the embankment, to the grass.
“I can’t go back like this.” She gestured to the muck caked on her clothes and skin.
“The lake,” he said in reply, his voice more quiet than usual.
Don’t regret it, she silently pleaded.
At the lake, they both washed the mud and grime from their skin, and Kali cleaned her skirts and even her hair as best she could. She felt his eyes on her, and she turned to catch his gaze. There was heat in his glance, and it thrilled every cell in her body. She inched closer to him, and he didn’t move away.
He took her hand and walked to the shore where she crawled onto his lap for another kiss. He didn’t refuse her. This time their kiss was rougher. Full of goodbyes. He pushed her gently onto the grass, straddled her body, and lifted her skirts. She knew she would never regret his touch.
Chapter Fifteen
Amelia
“Holy…”
I jolted upward, my heart pounding in the dark. For once I knew where I was, who I was, and that what I had experienced was a dream, though I couldn’t believe all I’d seen was a figment of my own subconscious imagination. I couldn’t accept that Andriy and Kali had never existed. I also couldn’t believe they’d been brave enough to make that one irrevocable mistake. A mistake that could change everything.