Kiri scaled the side of the cliff, stretching herself to reach the next minute crack or ledge in the cliff. She strained her arms, felt the muscles quiver as she hoisted herself up. She climbed over the balcony, crouched down low and crept into Zafira’s palace.

A human stood by the bed with his back to her. Good, at least she knew one of them was alive and could bring him out of there. He slid down his trousers and Kiri gasped, pressing herself up against the wall when he turned and showed off his full manhood. Her cheeks flushed, and she quickly averted her eyes.

Kiri stood outside for a moment and held her breath. She was pretty sure that he hadn’t seen her while she still needed to contemplate on her course of action. It didn’t matter as long as they both managed to escape the city. She glanced around the corner and moved forward on silent feet.

“Go! Climb down,” she said, but all he did was continue to stare at her. Apparently, he couldn’t understand what she was saying, so she gestured with her fingers towards the balcony. Patience ran thin after what she saw on Gaia and that Zafira could show up at any moment. She slapped him across the face and urged him forward.

He moved to the balcony, one hand pulling up his trousers while the other nursed the cheek she hit.

Voices emerged from the hallway. Kiri hated being rushed but if they came in here and saw she was taking away a human, her cover would be blown, and the other human put at risk.

“I don’t recall inviting you over tonight,” snapped a woman from the doorway. Zafira remained calm, a hand at her hip as she continued to watch her react. “People usually take the stairs, but I’ll make an exception for you.”

Kiri widened her stance and reached out with her bio-ethereal energy. “I know what you did on Gaia and the spiders nest. You won’t get away with this.”

Zafira walked to the side of the bed where she emptied a goblet and poured herself another. “Get away with what exactly? Alseid don’t have the guts to do what’s necessary. Besides, he’s here out of his own free will.”

“Don’t play your games with me,” Kiri gritted her teeth. “You kidnapped him along with the others. It’s best if you let us leave.”

“He’s free to go any time he wishes. Why don’t we leave it to the human then, shall we?” Zafira said.

“What’s the trick? You wouldn’t just give him up after stealing him from his home world.”

“No tricks, I swear it. We’ve come to know a great deal about each other. Matters I would like to share with you as well.”

Kiri eased back, feeling for the limits of her reach. Tamulan wasn’t her lot, her ability to control nature would depend on their loyalty to Zafira. “I’ll play along just this once. If I pick up any of your magic, I’ll be reporting this to the Elders. We’ve been lenient enough with your misguided actions here.”

“Of course you will.”

Zafira faced the human and spoke with him in an aberrated dialect the foremothers once used. Kiri picked up a few words, but not enough to tell whether Zafira upheld her end of the deal.