GREEN [complete]

CHAPTER 29: Sekam

"Why is he still asleep?" Two days after his surgery, Mars slept. Sekam didn't leave his side, and by the end of the second day, she was tempted to rip out what was left of her hair.

"He needs his rest," Cecil said. "His vitals are stable. He's doing well—and healing a lot faster than we anticipated." He moved back from Mars to better look over Sekam. "And how are you?"

Her bouncing knee stilled. "There is nothing wrong with me."

"I didn't suggest that there was something wrong with you." He spoke with a kind smile.

"Good." Sekam met his eyes and held them, until he nodded and turned away.

"One of my nurses will be checking in periodically and I'll be back tomorrow," he said to Bek. "If you need anything, you know where to find me."

"Thank you, Cecil. For everything that you're doing for us."

Cecil nodded and dismissed himself.

The door had only just closed behind him when Dylan said, "What an ass." Their voice dripped with exhaustion; they hadn't slept since Mars came out of surgery. Their eyelids hung heavy and their whole body slumped forward like a slope just waiting to give way to a landslide.

Bek's expression soured. "He's helping us, and he's risking his position to do it."

"Oh, I didn't realize he was risking his position. I'm deeply sorry." They let their head fall back over the edge of the chair, their hood dropping from their tangle of hair. They smelled equally of stress and exhaustion, although the exhaustion was growing a larger part with every passing minute.

"You're angry with me."

"No. I'm pissed at him. There's a difference." They didn't lift their head.

"I was the one that kept secrets from you," Bek said gently. "That's what you're angry about, isn't it?"

"I mean ... I trusted you, so yeah. That hurt." They swung their hand in a gesture that Sekam doubted made sense to any of them. "But you had a good reason. He was just ... trying to out you. Like, he actively wanted to drive us apart."

"He didn't know anything about you. He still doesn't. Why would he want that?"

"I dunno." Dylan shrugged their usual shrug.

"Honey, maybe you should get some sleep."

"I'm fine." Not five minutes later, they started snoring. Their head was still drooped over the back of their hair and the book they had been reading to Mars was still in their lap.

Bek sighed. "I should have told you all the truth in the beginning."

"Why?" Sekam didn't so much as glance at her.

"Do you still trust me?"

"I never trusted you." Her knee started bouncing again. "And how much do you actually know about Dylan?" Sekam had spent more time with them than Bek had, and she knew next to nothing about them.

"I ..." Bek frowned. "You're right."

"We're all keeping secrets." Her eyes slid over to Bek and she added, "Did you know that I'm almost eighty years old?"

Bek's eyes grew. "No way! I don't believe it."

Sekam smiled despite herself. "My mother was a goddess. She was over three thousand years old when she left. Ahl has been alive since the beginning of time."

"Still! Eighty." She shook her head. "Wow. Where have you been all this time?"

"In the forest. Far, far away from humans." Wind in her fur and dirt between her toes. Wild. Sekam missed being wild. She missed only being responsible for herself; only having to care about herself. The weight of every other living creature was not an easy burden to bear.

Before Bek could ask any more questions, Mars stirred. His eyelids flickered and his mouth opened in a weak groan. Finally. "There you are," Bek said, her smile broadening.