Gift of the Ancients
an excerpt

Saldor's hand never loosened its grip on her shoulder as he navigated her towards their rooms in the back of the main storehouse. His pace remained quick when his breathing became ragged, his weakbreath disease evidencing himself. Adero wanted to tell him to slow down, and not get excited, but she didn't dare say anything.
They walked the jungle path in silence until they reached the settlement and Saldor flung open the door and escorted her inside. The bare clay walls were a rosy warm colour as they reflected the light of the small lamp that Saldor mindlessly lit. Adero stood uncertainly on the woven mat next to the book shelf and waited until Saldor's breathing evened, with great effort on his part, and he rounded on her.
“What did you find?” His black eyes were piercing. She was used to his distracted looks at her, passing nods or vague reprimands, his mind entirely occupied with his very important work. Never before had she been the target of his pin-point focus or sensed the power of the mind behind it. She swallowed nervously, not sure where to begin.
“Adero! What did you find, with that mergirl? Where did you find it? This is important!” He believed her, Adero realised suddenly. He believed what she had said and he wanted to know more. And she couldn't understand why, but this was clearly more important to her father than she could have imagined.