Page 19

Vahru

Rolling over in bed, the sun peeks through the window, illuminating the room in a gentle orange glow with shadows of leaves from the trees. I watch the patterns, noting the slight wind today, as I sigh and mentally prepare for the day. My gaze turns to Kari, curled up beside me, her fists tucked close to her face as she breathes deeply in sleep.

We’ve spent the last week going from village to village, city to city, in the hopes of finding people to join our cause, to help us figure out what’s going on, and fix this mess. I’m not all that inspired by the reactions we received. Some were eager to help, completely on board with this entire plan and what it would mean for us as a people, and many were apprehensive, unsure, or not willing to get involved at all. It was very discouraging for the future of my people.

I’m not sure what some are so scared of, if it was Kari or the situation itself or something else, perhaps this enemy we’ve yet to uncover, but it hurts that they aren’t willing to see how messed up this all is. Our people are divided over a petty fucking issue, one that Kari has shown me is ridiculous, but many of them can’t seem to see that. They harbor anger, resentment, and outright hatred for others, completely unwilling to listen to any sort of reason.

I can see why Kari gets so hopeless sometimes. I’m beginning to feel it quite deeply now. This opened my eyes to how serious this divide really is, to how dangerous it’s gotten, and I’m not looking forward to the consequences of trying to solve this. If people lash out the way many of them seem to want to, what happens to my mate? To my village? To me. We could all be casualties in a war that’s been a long time coming.

I roll once more to face Kari, staring at her sleeping face, noting the softness of her skin, the light color of her hair, and memorizing all I can about her. The last thing I want is to forget what my mate looks like in the chaos of death. I want to remember her long after death so I can find her again and begin this journey of love all over. Without thought, I reach out and run the back of my pointer knuckle against her delicate cheek, and she shifts, moaning as she cuddles closer, against my chest.

My left arm tucks around her, holding her close, as her right hand presses to my chest, a smile tugging at her lips in sleep. I won’t wake her, not yet. I’ll lie here and let her sleep a while longer. I know this ordeal has been hard on her as well. The reactions didn’t seem great to any of us, and I saw how exhausting this was for her, to try and persuade those who refused to her side. She left some places so defeated that it tore my heart in two.

Closing my eyes, I soak in her warmth and the comfort of the quiet moment for a while longer, until she finally stirs. She didn’t sleep as long as I’d have thought, but that’s okay. Tavionna and Seuke should be over soon to discuss this all in detail. She stretches her arms overhead, her little fists bumping the wall, as she screeches a yawn. I chuckle and sit up, slipping on some pants and a shirt. I come back as she finishes rubbing her eyes and kiss her gently.

“Morning, princess. I’m going to make breakfast and tea, get ready for our guests. Take your time getting up.”

She grabs my cheeks and pulls, keeping me close for a moment longer for more kisses before she finally releases me with a sigh. I chuckle as I head out of the room and into the kitchen area. I dig through the cupboards, pulling out fruit, dried meats, and tea leaf mixes. I take my time setting everything up for us all, making extra mugs of tea for our expected guests, as Kari finally emerges in some shorts and a t-shirt. Her fingers comb out her loose curls as she smiles at me.

“Morning. When will they be here?” She sits down in the chair near me as I hand her a cup of tea.

I’m about to answer when there’s a knock on the door before it opens moments later as Kosiiba lets in Tavionna and Seuke. I grin at Kari and finish up breakfast and tea as they sit on the couch. I lift Kari and place her in my lap as we all settle in.

“How’d you sleep, Tavi,” Kari asks as she blows on her tea before sipping at it, cringing when it’s still too hot.

“I slept fine, but I have a lot to talk to you about. I meditated long and have analyzed the visits we made yesterday. I think you’ll be surprised by what I’ve uncovered in my musings.” Tavi grabs her mug off the table and leans against Seuke, who has his upper arms across the back of the couch and one lower arm around Tavi at his side.

“Hit me with it. I think I’m awake enough.” Kari chuckles and smiles at Tavi. I rub my hands along the sides of her thighs as she leans back against my chest, her head resting below my chin. I feel her sigh more than hear it, and it fills my chest with pride.

“Looking at the villages first, I noticed that all of the villages and their chiefs were plenty eager to help us out. They want this solved, they want harmony, they want a unity amongst the world again. They don’t care about the technology, whether it comes or goes, but they want to be able to mingle and grow and be a singular species with a goal to care for the planet while advancing. No resistance there.

“The city officials, however, this is where it gets interesting. Some of them were interested in helping you but felt they could not for fear of some sort of retribution or pain. They were nervous that helping you would impact them negatively for some weird reason that I do not understand. Some said no because of the same reason, so they didn’t pull you around at all, they just shut it down.

“But here’s the really interesting part, some of them, like the local chancellor, were lying completely. They claimed to want to help you, acted all pleasant, but they were lying through their teeth. They have no intention of helping you, they just wanted you to go away and shut up. They told you what you wanted to hear.”

There’s a silence that hangs heavy for a moment as we all absorb that information. Kari takes several deep breaths, her hands clutching her mug of tea tightly. I rub at her side, hoping to soothe the frayed nerves I can feel within her through our bond.

“Well, that sucks. This really wasn’t fruitful at all, was it?” She sighs, her eyes dropping to the floor as she turns sideways and curls up against me. My left hand rubs up and down her back, letting her take the comfort she needs as I think this through.

“They clearly have something they fear to keep them from helping. What is there that’s worse than war that’s stopping them?” I muse out loud.

“Whatever our enemy is, it must be scary to keep them chained like that,” Kari muses, her voice small.

She has a good point. Whatever it is that the Guardians have hinted at being after us, it must be powerful, using something strong to control all the people of the cities. That’s impressive and absolutely terrifying. Maybe the technology is part of the problem like the elders always said. Maybe it isn’t what the technology is but what it does to people. Is that even possible?

I’ve not ever had issues with the tech in the labs, it does the jobs it needs to, I’m able to research without ads or interruptions, I’m able to get answers to questions. I never feel as if there are negative side effects to using it. However, those in the city without the protection from ads and other sources, they seem to be different, more aggressive, less hospitable, and I never stick around to endure it. I’ve dealt with it enough to know that I don’t belong there.

Is this what we’re leading up to? This enemy is somehow using this technology against us? Maybe it really will be our downfall as the elders foretold….