by Jess Corban
My heart sinks and my whole body clenches with dread. This is it. This is where we die.
“However,” she continues, and that single word threatens to upend the peace. The Arena trembles with unease. She raises her voice. “However, in light of all that has transpired, there is much to discuss. We will need ample time to determine the just punishment.” She addresses the guards surrounding us. “Return them to the cells. No one will die today.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
APRIL 2267
TWO WEEKS LATER
NEECHI HELPS ME PRESS FRAGRANT EARTH around the little plant in the shade of the fig tree, being careful not to disturb the papery red petals of its first hibiscus flower—a fitting tribute to Treowe. The familiar swish of the Jabiru reminds me of him. So do our goats, and Old Solomon, and bananas, and just about everything good or kind. But especially the flower.
I untie Callisto’s fraying two-toned braid from my wrist and lay it beside the plant. Returning to Bella Terra makes me miss them both something fierce. But I had to come back, one more time.
The Senators decided Mother could keep her beloved finca, now that she’s an inaugural member of Nedé’s Assembly of Justice. It seems we underestimated the number of Senators already suspicious of Teera’s actions and plans. They were kept informed, it turns out, by a certain Finca del Mar regular with orange-gold hair and a flair for curating fine clothing. My hunch about Dom Tourmaline’s sharp eyes was correct. And when word got out that Teera had indeed ordered the death of her daughter, Leda Pierce—a woman well-known and well-loved by many Nedéans—any lingering loyalty to Teera’s ways dissolved. Their outrage over her actions fueled a demand for change in the Matriarchy itself.
It also didn’t hurt that—once Dr. Novak revealed the implications of the destroyed bank—they realized killing off the Brutes would sentence Nedé to extinction.
So, after nearly a week of deliberation, the Senators and Trinidad settled on a plan to move forward in the wake of our upheaval. The Senate will continue per usual—what Senator would vote otherwise?—to handle the affairs of the provinces. The Matriarch’s role has been replaced by the Assembly of Justice, which comprises one representative from each of the destinies: Trinidad for the Alexia; Mother for the Maternos; Domus will now oversee Gentles Ministerium, which replaces Gentles Regimen; and Torvus was the natural choice to represent an entirely new destiny, Anthropos. Though Brutes and Gentles will be grouped within their own destinies for now, Mother assures me changes will continue as women adjust to having what they believed were their worst nightmares living among them. She trusts one day, Brutes and women will be able to do the same jobs, intermixed within the destinies.
Thankfully, the Senators’ “plan to move forward” did not involve our deaths. Though . . . a hollow homesickness fills me as I recall our pending punishment. But now’s not the time to dwell on that.
I take the trowel from Neechi. “Thank you for helping me.”
He nods, smearing tears from his cheeks with the back of a muddy hand. We take our time strolling toward the villa.
“So,” I pry, “Jonalyn tells me you’ve refused Ciela’s antidote.”
Though it’s not a complete reversal, with actual Brute blood to utilize, my sister quickly closed the final gap in her research and created a “strength serum.” She expects it to have the greatest effects on the young Gentles, but because it will require a lifetime of injections, she’s unsure how many will actually utilize it. If Neechi’s any indication, we won’t have to worry about a population of Gentles-turned-Brutes overnight.
“How could you refuse the Center’s new codirector like that?” I tease.
The moment I was reunited with Ciela, she made sure I knew about her new role—replacing a retiring Dr. Novak, who wishes to make up for lost time with her son. My sister plans to use the year’s supply of life serum we didn’t destroy to tide Nedé over while she figures out how to duplicate the process the foremothers used to create the bank. At least until Brutes and women begin having children like in the old world. Children like Jase.
Neechi shakes his head. “I’m happy as I am, Dom Reina. I like those Brutes enough, of course. But what do they have that I don’t? I’m happy here, with Dom Pierce’s horses to care for and a soft bed at night.”
“Then you’ll stay on at Bella?”
He shrugs, smiling. “It’s what I know.”
I smile back.
I suppose change sometimes provides the opportunity to continue doing what we’ve always done.
At least I’ve given him the choice.
Not that life at Bella will be quite the same moving forward. In the days since Ciela began testing Mother’s little Gentles with the strength serum, Dom Bakshi and Marsa have had their hands full of squirming, playful monkeys. I’ve never heard Marsa threaten “Wap kon Jorge!” so many times in a day. And once Torvus, Jase, and Rohan return from the ruins with the rest of the cubs—along with any older Brutes who want to come—Bella Terra will transform into its own kind of Jungle.
Speaking of transformations, Little Boo—I swear, three centimeters taller already—has spotted me and sprints past the goat pen, high-jumping over low shrubs as he runs. He throws his little arms around my waist.
“You all done with your morning studies?” I ask, kneeling beside him.
He nods.
“Were you good for Dom Bakshi?”
He screws up his mouth, thinking harder than he should have to about the answer to this question. I ruffle his hair.
“She’s the best tutor in Nedé, Little Boo. Go easy on her, for my sake. It’s my fault she has her hands full.”
“Yes, it is,” Dom Bakshi protests, mopping her forehead with the edge of her sari as she overtakes us. But her face softens as Little Boo runs off to play.
“Have you seen Mother?”
“She went with Marsa to look into those supplies for—” Her words trail away as she averts her eyes.
“I’m going to be alright, Domina Bakshi,” I say, in that nasally delivery I used to tease her with, trying to coax a smile. Though she and Mother, and especially Marsa, aren’t so sure, I’m confident I—we—will be.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
MAY 2267
ONE WEEK LATER
SUN-BLEACHED PLANKS CREAK UNDER my weight as I scramble onto the platform of the two-hull. The midmorning sun blazes across a shimmering Halcyon Sea, a steady breeze promising fair sailing for our journey. Lazy clouds drift across the cobalt sky, and great gray pelicans sun themselves on the waves. The wind carries hints of salt spray and fresh beginnings. I have to say, the general charm takes some of the sting out of our exile from Nedé.
I hand Rohan the last rucksack, and he tosses it into the adjacent hull, where packs, flasks, and plenty of weapons take up half the space. The other half is chock-full of Bri’s sour pout.
“If we die on this stupid ‘mandatory hiatus,’” she whines at me, “my ghost still knows where your ghost lives.”
I grin. “Hey, you were the one who just had to follow me into the Jungle. It’s your own fault, really.”
“Come on.” Jase grins at her from the other hull. “It’s going to be fun.”
She sticks out her tongue at him.
“For the record—” I wince—“I’m still not convinced I understand a Brute’s idea of fun.”
Dantès raises the bone-white sail—a gracious gift from Trinidad—and a gust draws us slowly from shore.
I give a final farewell nod toward the small crowd gathered along the stretch of sand. Trinidad, who stands among a patrol of Alexia, winks at me, and I smile back. Our final conversation didn’t contain many words, but I knew what she meant. When we return—whenever that might be—I can rejoin the Alexia. It was all I needed to hear.
On the other end of the shore, Mother wipes tears from her cheeks and Torvus pulls her a little closer. Jonalyn, who finally returned to La Fortuna, waves with one hand, holding little Finch with the other. Her rec
laimed four-year-old son—who’s receiving the serum—and daughter, Cassia, romp through the sand, pouncing playfully on Ori, who returned with Torvus to help with the cubs. Domus and Neechi are there too, waving and crying and making my heart ache with their care and worry for us.
Aunt Julissa and a few Senators observe from a distance, ensuring we keep our end of the bargain. When the Council conceded that our crimes were out of self-preservation and decided not to execute us, they still thought it best, given the current state of upheaval, for our newest Nedéans and their accomplices to remain out of the public eye. As much as I relished the prospect of spending those months or years sequestered in the musty Arena cells while things died down, I can’t say I was disappointed when Rohan suggested an alternative. Explaining his suspicion of outsiders to the Council, he requested we spend our exile evaluating possible threats beyond Nedé. It sounded like thinly veiled code for exploring to me, but after exchanging apprehensive looks at the word “outsiders,” the Senators eagerly agreed. We are required to vacate Nedé for a minimum of one year, and may be gone longer, depending on what dangers we encounter.
The Council granted Torvus an exception so he could oversee the cubs and establish the new Anthropos destiny: an occupation allowing Brutes to use their gifts for the good of all. And they allowed Théo, who took Jem and Galion’s deaths particularly hard, to return to the ruins, where a handful of Brutes have decided to remain out of sight a while longer, giving the women—and armed Alexia—time to adjust to the idea of Brutes existing outside of their nightmares.
Finca del Mar shrinks to doll size in the distance, and eventually the mysterious Divisaderos—Jungle lands teeming with life and danger—fall away too. But before they disappear completely, I almost imagine the top of a very tall mahogany peeking from behind a misty rise, reaching its proud branches toward the sky.
Rohan comes to sit beside me on the front of the platform. The horizon stretches before us like so much possibility, like endless tomorrows.
“You know,” I remind him, “when we return, you’ll have to choose a destiny.” I bump him with my shoulder. “I think you’d make an excellent Alexia.”
He chuckles. “I wouldn’t look nearly as good in those pants as you do . . . though I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on one of those bows.”
He slides an arm around my shoulder and kisses my hair. I like the way my head fits under his chin, how our fingers join just so. You’d think I was a perfect sunset for the way he looks at me, and I see the strength of El Fuego in him. When I’m in his arms, I can feel our hearts fusing together, like we were made to love each other.
I imagine Tristan Pierce taking a boat across the sea into an unknown world, determined to create a society free from the tyranny of evil. She and the foremothers were brave enough to imagine a world different from what they had experienced. In that way, I suppose, our voyages aren’t so different. Except I’m venturing out—have risked my life—for a different kind of freedom. Fear and hate motivated Tristan to alter Brutes in the name of justice. I’ve liberated them for the sake of a different virtue altogether: love. The one virtue, I’m now convinced, that is greater than them all.
Glossary
Ad Artium (ad AHRT tee uhm)—destiny of Nedé specializing in the arts
Adoni (uh DO nee)—leader of the Alexia
Agricolátio (A gri ko LAH tee o)—destiny of Nedé specializing in horticulture
Alexia (uh LEX ee uh)—destiny of Nedé specializing in peacekeeping
Amal (uh MAHL)—southwestern Province of Nedé, meaning “hope”
Apprentice—the Matriarch’s choice of successor, selected from among four Candidates. The Apprentice trains under the Matriarch for one year, after which time she assumes the Matriarchal role and title
Arena—Alexia training facilities
Bella Terra (BAY yuh TER uh)—Materno finca managed by Leda Pierce, Reina’s home
Bolas (BO luhs)—a hunting weapon made by attaching each end of a medium-length rope to a sphere made of a heavy material, used to capture animals by entangling their legs
Brishalynn (BREE shuh lin) “Bri” Pierce—Politikós turned Alexia from Amal; former Succession Candidate
Brute—an ungentled male, thought to be extinct
Callisto (kuh LI sto)—Reina’s pinto horse, a Paint and Lexander mix
Camino del Oeste (kuh MEE no del o ES tay)—Nedéan thoroughfare, running north to south along the western border
Candidate—one of four women chosen to compete in the Succession, in which the Matriarch chooses a successor
Cassia (CA see uh)—Reina’s niece, daughter of Jonalyn Pierce
Center for Health Services—aka, the Center; facility in Phoenix City responsible for medical and Materno services
Chicha (CHEE chuh)—an alcoholic beverage made from fermenting fruit and/or grains
Ciela (see AY luh) Pierce—Reina’s older sister, lab technician at the Center for Health Services
Criollo (cree OY oh)—breed of horse native to Nedé
Dáin (DAY in)—Brute
Dantès (dahn TEZ)—Brute
Divisadero (di vi suh DE ro) Mountains—mountain range marking Nedé’s western border
Dr. Karina Novak (kuh REE nuh NO vak)—doctor, coleader of the Center for Health Services with Leda Pierce
Dom (DAHM)—shortened form of Domina, a title of respect given to women of distinction (adult women who have chosen a destiny) in Nedé
Dom Bakshi (buhk SHEE)—Reina’s tutor and educator of Bella Terra’s Gentles
Dom Russo (roo SO)—advisor to Matriarch Teera
Dom Tourmaline (TUR muh leen)—Personal stylist to Matriarch Teera, assigned to Reina during the Succession
Domus (DAHM uhs)—Gentle 37628, major domus (finca manager) of Finca del Mar
Estrella (uh STRAY yuh)—Leda’s horse
Fabricatio (fa bri CAH tee o)—destiny of Nedé dealing with manufacturing
Fallon (FA luhn)—Alexia
Fik’iri (fik EE ree)—northeastern Province of Nedé, meaning “love”
Finca del Mar (FEEN kuh del MAHR)—the Matriarch’s estate
Finch—Jonalyn’s son
Finglas (FIN glahs)—aka Fin; Brute
Galion (GAL yon)—Brute
Gentles Regimen—destiny of Nedé specializing in Hive oversight and Gentles’ vocational training
Halcyon (HAL see ahn) Sea—body of water marking Nedé’s eastern border
Highway Volcán (vol CAHN)—main Nedéan thoroughfare, running east from Phoenix City to Nedé’s western border
Hive—live-in training facility for Gentles ages seven to fourteen
Initus (IN i toos) Ceremony—a Nedé-wide celebration at the Arena to commemorate the fourteen-year-old Gentles’ departure from their respective Hives to begin vocations
Innovatus (in o VAH toos)—destiny of Nedé dealing with innovation, particularly repurposing materials, and maintaining technologies necessary “to increase convenience without compromising our core virtue of simplicity,” as per Article V of the constitution
Jabiru (JAH buh roo) River—river running from the Divisadero Mountains to the Halcyon Sea, dividing Amal and Lapé provinces from Kekuatan and Fik’iri
Jamara Makeda (juh MAHR uh muh KEE duh)—Apprentice to the Matriarch
Jase (JAYS)—Brute
Jem—Brute
Jonalyn (JON uh lin) Pierce—aka Jo. Reina’s eldest sister, Materno, finca manager in Kekuatan
Julissa (jyoo LI suh) Pierce—Matriarch Teera’s younger daughter, Reina’s aunt
Jungle—the land outside Nedé’s borders, characterized by unexplored, dense vegetation
Kekuatan (kuh KOO uh tahn)—northwestern Province of Nedé, meaning “strength”
La Fortuna (lah for TYOO nah)—Materno finca belonging to Jonalyn Pierce
Lapé (lah PAY)—southeastern Province of Nedé, containing Phoenix City, meaning “peace”
Leda (LEE duh) Pierce—Reina’s mother,
daughter of Matriarch Teera, codirector of the Center for Health Services
Lexander (LEX an dur)—breed of horse developed by Lex Sterling; a Criollo-Thoroughbred mix prized by the Alexia
Little Boo—Gentle 85272, nurtured by Leda Pierce at Bella Terra
Marsa Museau (MAHR suh myoo ZO)—aka Dom Marsa, or just Marsa. Chef at Bella Terra, second mother to Reina and her sisters
Materno (muh TER no)—destiny of Nedé specializing in the birth and care of children
Midas—Trinidad’s horse
Nedé (ne DAY)—the haven formed by the Safety Coalition in 2067 for the preservation and protection of women
Neechi (NEE chee)—Gentle 54901, former stablehand at Finca del Mar
Nyx (NIX)—Adoni’s horse
Ori (OR ee)—Brute
Phase-out facility—a place for Gentles who are no longer useful to live out their remaining days
Pippin—aka Pip, Brute
Politikós (po LI ti kos)—destiny of Nedé specializing in politics
Reina (RAY nuh) Pierce—daughter of Leda Pierce, granddaughter of Matriarch Teera, former Succession Candidate
Rio del Sur (REE o del SUR)—river running from the Divisadero Mountains to the Halcyon Sea, marking Nedé’s southern border
Rohan (RO hahn)—Brute
Safety Coalition—organization which fought for the safety and survival of women, founded in 2052 by Tristan Pierce
Salita (suh LEE tuh) Pierce—Teera’s cousin, former Senator
Scientia and Medicinae (see EN tee uh and med uh KEE nee)—destiny of Nedé specializing in science and medicine
Siyah Assad (see YAH uh SAHD)—former operative for the Safety Coalition, first Alexia leader
Solomon—aka Old Solomon, Gentle 29811, major domus (i.e., lead Gentle) at Bella Terra; former preeminent horse trainer for the Alexia
Stinger—slang for a quietus injection, which ends a Gentle’s life. An option for Gentles who are no longer useful and/or who suffer from debilitating pain
