“Okay.” Sky struggled not to smile at Rana. She could tell the woman was fraught over the memories of her actions. Rana was harassing herself enough without Sky’s help.
“We’re going to do something about those women?” Rana asked after taking a long sip of water.
“There’s an informal elder meeting happening at the Hub in the village. I plan to crash it.”
Rana nodded and turned back to her room. “I’ll change into one of my dresses.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I want your elders to remember that I am a diplomat. The best way is to make sure I am formally dressed when we meet.”
Sky chose not to state that Rana’s status would be obvious whether she wore one of her fancy dresses or not. No one would mistake her for clan even if her skin were more like the assorted warm tones of her people instead of the unnatural pale cultivated on the Elitian capital of Leonis. There was a regal otherness about Rana. Her innate elegance was something no one on the twin moons could replicate.
They arrived as the meeting was ending. The informal assemblies were always open to the public, so Sky and Rana slipped in and hid at the back of the crowd. Those closest to Sky and Rana began to pull away, leaving a spacious ring of open air around the women while the rest of the spectators pressed together shoulder to shoulder.
When the elders opened the floor to concerns, Sky leaped at the chance to be heard. She pulled Rana behind her as she bullied her way to the front of the crowd. The man who had been addressing the council of elders stopped talking at the sight of the women. Sky took his silence as permission to speak.
“I request a private audience with the elders,” Sky shouted over the growing murmur coming from the crowd.
“You are not granted such honors,” answered a woman with short, dark hair peppered with silver strands who sat next to Sky’s glowering father. She looked down her nose at Rana, and when she met Sky’s narrowed gaze, her thin lips curled in disgust.
“You will grant me my request. I have evidence of an act of cruelty against the clans that needs to be addressed.”
The murmurs grew into an agitated buzz. Sky watched her father while the elders conferred with each other. He stared back at her with a strange mixture of incredulity, satisfaction, and what Sky thought was pride before the woman who spoke earlier whispered in his ear. He nodded to her.
“We ask for everyone to leave. If you waited to have your grievances heard, we will hold a contingency meeting in the morning to hear them. We apologize for the inconvenience.” Sky tilted her head at the new voice. The man sat at the end of the table, his form towering over the rest of the elders even though he was leaning forward with both elbows resting on the table. His long hair, the color of flames, was held back on the sides with rows of braids. There was something woven through the plaits, but from this distance, Sky couldn’t tell what. His dark eyes were intense as they locked on her, and Sky instantly felt ill at ease.
Her mark vibrated in warning.
Then everything clicked together. This man was Beast. She swallowed the knot that formed in the back of her throat, never breaking his gaze. Beast’s lips curled into a predatory grin as if he knew Sky had figured him out, even though Sky knew her expression hadn’t changed.
“You have the floor, Sky.” Her father’s voice broke her staring contest with Beast. Sky would have to deal with Beast later. Now that he knew she was back, he would almost certainly resume his pursuit of her.
“Last night, my captain sent me a vid feed of women with clan marks being herded onto an Elitian vessel.”
“Nonsense,” the woman who spoke earlier scoffed. “We would be aware if an Elitian ship entered our atmosphere.”
“The video was taken on Eris.”
The silence was deafening, but as Sky studied the slack faces of the elders, excluding Beast—she couldn’t look at him again—she realized that her report wasn’t news.
“You all knew?” Sky growled.
“You may transfer the file and leave,” a man with a nasally voice announced. They were dismissing her without explanation or allowing Sky the opportunity to help.
Sky was enraged.
She felt Rana grasp her belt loop and press in close to her back, but her limbs grew heavy and numb. Her vision narrowed and then expanded beyond the physical world. With new eyes, she studied the council with a rabid curiosity. The majority of the clan elders were balanced, despite their deplorable actions, but a few had souls darker than the emptiness of space. Her sight was edging toward Beast when the female elder spoke.
“What is she doing?” Sky jerked her head at the grating voice. “Remove her.”
A hand clamped down on Sky’s shoulder at the same time Rana’s warmth pulled away. In a single breath, she flipped the man over her shoulder and pressed her foot down on his throat while pulling her blazers free, pointing them at the two remaining guards. The one holding Rana slowly released her. Rana ran back to Sky’s side.
“Did you see her move? She was a blur,” someone whispered as Sky met her father’s wide eyes.
“You all knew?” Sky repeated her question. Her voice was eerily loud, even though she spoke normally.
“We did,” her father answered. He fidgeted with the sleeve of his shirt and avoided looking directly at Sky. “There have been reports of missing people from both moons. We didn’t know where they were being held, but so far, the numbers have been small enough to contain the information from the people. We don’t want to incite a riot.”
“What else do you know?”
“There has been no evidence of foul play, even though it’s obvious there’s something bigger going on,” a female answered. The elder, a younger member, was ethereally beautiful with golden hair that sparkled with every movement and deep-blue eyes the color of the gas clouds on Orus. Her outward beauty matched her insides. Her soul was the brightest of all the elders. Sky turned to address her and saw a form slip through the side door.
Several elders, including Beast, had made a quick exit while she was distracted. A part of her sagged in relief that she wouldn’t be confronted by Beast this cycle.
“I will discover the truth,” Sky announced, her voice returning to normal. She eyed the guards as she holstered her blazers and lifted her foot. They picked up their comrade and backed away from Sky. “You will not stop me.”
The elders exchanged looks, but Sky wasn’t concerned about any objections, if they had any. This was the right decision. The way she felt mirrored the peace that had overwhelmed her when she joined the crew of the Kismet and echoed the righteousness of her choice to be Rana’s champion.
Luz wanted Sky to save her people, and Rana’s presence here wasn’t an accident. Whatever she discovered would change them both.
Forever.
Eight
Rana followed Sky without a word as they weaved through the waiting crowd outside the Hub. Whispers hushed as they passed, but the contempt Sky usually felt from the clan was muted. It seemed their curiosity outranked their anger.
“Did you…” Rana began, but Sky shook her head and continued walking.
They walked in silence until they reached the empty training field. Sky figured the warriors would wait until the crowds dispersed before they resumed their daily schedule. Sky scanned the immediate area to double check her assumption.
They were alone.
“Rana, I want you to double up on your lessons. You’re a quick study, and I believe you can handle it.” Sky paused to study Rana’s reaction. There was none. Her face was a mask of neutrality, and a wave of nervousness washed over Sky. Was she pushing her friend too far?
“Will you involve me in your quest?” Rana asked, her voice matching her expression.
“If it were any other situation, I would say no, but I am your champion and cannot leave you to begin another mission.” Sky paused as Rana’s face began to crumple. “Rana, I believe you are meant to be a part of this. I want you to come with me.”
“Why?” Rana’s voice cracked with restrained emotion. Sky wondered if there was more to Rana’s reaction than she knew or if the situation had overwhelmed her.
“You are more than my charge. You’re more than a friend. You’re the sister of my soul.”
Rana leaped across the distance between them and wrapped Sky in a hug. Sky stiffened for a moment before returning the gesture. As the embrace continued, Sky relaxed into it. She tried but could not recall a moment she felt so content and loved.
When Rana pulled away smiling, Sky felt as if Rana was compelling her to do the same. The sensation wasn’t like when the Ancients communicated with Sky; it was a natural magnetism. Rana had a power all her own, and as her confidence grew, so did her potential.
“My life has been in near constant danger since I woke on the Kismet, but I have never felt this happy in all my life.” Rana spoke softly as she studied the training field. “I am happy to assist you in this mission, and I have no objection to increasing my studies. Learning to fight has been an empowering experience. Fern has been teaching me to use my implants to my advantage in battle. Not once in my life did anyone encourage me to use my eyes as more than a means to see. I want to learn more. Become more.”
“I always knew there was more to your exterior, and it pleases me to see you blossom.” Sky nudged Rana’s shoulder with her own. “You will become exactly who you are meant to be, and I believe you will be a force to be reckoned with.”
Sky fell silent. The weight of her responsibilities pressed down on her shoulders, and she knew that these moments of peace would be few and far between in the coming days. Her contentment fizzled away as the first sun kissed the top of the trees.
“We should find Barrow and Fern,” Sky announced.
“Okay.” Rana’s answer was tinged in excitement.
Sky’s thoughts were a million miles away as they walked back to the village. Rana grasped her hand when they crossed the tavern and pulled Sky to a stop. She pointed to a small group leaving the establishment. Sky’s father was bent over in conversation with the young female elder and two other council members.
“Elders often share meals and discuss business,” Sky stated matter-of-factly, but a thread of unease unfurled in her gut.
“Yes, but seeing your father reminded me of something I noticed in the meeting,” Rana whispered as she pulled Sky closer.
“What?”
“After you went divine on those guards, the council said missing people, not missing women.” Rana’s eyes whirled as she scanned the area behind Sky before focusing back on her. “If the Elitians are taking men too, then it changes things, right?”
“Yes, it does.”
Nine
An overwhelming sense of foreboding awakened Sky from a restful sleep, and as the day progressed, she couldn’t shake the feeling. Sky rubbed her shoulder, the pain worsening as she studied the clearing. She didn’t have an explanation this morning when she sent an urgent comm to Barrow and Fern requesting a change in location for training. Sky didn’t even think twice when she requested the forest clearing behind her cabin, but as her apprehension grew and the need to act collided, she understood.
Sky stared across the field. At the edge was a trail mostly hidden by overgrown fauna, but Sky would be able to find the entrance blindfolded. She had walked that trail every day after she returned from her imprisonment until the moment she stole the research ship to make her escape.
“Sky, you seem to be a million kilometers away.” Fern’s voice broke her reverie.
Sky turned to Fern and smiled sadly. “I find myself lost in the past today.”
Fern scanned the area Sky had been staring at earlier before turning a knowing gaze back to Sky. “Have you gone to visit him since you arrived?”
“No,” Sky whispered automatically. She watched Rana twist out from under Barrow, wrap her legs around his arm, and pull. Sky jerked and her pride faded as Fern’s question finally settled. “How did you know?”
“When you first came back, your father hid you away on the property and didn’t allow visitors. Barrow, myself, and a few others were worried, so we snuck in through the forest, hoping to find you. We stumbled on you and your father carrying a small bundle through this clearing toward that path. Your shoulders were slumped. Your face was swollen and wet with tears. We had never seen you look so defeated, so we followed.”
Sky stiffened. She hadn’t known there were others that day. Her anguish had been so encompassing that she didn’t feel anything. Not the warmth of the suns or the cool grass beneath her bare feet. Sky had even been numb to her freshly anointed mark.
Fern placed a cool hand on top Sky’s. “We never spoke of it since, but I want you to know that Barrow visits often. I think it gives his soul peace to say the prayers of remembering.”
“Barrow is a good man,” Sky choked as she allowed Fern’s words to warm her and burn away despair. “When are you two going to make it official?”
Fern blushed. “We plan to make a union at Va’letu.”
“Good.” Sky stood and glanced over her shoulder at Fern. “Thank you. Please continue Rana’s training, and if she asks, it’s okay to let her know where I am going.”
At Fern’s nod, Sky released a long breath. It was time to visit her son.
With each step, Sky pushed back her worries, and as she grew closer to her family’s burial ground, a swell of rightness eased the overbearing sorrow. As she stepped into a smaller clearing, she paused. Sky could occasionally hear the clack of wood as Fern taught Rana the art of swordsmanship, and knowing Rana wasn’t far helped Sky relax.
Sky trudged onward past the crowded rows of her ancestors, her eyes lingering on the newly turned earth of a recent burial. She didn’t recognize the name on the stone, but her heart saddened all the same. One of her blood had passed on, and Sky was sorry she wouldn’t be able to remember them.
She turned away and took a less traveled path to the furthest corner of the meadow. As she left the main burial ground behind, the wildness of the meadow dwindled into a well-kept garden of venia flowers surrounding a single stone.
Sky stumbled to a stop. Her jaw dropped as she took in the beautiful arrangement. When she had chosen this area to lay her child to rest, it was because wild venias had grown only in this part of the meadow. Venias had always been a favorite of hers. The sweet scent paired with the deep orange and red of the petals always ignited a pleasant warmth inside her. Sky had always felt a kinship with the wild flower.
Now they were cultivated and planted in neat circular rows around the monument with a path leading up the middle. Someone, maybe Barrow, spent many hours making her son’s grave lovely and inviting.
Warmth flowed down her cheeks in rivers and Sky jogged the last few meters, falling at the foot of the modest monument. She ran her fingers over the engravings.
Sage of the Erskin clan. Son of Sky and unknown. A young warrior.
Sky’s voice choked on his name. She only had two rotations with him before he was murdered. Before her choices killed him.
Memories of her time with the Cult of Ocmus and his priests were not ones Sky enjoyed visiting, but to remember her only child, she had to. Sky was almost sixteen rotations when they kidnapped her from her home under the cloak of darkness. She had no recollection of being taken or of the trip to their remote temple. Her first memory was being awakened by the jarring of a person crawling over her.
During that first violation, Sky realized she was experiencing everything through a haze. The skin around her right eye throbbed with dull pain. Her limbs felt heavy, and when she tried to move them, they hardly budged. Her thoughts were difficult to process and sensations were muted. Sky had closed her eyes and embraced the emptiness.
The following lunar cycle Sky knew she was with child. The priests had praised her fertility, and instead of keeping her chained in the cold cells below the temple with the other women, they had her chained to the statue of Ocmus in the center of the
main temple.
Months blurred through the constant drug-induced fog in her mind. She vaguely remembered her water breaking and the pain of delivering her son. In the cycles post-delivery, they allowed her longer stretches of lucidity so she could care for the child. In those moments, Sky greedily absorbed any information she could glean from her captors.
Sky gathered that the temple was located on Bludrun territory, but her fiancé, Beast, was unaware of her location. She learned that her capture was the direct result of Beast refusing to promise his first-born to the cult for an archaic ritual of sacrifice to Ocmus. Sky could not recall there ever being such customs among her people. Her knowledge of the Ancients was limited, but she knew they were never cruel and wouldn’t encourage such dishonorable practices.
She didn’t care about Beast or his role in her capture, although she did carry a bit more respect for him. Sky latched on to the word sacrifice. The word bounced around her mind until every time she looked at her precious child, all she could see was that dreadful word. Sky feared that the priests were planning to use Sage instead. An overwhelming need to protect her son won out against logic.
Almost two rotations after his birth and during one of her lucid moments, Sky took Sage and fled. She ran, carrying his tiny body against her chest. He sobbed quietly against her neck as she pushed past the pain of the rocks cutting her bare feet, not allowing herself to show any weakness. Sage needed a strong mother.
After a while her legs began to wobble and her thighs burned from exertion. A painful stitch formed in her side, and Sky struggled to breathe through the pain. She tripped over a stone and stumbled. Sky realized that she had to slow down and rest or she wouldn’t be able to continue much longer. She stopped next to a stream and lowered them both down to take a drink. Sage watched her with wide, brown eyes—eyes that were not like her own, but ones that she loved with total abandon. She leaned over to kiss his nose, and when she pulled away his lips were stretched wide in a gap-toothed grin.
As We Rise: Savage (As We Rise Saga Book 2) Page 5
