“You’re only saying that because he is one of your kind,” another man from the settlement said.
The statement sent a scatter of gasps and bursts of anger throughout the rest of those in the meeting hall. Ellora jumped to her feet, no longer able to withhold her emotions.
“Don’t start with that,” Ellora said. “There is not a single one of us who is better than any other because of our species. Isn’t that why we’re here? Is there one of us who hasn’t been threatened or looked down on purely because of who or what we are? Ryan has been breaking all of our kinds down bit by bit and creating hybrid creatures out of them to use as weapons. He doesn’t see individuals when he looks at any of us. It doesn’t matter whether we are Denynso, Mikana, human, Irisa, Eteri, or anything else. We are united in this and if there is any one of you who doesn’t feel that way, then you need to leave and you need to leave now, but make no mistake. If you choose to leave, you will be counted among our enemies. We can trust someone who comes to us for help knowing what we stand for. We cannot trust someone who knows what we stand for and plan to do and then chooses to leave our ranks.”
She looked to Athan and he gave a single nod, the shadow of a smile coming to his lips.
“I am asking all of you to look within yourself and remember what it is that is compelling you to fight. What drives you to stand up against our common enemy? All of you are making a decision that puts your life at risk and you are making it with a clear and determined heart. Now know that Malcolm is doing the same thing. Even more. I know that it is difficult to think of bringing someone who was once sworn against our cause into our fold and trusting him as you would trust any other, but I can tell you that what he says is true. Just the fact that he says that he wishes to leave his previous ranks and join ours is enough for me to know that he is fully committed. That statement alone would warrant a reaction that would be swift and severe. He wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t exactly what he meant and if he wasn’t willing to fight for it.”
Rey stepped forward and looked out over the room.
“I know that this situation is more than any of us ever expected to encounter. Even I don’t know everything that is happening. But what I do know tells me that we need every person that we can get who is willing to stand beside us. Malcolm has come to us offering himself to our service. What we are fighting for is more than any single one of us, and far more impactful than our kinds, our homes, or our planet. There is not one among us who has not been misled at some time in our lives or who has not made a decision that we wish that we hadn’t made. Malcolm is asking for redemption. I believe that I can speak both for myself and for Creia when I say that we will happily give it to him.”
“So will I,” Athan said.
“And me,” Ellora said.
Gradually everyone in the room stood, offering their approval. Ellora felt her chest swell with emotion as she watched Malcolm fall to his knees again, his head hanging as if overwhelmed. Athan walked up to him and reached down to help him to his feet again, turning him so that the young man looked him directly in the face.
“You have been given asylum. You are now a part of us.” He stepped back and reached behind his shoulder to wrap his hand around the handle of the sword strapped to his back. He withdrew it and laid it across his palms, holding it out to Malcolm. “Thank you for your sacrifice and for your devotion.”
Malcolm reached out and took the sword into his hands.
“Thank you,” he said. “I will serve you with all that I am.”
“I know that you will.”
Athan pulled Malcolm in for an embrace and Ellora could see the emotion on his face that told her he was happy and relieved that they had chosen to take Malcolm’s offer and save him from the horror of the corrupt Order.
****
The meeting hall was silent and empty, but Malcolm was still standing in the center of the platform, the sword that Athan had presented him rolling across his palm. He stared down at it with a greater sense of peace and confidence in him than he had had in as long as he could remember. Though the idea of turning his back on the Order and defecting to Athan’s rebellion was terrifying, Malcolm also felt as though he had been freed, like a toxic breath within him had finally been released from his lungs, unclouding his mind, and putting him in control of himself again.
Athan had been resistant to allow him the time to himself that he requested, but he reassured him. It would take some time for the Order to truly know that he was now out of their reach and would not be bringing them Athan or any of the rest of the group. He had tonight. He would need the protection and perseverance of the rest for as long as they were on Uoria after, but he had tonight.
Malcolm was beginning to step down from the platform when he heard the door to the meeting hall open. His muscles tensed and his heart immediately started pounding, the beat erratic and strong in his temples. He adjusted his grip on the handle of the sword, priming himself to defend himself if attacked. It was possible that news of his abandonment of the Order and his vows of loyalty to them had spread to the Panel faster than he had thought that it would and they were now after him. If they knew that he was alone, they wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate him.
The figure coming into the meeting hall stepped closer and he saw that it didn’t seem to be large enough to be one of the men of the Order. Instead, it was small and moved fluidly, almost gliding across the floor as it came toward him. When it stepped into the light he saw that it was a delicate, beautiful woman. She gazed up at him with eyes a pale crystal blue that reminded him of the sky in the first moments after the pink of a sunrise faded away. Her thick hair was blond so pale it was nearly white and was tied behind her head in a series of braids. She glanced briefly over her shoulder and he saw that the braids met in the back to create a complex cage over the rest of her mane where it lay down to her waist. When she turned back to him her full lips held the faintest brush of a smile.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
It was almost as though Malcolm could feel her voice wash over him as she spoke. It was sweet and light, settling on his skin like a gentle mist of rain. He looked at his hands and realized that he was still holding the sword poised. He lowered it and drew it back so that it was slightly behind him.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t know who you were.”
“It’s alright,” she said, stepping up onto the platform with him. “I know who you are. Athan and Ellora asked that I host you in my home until you leave Uoria.”
“They did?” Malcolm asked.
She nodded.
“They say that you no longer have somewhere safe to live.”
Malcolm had the sudden, startling realization that they were right. He lived in a home with three other men, two of whom were also in the Order. He couldn’t return there, leaving him with nowhere to live during the time that they spent on Uoria before leaving for Penthos.
“I don’t want to impose on you,” Malcolm said, not knowing any other option, but also not wanting to feel as though he were causing this beautiful woman any difficulty.
“You won’t be imposing,” she said. “I wouldn’t have accepted if I didn’t want you there. You are incredibly brave, Malcolm. I know the danger that you are facing with the decision that you have made, and I am honored to give you any help that I can.”
“Thank you. What is your name?”
“Icelyn,” she said, offering her hand in the traditional Mikana greeting.
“Malcolm,” he said, his skin tingling as his hand touched hers.
Icelyn smiled wider, the expression getting into her eyes and causing them to sparkle.
“I know,” she said.
She turned, giving Malcolm a glance over her shoulder before stepping down off of the platform and starting toward the door to the meeting hall. He winced, embarrassed by introducing himself to her only moments after she said his name, but followed her eagerly. There was a flicker of nervousness in his belly when they reac
hed the door as he worried that the Order would be waiting for them, but when they stepped outside he found the courtyard empty. They walked along in silence for a few moments before Icelyn turned to him again.
“I hope that you won’t be disappointed by my house,” she said. “It’s not much, but I’m comfortable there.”
“I’m sure that it will be everything that I could need,” he said.
Her lovely eyes slid to him, but she didn’t say anything more. They continued on toward one of the clusters of homes and Malcolm looked around the village with greater appreciation. It felt like for so long he had been seeing his surroundings only through the prism of the Order, unable to take in the details that were always there and yet seemed to have only just appeared again.
They arrived at a small home and Icelyn opened the door. She stepped inside and pressed her hand to the wall to trigger the glowing lights embedded near the top of the walls.
“Come in,” she said.
Malcolm stepped into the house and looked around the modest but inviting room. It was very much like the house that he had been living in, but smaller, designed for one person or a couple rather than several single men as his house was. The furniture was sparse but looked comfortable and the delicate decorative touches added just the hint of feminine detail, softening the impact of the entire space. The room where they were standing served as the living area on one half and the kitchen on the other, and he could see a short hallway leading further into the home where he assumed there would be a bedroom and bathroom. He had no belongings with him and didn’t want to make any presumptions about the space, so he remained still.
“I really appreciate you doing this,” he said as Icelyn walked into the kitchen and took a canister of coffee from a shelf.
She started the machine on the counter and picked up two mugs, placing them within the machine to fill before handing one to him.
“Welcome home.”
Chapter Fourteen
Creia settled onto the pallet of blankets and pillows that Theia had made on the floor beside the bed that was too small to accommodate them. Though it had been a few weeks since their arrival in the Mikana kingdom, he still felt as though he was getting accustomed to being outside of his compound and in surroundings that were not familiar and not designed for his kind. He was used to being in the compound, the only King influencing those around him, but now he was learning to balance his cooperation with the other species that had gathered in the kingdom while also planning for the battles that lay ahead.
Theia slipped into place beside him and rested her head on her mate’s shoulder. He drew in a breath of her, comforted by the presence of her close to him. It had been so long since they had completed their bond that he could hardly remember a time before her. She was as irremovably connected to him as he was to her and he knew in his heart that he wouldn’t be complete if he had to spend even a moment without her as his mate.
“Do you think that we are adequately prepared for the war?” he asked.
Theia lifted her head slightly as if to look at him, but Creia couldn’t see her in the dark of the room.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I don’t know if the people we have to bring with us to Penthos are going to be enough. We don’t know the size of the hybrid army or what they are capable of doing.”
“You have been so confident,” Theia said. “You said that there was nothing that was going to keep us from victory.”
“I know, and I believe that we are the most powerful of any army that could confront Ryan and his hybrids, but is it enough? Do we have enough people to be fully confident when we step onto that planet that we are going to be able to face them down and come out triumphant?”
“I don’t know,” Theia admitted. “I will ensure that those we have are trained as well as possible and that they are as prepared as they can be to fight in whatever ways the hybrid army uses. They will need to see that you believe in them, that you are not concerned about their efforts or their abilities. You must be strong for them, Creia.”
“I know,” he said. “But I have seen what the Valdicians are capable of doing. I’ve seen the severity of what they can do. They are only the minions of Ryan. They are only the servants of the man who has created the army that we are preparing to fight. If they are capable of the ferocity that I witnessed when they held me captive, what is Ryan capable of? What has he trained his army to do?”
“What do you think we should do?” Theia asked. “We have already gathered all of those from the compound, the Mikana kingdom, and the Nyx 23 settlement who are willing to come with us. Who else could we ask?”
“Perhaps we should reach out to the Eteri,” Creia said.
“Some already have,” Theia said. “They brought Azrael and Ariella with them to Earth.”
“I know. But that’s it. There are only two of their kind on Penthos right now and only one of them is a warrior. They are among the strongest and most skilled warriors outside of the Denynso that I have ever encountered. They have capabilities that are far beyond anything that our kind has. Even Loralia is only able to utilize some of the skills of the kind and that is half of her blood. I am certain that Ryan has used Eteri blood to create some of his hybrids so that his weapons would be able to access those skills. We need warriors who will be able to counter those hybrids. This is a war unlike anything that we have ever encountered. We can’t just use the same strategies that we always have and expect that we will get the same results. We need levels of attack, layers of strategy that will allow us to match each of the hybrids, skill for skill, drive for drive. If we can’t, we must be able to overcome them. I need to go talk to the Eteri.”
Theia rested her head on his shoulder again and nodded.
“We can leave in the morning,” she said. “I’m sure that Kyven, Rey, and the Mikana army can handle the beginning of the training until we return.”
“No,” Creia said. “You must stay here. This is something that I need to do alone. Besides, they need you here. They need your guidance. I will get there and back as fast as I can.”
“Are you sure that you’ll be safe alone?” Theia asked. “Won’t the Order be looking for you?”
“They might,” Creia said, “but there’s nothing that I can do to stop that. We need the Eteri. It has been a long time since the Denynso have called upon them, but the time’s come. I need to ask for their help. It can only come from me.”
The next morning, Creia boarded one of the vehicles that Athan had stolen for their use and started across the planet. He traveled as quickly as he could, pausing only when exhaustion made it absolutely necessary for him to pause. When he did, it was for the shortest time possible before he continued on. He followed the most direct route, though he knew that it would put him at the highest risk. Choosing to swerve as he went or to take different directions that deviated from the straight route could have distracted anyone who might be following him, but it also would have taken him off course and wasted precious time that he simply couldn’t afford to lose. Whatever risk that it posed him, he had to move across the planet as fast as he possibly could. Those in the Mikana kingdom needed their training and those on Penthos couldn’t be kept waiting for any longer than was absolutely unavoidable.
Creia didn’t know how long he had been traveling when he finally saw that he was approaching the compound. He had been away from his home for longer than he had ever been and he felt himself drawn to it, as if magnetized by the comfort and familiarity of it. He wanted to go back into the compound, to walk back through the banquet hall and sit on his throne, to climb the stairs and rest in his own bed. The more that he longed for the compound, however, the harder that he pushed himself away from it. He couldn’t go back there. Not now. Not yet. There was so much more that he needed to accomplish. As he moved past the compound Creia had to remind himself that the clan wasn’t there, that with the exception of the few women born into the families and the aged, the vast majority of
the Denynso had reported to the Mikana kingdom to serve. He had left only Verity in his place, knowing that the years that the woman had lived and all that she had seen in her time as a midwife and the nurturer of the clan before Ty came of age would make her a strong and wise interim leader. She would protect his home until he was able to return and ensure that when they returned victorious, the compound would be prepared to welcome them.
He knew that it was his final night before he arrived at the Eteri village and Creia brought the vehicle to a stop, wanting to rest and refresh himself so that he would be prepared to go before the Eteri leader. Just as he had every other time that he stopped on his journey across Uoria, Creia stopped where he could conceal the vehicle and make as little change in the surroundings with his presence as possible so that he could guard himself from any who might be pursuing him. Though he hadn’t encountered the Order during his travel, that came as no comfort, no reassurance to him. Rather than making him feel that he might be safe and that they weren’t coming after him, it only increased his tension and anxiety, making him feel as though were only getting closer to the danger with each passing moment.
Once the vehicle was as hidden as he could make it, Creia walked across the rocky shore of the pond on the very edge of the Denynso compound. Though he knew that he couldn’t go to the village or do anything that might tell those of the clan who had stayed behind that he was there, he hadn’t been able to resist just this small part of the compound. He felt centered being within the parameters of the compound, even though he was still distanced from the stone wall that defined the primary area. This was a place that was sacred to him, a place where he had spent a considerable amount of time and that held many memories for him. Just standing on the bank and looking out over the purple water of the pond brought peace to his heart and allowed his mind to quiet.
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