by Eden Wolfe
She walked to Priyantha with the gait of a goddess, her feet barely touching the ground. She took Priyantha’s hands in her own. “We shall be more than Queen and Commandante. Our loyalty for each other will be undying. I shall rise to your level, Priyantha. I see in you the best of me. Indeed, we will grow to love one another, just as this sacred relationship had been intended by the settlers and ancestors alike.”
Priyantha’s dark hands were hot inside her own cool olive-skinned palms. Ariane was overtaken by the beauty of their hands clasped together, though Priyantha did not move or say a word.
42
Irene
Irene watched the stars go by in the rhythm of the lapping water against the sides of the boat. Her back ached, pushed up against the wood bench, but their arrival was not far off and she had to be as rested as possible.
She had no idea what they would find when they arrived.
Roman mumbled something to Lua, their Ganese captain. Irene was grateful that sailing had been kept alive in their culture; the resettlement of the incubates and now her own exile would have otherwise been impossible.
Lua rummaged for something in the storage chest. Irene closed her eyes begging for a little more rest. While they had seen some harsh seas on their way, the past two weeks had been relatively uneventful. A part of her had wondered whether they might find themselves sharing the water with a vessel from Upper Earth, since they, too, had retained their water traveling ways as evidenced by the scouts who had come to Lower Earth’s shores those years ago.
But no such encounter had taken place.
Irene was thankful for it. Her life was in enough chaos as it was. She was on the run now. She could never return to Lower Earth, not as long as Ariane reigned.
She heard Lua send up the flare before she saw it from behind her eyelids. Her breath caught in her throat.
They were approaching the shore.
Her heartbeat accelerated, pushing against the confines of her ribs. The sensation of it reverberated throughout her body; the sound of it overtook the waves and the boat cutting through them. On this clearest of nights, she could see the island grow before them.
In the two years that had gone by since the incubates had left with Rose, how had they made their way on the abandoned island? What kind of society had Rose established with them? Were they making a life there? Getting by? Surviving at all?
Irene was about to find out.
Her eyes adjusted to the distance where she could make out what she believed were the outlines of two figures on the beach. Time was moving fast and slow. Too slow as Irene was desperate for answers. Too fast because she had forgotten what the questions were.
Their approach was steady and measured. Irene was now certain there were two people waiting for them, but it wasn’t until they were nearly arrived and the moonlight brought life to their features that Irene could see them more clearly.
The first was Rose. Unchanged from the last time Irene had seen her. Unchanged for nearly the last twenty years. Irene had been present at her birth, but she never would have guessed that their lives would become as entwined as this.
And the other… Irene cocked her head and squinted her eyes, hesitant to believe what she saw.
It was a man.
His posture was stiff though he gave no sign of hostility. His hands were clasped behind his back, his feet hip-width apart as though he was in a formal stance.
“This is as far as we go,” Lua said. “I will anchor her; the two of you can go ahead. You’ll be able to walk it.”
Irene jumped out the side of the boat, the water reaching her waist. The air was crisp but not cold, and everything felt like electricity across her skin. The water, the air, the sensation of her own breath gliding in and out. Everything at once natural and unnatural.
She heard Roman walking in the water behind her.
Rose waded into the sea until it reached her thighs. Irene arrived and kneeled in the water, bringing them eye-to-eye.
Rose lifted her hands, placing them gently on Irene’s cheeks. Irene could see that nothing in Rose’s face had changed. She was ever disfigured, but even in the weak light of night, Rose’s eyes held the same shine of life they always had.
“We did not expect you, Commandante.”
“No more ‘Commandante’. I am Irilena.”
“I see,” Rose nodded, “I understand.” Rose removed her hands from Irene’s cheeks, and Irene realized just how warm Rose was. Heat emanated from her body, encircling Irene like an embrace. “And you have brought the Great Geneticist.”
Roman stepped forward awkwardly in the water. “Roman. Just Roman.”
Rose nodded. “Come, let’s get out of the water. It’s very late, but the lookouts saw your flare, just as we had discussed on my departure. The children are all sleeping, but for those who are night-walkers. And it is just as well, as I imagine we have a lot to talk about. But first,” Rose walked to the man who was waiting in the grasses of the dune and addressed him. “I will let you introduce yourself.”
The man was tall and muscled, more than most of those who had lived in Lower Earth. His long hair was black and rolled in waves over his shoulders, reflecting the dark blue of the sky in the moonlight. His eyes were dark, a deep brown or even black, so far as Irene could tell. His jaw was broad and square. Irene had never seen anyone like him before.
She turned to look at Roman whose eyes were fixed on the strange man. Irene looked back and the man stepped toward her.
“Hello,” the man spoke in soft tones, the language foreign on his tongue. “My name is Dar. I come from the island of Scythia, though I believe you call it Upper Earth.”
THE END
The end… for now… I hope you have enjoyed this escape to Lower Earth. And while the story is fresh in your mind, please consider leaving a review on Amazon here…
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Also by Eden Wolfe
Lower Earth Rising
Book 0: DEVIANTS
Free when you join the Selfsame Readers Club or buy on Amazon
Book 1: SELFSAME
Book 2: CULLING
Book 3: SUBVERSIVE
Non-Fiction
Love In & Out of Lockdown: 40+ ideas & activities for a healthy relationship during a global pandemic
About Eden
I started writing the Lower Earth Rising series at a time when I was pretty sure the world was moving towards a nuclear war. The news spoke of certain presidents of certain countries who weren’t getting along.
I was panicking. What could I do to stop a coming nuclear war?
The answer, obviously, was “very little”. But I needed some way to deal with the intense nervous energy it was giving me.
I imagined what the world might be like after such a war, and the land of Lower Earth took shape in my imagination.
And then the global pandemic hit.
I was stuck at home with nowhere to go and no one to see, so I dove into the world of Lower Earth to free myself from the everyday fear that was invading my life.
The world can be a scary place; I write to escape it.
~Eden
Download DEVIANTS for free
If you want to read Deviants, a prequel about the day Rose had to make a mortal choice, join the Selfsame Readers Club and get the prequel for FREE.
Want to know what happens next?
Rose and the incubates. How did they set up a new society on an island far from the rest of civilization?
Upper Earth. They live on… men live on… but in what conditions? What has happened to this backward society since the Final War?
Queen Ariane is alone, left behind yet again. What will become of her? And more importantly, what will come of the boy child, the outer counties, and the Ganese now that Ariane has tasted failure?
If you want to find out, join my Readers Club. More novels coming in 2021, but you can help shape the direction of Lower Earth…
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Eden Wolfe, Lower Earth Rising Collection, Books 1-3: A Dystopian Contemporary Fantasy
