by Elin Peer
“Hmm.” She thought about it. “I would tell him that I want to have four children. A mix of boys and girls.”
“Okay. I’m not going to ask about what you’re interested in because I already know.”
“That’s the privilege of being my best friend.”
I was feeling prickly from our conversation and looked away when I asked, “But what about the last question? Are you excited about getting married?”
She sighed again. “I know you don’t like to hear it, but yes, I’m excited about getting married.”
The pain in my chest made me lash out. “Is that really your only ambition in life? To marry...”
“You know it’s not. I’m going to be a veterinarian.”
After a few seconds of silence between us, she added, “I like the idea of being in a marriage. I only wish that…”
“That what?”
“That no one had to get hurt in the process.”
“Then how about you have a different kind of tournament? If you like jokes so much, have them battle using comedy.”
Mila laughed. “You’re funny.”
“Yeah? Then maybe I would have a chance.”
Mila’s eyes widened. “You would battle for me?”
“Not in a real tournament. As a pacifist I can’t condone that sort of violence.”
“No, I know that, but if there was no violence, would you be interested?” Mila looked beautiful and vulnerable as she asked her question.
“Maybe. If it meant that I could keep my friend.”
Her face fell. “Oh, I see.”
“What’s wrong?”
She chewed on her lip. "Marriage is about more than just friendship. I see how passionate my parents are, and I want that too.”
I got her hint. Mila didn’t feel attracted to me in that way. With the sting of rejection, I turned on my other side. “Can we sleep now? I’m tired.”
Without any words, Mila turned out the lights. We were both huge snugglers, and lying back to back like this was unnatural and painful to me.
Not being able to sleep, my mind wandered back to the first night I had spent with Mila. It had been the night after Solomon’s and Willow’s wedding. Mila had shown Hunter, my sister, and me the rooftop of the manor where they had a star lounge. Hunter and Emanuela had been on one lounge bed while Mila and I had been on another.
“What do you miss about the Motherlands?” I asked her.
Mila pulled her blanket up higher. “Hmm, that’s a good question. “I’ve lived here half my life so it’s not something I think about on a daily basis.”
“There must be something you miss,” I pressed.
“What I miss the most is probably physical closeness. I mean I have it with my puppies and my youngest siblings, but even Mason, who’s ten now, feels that he’s too big to cuddle. In the Motherlands, people touch and cuddle all the time and I miss that.”
I was quick to open my arms. “I’ll cuddle with you.”
“Really?” Her gentle smile widened but then she looked at Hunter and it was replaced by a small frown. “Promise you won’t tell my dad.”
Hunter sighed. “I won’t tell, Mila, but do you think Magni would care? Jonah is a Motlander. He won’t overstep your boundaries.”
“My dad isn’t always rational when it comes to that sort of thing. It’s better if we don’t tell him.” She nuzzled herself against my body and rested her head on my shoulder. “Don’t be mad if I fall asleep. I’m really tired.”
The delicious scent of her soft hair made me wrap my arms around her and pull her close. When she yawned, it was contagious, and I gave an even bigger yawn. I’d only met Mila today but being with her was effortless and felt as natural as if we had been friends for years.
Coming back to the present, I listened to Mila’s calm breathing. The bedroom was dark and I was left with my own thoughts about the stupid discussion we’d had about Python’s letter.
I had admitted that I was jealous, but had she understood the depth of it?
Turning onto my back, I groaned and considered my dilemma. As the first Councilman in the world, it was up to me to show that men could be trustworthy and selfless servants of the people. Even if, by some miracle, Mila might be interested in a romantic relationship with me, it would be at the expense of my seat on the Council.
Entering a marriage would make millions of voters dismiss me as an eccentric or worse – a romantic. It would be hard to get the other Council members to take me seriously, and it could potentially ruin my chances of achieving any significant change in the world. My chances of re-election would be destroyed.
But if I didn’t at least try to convince her to pick me as a partner, I’d lose her forever. I’d met enough of the Nmen who were going to fight for her to know that they would never allow Mila and me to be close after their wedding.
The thought brought a sharp pain to my chest. Who was I kidding? Mila had grown up among Nmen and been influenced to prefer strong warriors. Someone like me didn’t have a chance to be anything but her friend.
It felt like I’d only just dozed off when the room got lighter again. Dogs barked somewhere in the house, and smells penetrated my sleepy brain. It reminded me of warm summer nights with music and happy talk around a bonfire. Pulling my duvet higher, I rolled to my stomach trying to sink deeper into lovely dreams of summer, but an insistent warning in my brain prevented it. Annoyed, I opened my eyes and what I saw made me sit up straight.
From the outside a red light was flickering and the smell of fire was strong.
“Mila, Mila, wake up.” I climbed over her to get to the window and pulled the curtains to the side. The large red storage building outside was in flames.
“What’s going on?” Mila stretched but then she smelled it too, and she shrieked.
“We’ve got to wake the others.” Grabbing my clothes, I ran into the kitchen while shouting for everyone to wake up. Picking up two pots I banged them against each other consistently while screaming at the top of my lungs. “Fire, fire.”
Mila came out with her shirt inside out and ran toward the other guest room, which Hunter and Emanuela were in.
The house of my family unit was large and quickly became lively as doors opened upstairs where most of my family slept. My mom’s three dogs came running down from her room. Cole sprinted past me as I was putting on my boots. He was only wearing his briefs but didn’t seem to care when he ran out the door. I grabbed his winter jacket and large boots and ran after him.
“Stay back, Cole. There’s nothing you can do.”
Cole was standing with a look of horror watching the storage building burn. His hands were in his hair and a silent scream was on his lips.
“Don’t go any nearer,” I warned when Cole took a step forward.
The massive building worked as a gigantic bonfire, warming the cool night air.
“Here, put this on.” I pressed Cole’s jacket and boots into his arms and went back in to find Mila. She and my mom were putting leashes on the three dogs and comforting the scared animals.
“You okay?” I’d only asked them the question when Emanuela came running down from the upstairs with Hunter right behind her.
“We’ve checked every room. It’s all clear.”
“Good.”
Everyone in my family gathered outside. We stood powerless watching with grief and shock on our faces as high flames engulfed the large building.
“How did this happen?” my mom cried out behind me, and was hugged by Emanuela.
“At least there’s snow on the ground. It will help to keep the fire isolated in that building,” Hunter pointed out.
“Mila.” I pulled her between my arms, with her back against my chest, and wrapped my arms around her. We weaved our hands together as if the fire would try and break us apart.
“Look up.” Hunter was pointing to four fire drones flying in. Timed to perfection they each dumped water on the building before circling back and releasing a fin
e powder that fell like snow. On impact the snow particles grew in size and soon what was left of the building was covered by a gray layer of fire-inhibiting material.
Mila sighed. “Oh, thank god they came.”
Emanuela, Cole, and I, however, exchanged a worried glance. Most of the things in the storage room were items used for running the theme park, but it was also where the hidden part of the family business was kept.
For years our family had run a side business for a very limited and trusted clientele. Outside the normal opening hours of the park, we arranged illegal races in anything from drones to hover bikes to retro dirt bikes. Not only were the machines tuned to go way above the legal speed limit, but we also allowed betting between the spectators. When it was too cold to race, we arranged gambling nights where participants put items of value on the line.
Everyone was sworn to secrecy because we were breaking a number of laws – especially when it came to serving the alcohol that we produced in that storage building.
“This is bad,” Cole muttered when the fire drones descended. “They are going to go through the building.”
“Can we get in there first?” Emanuela whispered.
“I doubt it.”
“Maybe we can pay off the fire marshal to avoid being reported.”
“With what? A season card to the park?” I shook my head. “A bribe will only make things worse.”
Emanuela frowned. “But we have to do something, Jonah. Maybe we can offer to include the fire marshal in the clientele.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Cole whispered back. But the moment we saw the fire marshal, a woman of around forty-five come walking toward us with decisive steps, we knew that was a hopeless plan. The small golden pin formed as a honey bee on her chest was a well-known order for high integrity, given to citizens showing an altruistic mindset and willingness to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.
“I’m so sorry this happened,” she said. “While my people make sure the fire is extinguished, would you mind if I ask some questions?”
“Not at all.” Cole took a step forward and introduced himself as the head of the theme park.
We listened as he described what was inside the storage room and that he had no idea what had started the fire.
“We met a drone on our way here. Do you know if anyone left the area?”
“No.” Cole frowned. “What drone?”
“It was a community drone with one passenger. Maybe it just passed over your area.”
“It must have, because no one has come or gone since before dinner.”
“Excuse me, but is it safe for us to go back inside the house now?” my mother asked from behind.
“Yes. We’ll go through everything and make sure there’s no chance of the fire re-igniting. It was a good thing you called us or we might have been too late to save anything.”
“Uh-huh.” Cole’s smile was forced and I knew that like me, my brother would have preferred the building burning to ashes to their finding our hidden brewery.
“Feel free to go back inside and warm up. As soon as we’re done securing the premises, I’ll let you know.”
When the fire marshal walked away, we returned to the house and everyone was talking over each other.
“We’ll lose everything because of those stupid laws. I told you it was too risky.” Gunnar, one of our three dads, was pacing the floor.
Emanuela sighed. “When the media finds out, they’re going to be all over me and Jonah.”
Cole crossed his arms. “I’m sorry that your celebrity status is at risk, but it’s not just about you, sis. If the public finds out about this, they’ll boycott the park and we’ll lose our family business.”
Hunter held up a hand. “What if I tell them the brewery belongs to me?”
Everyone went quiet.
“I’m serious. It’s no secret that we Nmen like to drink and I don’t mind taking the blame. Worst they can do to me is kick me back to the Northlands, which would suit me fine.”
“It’s worth a try,” Cole agreed. “I mean I doubt they’ll buy that we didn’t know about it, but maybe we can give it an angle that makes it sound like I was the only one who knew and that you pressured me into doing it. Who wouldn’t be afraid of a big strong Nman like you?”
Emanuela crossed her arms again. “You’re not going to make it sound like Hunter physically threatened you to break the law. He had nothing to do with it.”
“But he volunteered to take the blame,” Cole argued. “I’ll just let them know the threat was implied. You don’t mind, Hunter, do you?”
Hunter raised his brow. “Will I mind that you’ll make it sound like you’re scared of me? Not really. A lot of people are.”
Our mother, Lilly, was standing with two of the other mothers in the family. “Are we all staying up or can people go back to bed?”
I answered, “It’s three in the morning. Cole and I will stay up, the rest of you can go back to bed.”
Mila had stayed close to me the whole time. “I’ll stay up with you and Cole.”
“There’s no need, Milove. I’ll wake you if something happens.”
“You sure?” Her large blue eyes were full of concern.
Kissing her on the top of her hair, I nodded. “Yes. Get some sleep.”
Slowly the open kitchen and living room emptied and only Cole and I were left.
“Leave the talking to me,” Cole instructed. “I’ll make it sound like you weren’t part of it in any way.”
“Don’t lie for me.”
“Why not? I’m not a Councilman bound by an oath. I have no moral problem telling white lies to save my family.”
Tapping my fingers on the table, I looked out the window at the destroyed building. “I wish this hadn’t happened.”
“Me too.”
We sat for a moment in silence, watching the fire fighters work outside, and then Cole stood up. “I know it’s in your nature to help and take charge, little brother, but will you do me a favor?”
“What do you need?”
“Stay inside while I go and face them. By now they’ll have discovered what we’ve been hiding. They’ll have to report it to the authorities and soon I’ll be facing the consequences.”
“You think they’re going to send you to a place of reflection?”
“No doubt! If I’m lucky, I’ll have a week or more to hand over assignments to the others, but if not, I’ll write them from wherever they take me.”
My hands fell into my lap with a deep sigh. “This isn’t right.”
“I know.” Cole squeezed my shoulder. “This might ruin your influence on the Council, but you can’t give up. Make them see that we’re not children and that we have a right to experience thrills in our lives. If they don’t want to race or drink, no one is forcing them, but they shouldn’t prohibit us from having some fun.” He swallowed hard enough to make his Adam’s apple bob in his throat. “Jonah, we’re depending on you to fight against the rigid laws.”
Raising my hand, I squeezed Cole’s shoulder back. “You have my word.”
CHAPTER 8
Magni’s Miracle
Mila
“Mom, did I wake you?”
Laura sounded chirpy and laughed. “Since when would I sleep until nine on a Wednesday? I’ve been awake for a few hours. How are you, my dear?”
“I’m fine, but I wanted to warn you in case you might hear about it on the News. There was a fire last night.”
“A fire?” She lowered her voice. "Are you okay?"
“Yes, we are all fine. It was a storage building here at the family unit where Jonah grew up. We don’t know what caused the fire yet, but the Cervici family is famous here, so the news might come out.”
“Got it. Thank you for telling me. And how are you and Jonah getting along?”
I rubbed my face. Unable to untangle all the confusing emotions inside me, I went with an easy answer. “Good as always.”
“I’m happy to hear it, dar
ling.”
“What about Dad, can I talk to him?”
“You can’t. He’s busy.” There was a burst of excitement in her voice.
“What do you mean he’s busy? Is he sleeping?”
“No. He’s actually busy with something meaningful.”
“Are he and Khan plotting?”
In a conspiratorial whisper, Laura spoke fast: “This is too big to keep a secret. Dad finally decided to get robotic limbs.”
I sucked in a breath. “He did?”
“Yes. I’m telling you, sweetie, it’s like a miracle happened. Yesterday we met up with the team of doctors who are going to help him. This morning he interviewed three different recovery specialists who were all recommended by the hospital. Right now, he and Finn are working on a plan to get him through the process as fast and with as little pain as possible.”
“Finn is there?”
“Yes. The minute Dad made his decision, he called Finn and now they’re plotting and planning together. I haven’t seen your father like this since before the accident. He even smacked me on my butt when I left them ten minutes ago.”
“Wow, that’s amazing, Mom.” I felt bubbly inside, as if her words had injected carbon dioxide into my veins, changing my blood from regular to sparkling. “When is the operation?”
“Maybe as soon as the day after tomorrow. It depends on how fast they can get his new limbs finished. They were produced after he woke up from his coma, but there are still adjustments that need to be done. The doctors are just as excited about it as we are.”
“I’m still a bit in shock. We’ve waited for this for so long. I’m coming home so I can be there.”
My mom grew serious. “No, Mila. It’s better if you stick to the plan. Dad knows that you love him but it feels like this is something he needs to do for himself. He sent me out of the room when he was with Finn. He doesn’t like it when we fuss over him.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. And with everything that’s going on here, we prefer that you and the little ones stay safe in the Motherlands.”
“Okay, I’ll stay then. But do you know what made him change his mind?”
