Page 49 of Claimed By Brothers

We are done hiding on the riverbank and longing for the cities we once held. We are done crying over an age long gone while the future still rises on the scarlet horizon. We are done leaving things to fate while the Sky Tribe defiles our honor and our creed with such reckless impunity. For years, we have allowed savagery and stubbornness to dictate our values and influence our decisions.

It is time for us to step up and do the right thing.

We will all be better for it.

This also means it’s time for me to do the right thing for Amber, as well. While, clearly, our feelings for one another have only grown stronger, she deserves the freedom to make her own choices. I can only have faith that she will choose Izzo and me this time. She could just as easily leave with the girls and try to make her way back to Earth yet again. It’s a risk I have to take in order to be at peace. I’ve done everything in my power for the woman I love.

It's her decision now.

So no one sees me; I carefully sneak back to the cages and wait for the guards to change shifts. It’s my window for action, so I rush over to Amber and remove the lock, thus setting her free. She is understandably stunned.

“What are you doing?” she asks. “Did Izzo decide to let me go?”

“No,” I shake my head. “I’m going against him for the last time. But he’ll forgive me.”

“Oh, Binzen…” Amber wraps her arms around my waist and holds me tight.

I breathe her in, sinking my nose in the soft waves of her fiery red hair and kissing the delicate skin stretching over her collarbone. I revel in this moment, fearing it could very well be the last time we’ll ever be together. It’s a possibility, and I have to be prepared for it. Her heart thuds frantically against mine, her body delicate and warm.

“You do what you have to do,” I tell Amber. “I have faith in you and in your friends. You’ve come a long way since you first arrived on Sunna, and I hope the time we’ve spent together has made enough of an impact to sway you back to us. Freely and openly, with no fear of imprisonment.”

“Binzen, you have my heart and my body. You and Izzo have changed me for the better. I don’t want to lose either of you, but I don’t want to be at the center of a bloody conflict, either. I still have nightmares about those poor fighters you lost to the Sky Tribe. I cannot bear to see more people dying because of me.”

“Like I said, I trust you’ll make the right choices this time.” These are hard words to say. A knot forms in my throat. I feel as though I’m saying goodbye to her, even though every fiber in my body screams never to let her go. “Now, go before the guards return.”

“What will happen to you? Will Izzo lock you up again?” she asks worriedly.

“Don’t worry about me. My brother and I are going to war. There’s plenty on our plates to make your release a lot less distracting. Go, Amber. I trust you.”

“Please, do trust me. I’m not the same girl I was when I first came here.”

She darts off in the opposite direction, subtly sneaking between the red stone houses and sticking to the shadows until I cannot see her anymore. My heart is heavy, and my stomach is tight with anguish. I don’t want to think this is the last time I’ll hold her in my arms. The last time I’ll hear her voice. I love her too much to imagine a life without Amber. But I know I did the right thing. Someday, Izzo will look back on this day and agree with me, albeit reluctantly.

Until then, I must contend with the fallout and have faith in Amber’s ability to make the right decision. Whatever comes next, we must be strong and valiant, united and determined. We’re getting our son back, and we’re pushing the Sky Tribe farther away from us until they never glance in our direction again. We’re taking the war to another level. The one thing our father feared the most is about to unfold.

The fight for survival really has come down to which side wins.

The way of the sky or the way of the fire.

For as long as I can remember, fire has reigned over Sunna. Fire will consume everything in its path if needed, and not even the clouds can save these bastards from what’s coming. Fire never forgets, nor does it forgive those who choose to walk away from its power. The Sky Tribe may have machines and technology, but they are still children of the flames. And the fire still burns our skin.

23

Amber

It’s harder the second time around.

The guards are way more attentive, and it takes a while for me to sneak out of town. Yet somehow, the four of us manage to gather down by the river with a few resources in our bags. Once more, we’ve packed food and dried meat and fruits for the road, along with a few obsidian blades to defend ourselves. This time, however, our plan is drastically different, as is our approach.

We make our way downstream but move away from the river as soon as we reach the first shoddy bridge. My heart is beating a thousand miles a minute, sweat dripping from my temples as we climb up the plateau’s steep wall.

“Izzo is going to be furious,” Cynthia says once we’re up and over the sharp edge.

Above, the two suns shine brightly, heat rising all around us in rippling, scorching waves. My lips feel dry, and there isn’t enough water in the world to quench this thirst swelling in my throat. My feet feel heavy, my belly is full of life growing, and my soul is aching for Binzen and Izzo. I’d give anything just to go back to them, but I made a promise to myself, and I intend to keep it.

Ahead, the desert stretches out seemingly forever with its scarlet, shimmering dunes and jagged orange rocks jutting out along the horizon. Sunna’s snakes are small, black-scaled, and poisonous, so we must be careful with every step we take. If the snakes don’t kill us, the other predators might. This area is home to large felines that thrive in the volcanic heat and have fangs as long as my index fingers, sharp enough to tear through flesh and break our bones like Saltine crackers. I just hope we survive this particular path we’ve chosen—it’s different from our last attempt to reach the Sky Tribe and infinitely more perilous.

“Binzen has faith in his brother, and so do I,” I tell Cynthia.

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