Page 26 of Larz

The name hung between us like a challenge. My heart thrummed against my chest, but I offered no confirmation.

“Your affection blinds you!” another voice accused from behind.

I turned to face Sarn, whose visage bore the scars of many battles and whose heart bore scars of xenophobia deeper still.

“Your words cut deep, Sarn,” I said calmly. “But they are misguided.”

“We have seen how they operate,” Sarn continued unabated. “Their technology poisons our air; their feet taint our soil.”

I took a step forward. “They seek survival as we do. We are not so different.”

Threx stepped between us, his gaze piercing. “Enough! We must act before it’s too late.”

My fists clenched at my sides as silence descended upon us like fog.

“We strike at dawn,” Threx declared with finality that echoed off the cave walls.

The assembly dispersed into shadows once more, leaving me standing alone with my confliction—a tempest brewing within me.

Retreating into the cover of darkness outside the cave, I grappled with an unsettling blend of duty and desire that coiled within me like a serpent ready to strike. The idea of Hailee caught in an unprovoked attack by my people set my blood aflame with rage and fear.

In silence and solitude beneath the moons’ spectral dance, I reflected on her—on us—the impossibility and imperfection woven into every moment we had stolen together. How her laughter dispelled my brooding thoughts and her courage ignited respect within me.

And yet, as Threx’s words echoed in my mind like war drums, I couldn’t deny that her people were a force untamed and unknown—a threat to Zorvian ways just as much as they were potential allies.

With a sigh that seemed to carry my soul into the night, I knew what must be done.

Dawn’s approach was a whisper compared to the thunderous conflict within me as I melded into the shadows once more to uncover how far this faction intended to go. A silent observer, I watched as they gathered materials—explosives fashioned from our own resources meant for mining and excavation—now instruments of destruction aimed at human hearts.

Through hushed tones and furtive glances exchanged among them under false pretenses of routine labor, I learned their plan—to target the makeshift human settlement on our moon’s far side where defenses were weakest.

A cold realization settled over me: this was no idle threat but a meticulously planned assault that could shatter any hope of peace—or for what fragile connection Hailee and I had forged against all odds.

The gravity of their conspiracy weighed on me with every step back toward where Hailee waited—unaware of the looming shadow ready to engulf us both in darkness.

I slipped through the encampment’s shadows, my mind a whirlwind of chaos. The distant hum of human activity pricked at my senses as I drew closer to where Hailee stayed, her presence a beacon in the murky night. I paused at the edge of the clearing, watching her move with determined grace among her people.

She looked up suddenly, as if feeling my gaze, and her eyes met mine across the distance. A silent question lingered there, and in that moment, a battle raged within me—to share the heavy burden of knowledge or to shield her from the impending storm.

“Hailee,” I called out softly as I approached.

She turned, a flicker of relief crossing her features. “Larz, you’re back. Was there trouble at the meeting?”

I hesitated, the truth heavy on my tongue. “There are... concerns among my people.”

She stepped closer, her gaze searched for mine. “Concerns? About us?”

My heart ached with the weight of secrets and lies. “It is... complicated,” I said finally.

Hailee reached out, her hand hesitating just shy of my arm—a gesture lost in translation between our kinds. “You can talk to me, Larz. Whatever it is, we’ll face it together.”

The warmth in her voice threatened to shatter my resolve. How could I lay such a burden on her shoulders? To tell her would mean to draw her into the heart of the Oumtera conflict—into dangers she could not hope to understand.

“No,” I said firmly, though every fiber of my being screamed otherwise. “It is not your fight.”

Frustration flared in her eyes. “But it is, Larz! If your people are planning something against us?—”

I cut her off with a sharp gesture. “You must trust me,” I implored. “I will handle this.”

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