Page 30 of Barbarian Daddies

I nod slowly, trying to look at the facts. “Would the people support the Fire Tribe if we were to tell them we’re getting closer to a cure?”

She thinks about it for a moment, and I can almost see the myriad of thoughts flickering through her fiery red eyes. I wonder what it must’ve been like for her to grow up in a world that no longer sees her as the woman she was meant to be but as a baby factory for a species that has torn itself apart in a struggle to survive.

I’m starting to think there may be some merit to the Fire Tribe’s original theories regarding the plague—maybe Sunna is punishing its people. Maybe they are meant to die out, to fade into nothingness if this is how they’re looking to survive.

Maybe they deserve to become extinct.

But that thought only lasts for a second. There are too many innocents still struggling here. Children with pure hearts. Little girls who deserve better. Why would Sunna punish them so harshly? Perhaps the plague was meant to be a warning of something worse to come, something of their own making.

“I think they’d be less inclined to support the Sky Tribe,” Mina says. “The locals here, at least, they’re tired of partisanship. We used to have fights breaking out all over the city about this. Fire Tribe sympathizers, Sky Tribe fundamentalists, it got messy and bloody until General Sharuk took over for the previous ruler. She leads the city with an iron fist, so at least they’re not fighting anymore. But it’s like… I don’t know.”

“It’s like what?”

“It’s like the life has drained from the people’s eyes. They’ve simply come to accept their fate. Wake up, wash up, go to work—if there is any work. Get some food if you’re working and can afford it, otherwise it’s the gruel kitchen for you, and that tastes like earthy mush. Maybe get a drink at the tavern if you’ve got a few coppers to spare. Go to bed. Try to sleep. Rinse and repeat.” She sighs. “That’s life in Sapphire City. There are no more bonds to be built. The few women who live here were taken from their men, from their homes, and forced to live in the breeding center. And the people know this, they let it happen. If you’re born a girl, they cry tears of joy but also sorrow because they know where you’re headed once you’re fit for reproduction. If you’re born a boy, they shrug and feel sorry for you because you’ll never have a mate.”

“Oh, gosh, Mina, that sounds so bleak,” I manage, swallowing back tears. “I didn’t know it was this bad.”

“Few people outside Sapphire City know about this. Of course, we are merely the testing ground for the breeding program. General Sharuk wants to expand it to other cities, provided it works here. She keeps a tight lid on the whole thing, though. Her people screen every communication, they spy on the messengers. Why, they spy on the Fire Tribe spies, too.”

I give her a startled look. “They know who the Fire Tribe spies are?”

“Sometimes, yes. And when they intercept their letters and notes, they can plan accordingly. I believe that’s how they trapped you, Cynthia,” Mina says, then glances my way, curiosity twinkling in her eyes. “Are you happy on Sunna?”

“I was miserable at first. Part of me still hopes I’ll get to go home someday. But I’ve come to like it. I’ve been devoting much of my time to developing a cure for the plague,” I tell her. “It’s not fair for your people to suffer like this. It has made my life a lot more difficult than it should be.” I pause and allow myself a deep sigh. “Mina, I need you to understand something. I never asked to be here. My friends and I were kidnapped, taken from our home world and told we’d be forced to breed with your men in order for your species to survive. It wasn’t until we got to speak to and live among the Fire Tribe that I was able to understand the nuances of Sunna’s situation.”

“And what do you think of all this, then?”

“A cure for the plague is the only thing that will truly save your people. Not just your bodies, but your souls. Because otherwise, you’ll have to account for these heinous deeds in the afterlife,” I say bluntly. “Well, not you, specifically, but—”

“All of Sunna,” Mina replies, her brow furrowed with anger and grief. “We’re all responsible in one way or another.”

I shake my head vehemently. “Hell, no. Mina, you and the other girls, the few women left, the surviving children, you are innocent. You’ve done nothing wrong and you are woefully outnumbered. There’s nothing you could do to change the tide. The men of Sunna have failed you, my darling. The men and this one wretched woman. Please, tell me Selina Sharuk is the only woman actively working to oppress you like this.”

“She is, yes. The handful of others who still serve the generals and other members of the military are forced to do so. It’s either service to the military or the promise of being sent to the breeding centers across Sunna as soon as they open. Obedience means less oppression, I suppose. But it is still oppression.”

“And what does Selina want from you specifically, Mina? Just to serve me?”

She shrugs. “I think so. She wants me to befriend you.”

“Of course,” I laugh lightly. “She’s tugging at my heart strings. She probably expects me to leak key aspects of Fire Tribe strategies.”

“Oh, I don’t think she wants that. She already has that, otherwise you wouldn’t have been caught,” Mina replies, her voice dropping a few degrees. It chills me to the bone, but it is a disturbing truth. “Rest assured, Cynthia, I have no intention of doing General Sharuk any favors regarding you. She’ll throw me in that breeding center as soon as she learns of my bleeding anyway. Why make her life easier?”

“Would you be willing to help me make it harder for her, at no cost to yourself?”

Mina gives me a curious look, and I get off the bed, cautiously approaching her. “What do you want?”

“I need to get out of here.”

She shakes her head. “I cannot help you. I don’t have access. Outside these doors, there are guards waiting to escort me back to my living quarters.”

I nod slowly, then point to the windows. “I’ve been looking at another way out, but I need something to unscrew the grates.”

Mina takes a deep breath, then walks over to the window and runs her nimble fingers along the frame and the metal bars, studying the frame for about a minute before she turns around and points at an item on the food plate she brought in.

As soon as I see it, the answer hits me like a hammer in the solar plexus. She brought me a butterknife with today’s meal.

“I’ll be back within the hour to collect the plates and the tray once you’re finished eating,” she says, smiling secretively.

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