Page 35 of Barbarian Daddies

“Kai and I were trying to figure out a way to get inside the city, to find you and take you away from there. We didn’t even see the boy slipping from our sight.”

“What happened?” I ask.

Kai shrugs slightly, watching Dahlen eat pieces of a dehydrated plum, the orange flames dancing across his face while Maur adds a couple more logs to the fire. “We’re not sure. We found him wandering along the beach and dragged him back to safety. Maur thinks he went back to the northern gate. He’s still processing what happened.”

“I feel sorry for him,” I mumble.

“Yeah, me, too. But it’s obvious we can’t take him with us anymore. Once we reach Hadana territory, he’s staying there,” Kai says.

“He tried his best.”

“It wasn’t enough,” Kai replies bluntly, his brow furrowed with anger and grief. I can almost feel the torment in his heart. “He froze, Cynthia. He froze, and we lost you. What if you hadn’t made it out of there on your own? What if we couldn’t find a way to get you back? Dahlen couldn’t take you away before the Sky Tribe mercenaries knocked us down, and he knows it. That’s why he’s like this. I don’t think it’s the shell shock as much as the shame of his cowardice.”

“He’s a kid, Kai,” I insist. “You need to be patient with him. But you’re right. He is better off staying home next time.”

As the night advances, I tell Kai and Maur about everything I’ve learned throughout my brief stay in Selina’s palace, my interactions with Mina, and the general public’s opinion on the Sky Tribe’s operations. I show them the documents I managed to take with me—those that weren’t soaked with sea water and destroyed. I’ve memorized every page, anyway, so I’m able to relay the whole thing down to the last detail.

They’re understandably shocked and disgusted, but nothing of what the Sky Tribe has been doing is beyond the realm of the unthinkable anymore.

“They’re desperate,” Maur says. We’re walking through the woods, taking some private time away from Dahlen. “They’re losing ground and credibility. There are fewer and fewer women, and when only men are left on Sunna, it will be a bloodbath. Our civilization will be forever destroyed.”

“We have to continue our mission, though,” I reply. “That research lab is good. I saw it with my own eyes. I only need time to figure out what each piece of equipment does, and if we’re lucky enough to gain the support of at least some of the technicians working there, I may succeed with my work.”

Kai nods in agreement. “We’ll need a new strategy for taking the city, though.”

“And we’ll need to weed out the traitors,” Maur adds, gritting his teeth. “Someone sold us out. I know it.”

We find a secluded spot deep in the heart of the woods. It’s dark here, but the ground feels soft and the purple grass that grows over it is silky and almost warm. It feels like early spring among the Californian redwoods—although Sunna’s blackwood trees seem even more majestic from where I’m standing.

“We’ll deal with that when we go home,” I say to the twins. “Until then, I just want you.”

I let them claim me as I understand this bond of ours can never be broken.

It could never be fought, either. My attempts to resist it were futile from the moment we first met. I belong with Kai and Maur. The universe has been trying to tell me this much for so long.

15

Cynthia

The days that follow are more or less a sweaty blur. It will be a while before the clan truly recovers from their loss, but at least we know what we’re doing next.

One morning, I get out of bed, careful not to wake my devils as I make my way to the bathroom. Nausea unfurls in my throat. I feel heavy and bloated as I splash cold water over my face. As soon as I look at myself in the mirror, I remember it’s been more than twenty-eight days since my last period.

I don’t need a test to tell me the truth. I’m starting to feel it.

My breasts are a bit tender. Something is growing in my belly. A new life. I’m pregnant, I’m sure of it. I’ll have to monitor my symptoms over the next few weeks, but I’m certain of my condition. The consequences, however, are not something I’m truly prepared for.

By the time I come out of the bathroom, I find Kai and Maur sitting up and getting ready to leave. Smiling, I walk over and kiss each of them softly on the lips. “Good morning,” I whisper in Kai’s ear.

“Morning, my darling,” he purrs, hands settling on my hips.

Maur kisses my bare breast, lips locked around one nipple. “Mm, my favorite kind of breakfast.” His teeth nibble on me softly, but the skin is more tender than usual, ripping a whimper from the back of my throat. He releases me and asks, “Are you alright?”

“Yes, just tired,” I say. I can’t tell them the truth. Not now. If Kai and Maur learn I’m pregnant, they’ll never let me out of this place, and I need to be there when they take the city. I need to get back to that research lab.

I’m carrying their child, but that shouldn’t stop me from doing everything in my power to make sure we remain together. To make sure

+we survive what’s coming. Together.

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