Page 37 of Barbarian Daddies

“No, Amber. We need to make sure we win this war. Otherwise, the Sky Tribe won’t stop coming for us.”

It sounds terrible, but it’s the truth. There is no room for failure. We can no longer hesitate nor be merciful with the enemy. I was close enough to Selina and the Sky Tribe to understand they will not show us pity if they defeat us. They will destroy us, our bodies and our souls. The Fire Tribe won’t be allowed to live—only the few women they have, and they won’t see a single day of freedom. They’ll be forced into breeding centers.

We cannot let this war continue. It’s time for drastic measures.

I wasn’t condoning violence before, but after everything I’ve seen and heard, I fear violence is the only way we’ll win. And that means coloring outside the lines and doing things we otherwise wouldn’t even dream of doing.

It takes a monster to kill a monster.

I only hope we’ll be ourselves again when this is over.

16

Kai

Iunderstand why Cynthia is keeping her secret. I would probably do the same if I were her. But these are difficult times, and the worst is yet to come. Whether she agrees with what we’re about to do or not, she will have no choice but to abide by our decisions. Maur and I summon a council meeting down by the cemetery. We wanted them here so they could sit in the company of tombstones while we prepare for battle—a grim reminder of what fate awaits us if we fail.

Cynthia sits between us as we gather around a large drawing in the red dirt. We had Dahlen scribble a rudimentary map of Sapphire City and its surrounding geography for this meeting, using pebbles and shells to represent our troops and the Sky Tribe’s mercenaries. He even drew an approximation of the drone trajectories, which tells me his mind is getting sharper. At least he’s learning something from all this.

Izzo and Binzen join us, while Amber chose to stay home with the kids. Helios and Kharo have traveled from Tallas territory along with Alicia, as did Yossul, Fadai, and Jewel, along with some of their Kreek fighters. There are about twenty of us gathered for this meeting so far. I was hoping more clan leaders would come, but they have sent envoys to represent them instead, as a show of respect and support. I’m glad we have that. I doubt they’ll like what we will ask of them, however.

“What we speak of here tonight cannot leave this circle,” I say, carefully looking at each attendee, measuring their expressions and analyzing every frown, every slight smile and subtle nod. “There is a spy among us, and we must make sure our conversation doesn’t reach the Sky Tribe ears.”

Yossul scoffs. “I only speak for myself, my partner Fadai, and Jewel, but you can trust us. We have every interest in seeing the Sky Tribe defeated.”

“We all want the same thing,” Helios says.

“Nevertheless, I’m doing my duty and warning you so we’re aware of the risks,” I reply. “We know enough about the city now. We’ve gained a few new allies, too, and Cynthia’s unexpected reconnaissance endeavor yielded important results, as you’ve already been told.”

Alicia gives my woman a broad grin. “Who’d have thought, huh? You, of all people, Cyn.”

“Yeah, well, when in Rome,” Cynthia chuckles dryly.

“We’ll have to mount a public relations campaign against Selina Sharuk,” Kharo declares. “Her motivation should be her undoing. We need her people to know she’s only doing what she’s doing out of spite and desperation. That she’s unfit to lead anybody.”

Jewel shakes her head. “I don’t think putting a woman down will help the other women of Sunna.”

“Selina renounced her role as a woman the minute she forced the women of the city to be nothing but broodmares,” Maur replies. “She has turned against her own kind. There should be no sympathy nor kindness for someone like her. The sooner we understand and accept that, the easier it will be to take the bitch down.”

I wonder what Cynthia thinks about this. The human women have repeatedly spoken in favor and support of their Sunnaite counterparts, but Selina Sharuk is a different kettle of fish altogether. Her actions speak against her womanhood. She has betrayed Sunna’s most precious creatures, and I’m curious to see where the human women’s feminism ends and where the cold reasoning begins.

17

Cynthia

“Iagree with Maur,” I say, looking at my friends in particular. Normally, we’d be first and all-in for that girl-power-sisterhood vibe, but after what I witnessed, I can’t consider Selina a sister in any sense of the word. She will turn on us, she will stab us in the eye if she gets a chance. “She must be discredited, otherwise her mercenaries will be motivated enough to put their best into the battle. We want them confused and doubtful; we want them concerned and losing respect for their leader.”

“The slum residents are already there,” Kai adds. “They’ve said as much, and we know we can count on them when we storm the city. They’re tired of the oppression, of their few daughters being taken away, of nothing ever changing.”

Alicia exhales sharply. “So, that’s what we’re bringing to the table for the civilians. Change.”

“Yes,” I say. “Change. The promise of actively working on a cure for the plague, first and foremost. Of protecting and respecting the few surviving women of Sunna. Of freedom and peace, most importantly. But in order to get all that, we have to destroy their fucking starships and to crush their generals. Selina, in particular.” I pause to look at my friends. “Her breeding program will spread to the other cities if it turns out to be successful, and then we’ll have an even harder time convincing the civilians to stand beside us when we do take the fight to the Sky Tribe.”

The meeting continues with discussions around the city’s gates and which ones would be better for the first wave of attacks. The clan leaders agree to distribute their forces evenly but to concentrate two larger groups on the eastern and the western gates. We want to distract the Sky Tribe and get them to send more of their men east and west, while we use a smaller group for the northern gate and focus the bulk of our combined armies on the southern gate, where the slums are.

“The locals will get out of our way,” Kai says, using the tip of a stick to follow a trajectory across the map drawn in the dirt.

Dahlen’s red eyes dart all over the place, occasionally focusing on certain parts of the city. I wonder what he’s thinking about, but he seems to be getting increasingly nervous and fidgeting more with each passing minute. It must be anxiety. It wouldn’t be the first time.

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