Page 41 of Barbarian Daddies

“A woman knows how to fake an orgasm, you absolute moron,” I mutter. “Selina is just using you. You’ve been nothing but a stooge. She’ll discard you the minute she deems you worthless, and when that happens, I hope you remember the face of every Sunnaite who died because of your cowardice and idiocy.”

“You’re angry. I understand that. But I promise it will pass. The day will come when you’ll see me for who I truly am—the only man you were ever meant to bond with.”

I can’t help but laugh loudly. “You are beyond delusional. I will never feel anything but disgust for you.”

“Your bond to Kai and Maur will wither away on its own. They’re probably dead. You’ll get over them,” he says, nodding slowly.

“I don’t feel them gone,” I reply with a wry smile. “Though, if I were you, I would definitely pray they’re dead. Because Dahlen, listen to me carefully.”I leaned forward. “Once they figure out what you did, they’ll come for you. They’ll forsake your blood bond, they’ll forsake everything, and they will come for you. I know for a fact Maur will tear your head off along with your spine for what you did. And Kai will pull your entrails out. You don’t fuck with the Hadana twins, Dahlen. You of all people should know that while they’ve been honorable and decent up to this point, you abducted their woman, the mother of their child, you fucking idiot.”

As the words begin to sink in, I can see the doubts darkening the red pools of his eyes. He’s starting to worry that Kai and Maur may have survived. Soon enough, he’ll be looking over his shoulder. Wondering. Second guessing himself. Feeble-minded pricks are so easy to shake when you know the right thing to say, and Dahlen is no exception. Because only a feeble-minded prick would turn against his people and buy into Selina Sharuk’s bullshit with such astonishing ease.

20

Maur

By the time we reach our town, the damage has already been done. The remaining jets have flown back to their base—likely the one on Cloud Mountains. The others jump in to help us as we work hard through the night to put the fires out. Most of our town has been consumed by the flames.

I drown in grief as I help the survivors carry water from the river to extinguish the remaining flames, while Kai, Jewel, and the Kreek brothers scour through the charred ruins to rescue the injured, the trapped, and the bodies. So many bodies. I counted about a dozen as I watched them being pulled out from the rubble and the simmering embers.

The rage coursing through my veins is like nothing I’ve experienced before. We have battled the Sky Tribe on many occasions. We have lost men in the field more than once. But never did I find myself coming home to see it burned to the ground.

I look around and fail to fully wrap my head around what I’m seeing. It will all sink in eventually, and when it does, it will break me over and over. The worst part is we haven’t found Cynthia or Dahlen yet. I don’t know what to make of that, but our bond persists. I feel her alive, somewhere deep within me. Kai feels her too, which is why he hasn’t succumbed to despair yet. I can see it in his eyes.

“She wasn’t in her house,” he says, coming up to me as the last of the fires succumb to river water, steam and smoke rolling upward and making us both cough. “I don’t think they made it back here.”

“That’s a good thing. I guess.”

Yossul and Fadai approach us with careful, quiet steps, their red gazes darting all over the place as they try to take everything in. I suppose they’re imagining what it would’ve been like if it had been their town hit with such cruelty and ferocity.

“How many dead so far?” I ask them.

“About twenty. Most of them elders, but two were boys, judging by the size of the remains,” Fadai manages.

Jewel joins them, her hair frizzy and her face covered in soot. Her hands and forearms are almost black, her fingers slightly burned. She dug deep to get the last of the survivors out, and I cannot thank her enough.

“Cynthia isn’t here,” she says, confirming our suspicions. “The girls made it,” she adds with a weak smile. “All four of them.”

“Thank the heavens,” Kai breathes, then gives me a grim look. “Maur, Cynthia’s study quarters were directly hit by one of the jets. It was specifically targeted, along with our grain silos, our house, and the armory.”

“They knew what they were doing,” I reply.

Jewel nods slowly. “This was planned. They had someone here, someone among the Hadana clan who gave them precise locations to hit. They knew to hit our council spot as well.”

“All of Cynthia’s research so far, the blood samples she had collected, the preliminary medication she used for Lorra and other infected girls to slow the progression of the plague is all gone. The files she brought back from Sapphire City too,” Kai says. “It’s ashes. Everything is ashes.”

“What about the Mal folks?” I ask, gazing across the river.

From where we’re standing, we can see the scale of the damage inflicted upon their side. Half of the territory was destroyed, and they’re still putting fires out. They’re still dragging people from under the carbonized rubble. Still assessing their losses while their silos burn brightly against the night sky.

To the east, the first light shyly breaches the horizon. It will be morning, soon. And we don’t even have time to mourn our dead.

“Amber and the kids are okay,” Jewel says. “They’re down by the river and safe. The Mal girls are alive, too. Three of them have severe burns, but Cynthia does a monthly check of their first-aid kits, and she made sure to leave enough honey pomade specifically for situations such as this. Amber said she’ll send us a couple of jars, too. There isn’t any here.”

“The entire medical kit for our territory was in Cynthia’s study,” Kai says. “How many dead in Mal territory, do we know?”

“Maybe six or seven, but they’re not done counting yet,” Jewel replies. “If it’s alright with you guys, I’d like to go over there and help them. There’s not much left for me to do here.”

“Please do. And thank you, Jewel,” I tell her. “We’ll never forget this.”

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