Page 47 of Barbarian Daddies

“I guess they died in the war.”

“And the plague. A woman invented the machine.”

I shake my head slowly, then look at my hand. “So, if we draw my blood, we can do a full reading.”

“Yes.”

“I would need a sample of infected blood, too, and a sample of clean blood. I would need both for comparison and study until I can identify what it is about my biological system that makes me immune to the plague,” I tell Kingo.

He nods in agreement. “I can get you both, but not tonight. I can give you some of mine. You’d have the healthy sample to at least compare between species tonight.”

“Yeah, that could work. We don’t have time to do an in-depth analysis, though.”

“No, but we can look at the key markers and work our way down from there,” Kingo replies. “Two heads are better than one, right? I don’t have your medical knowledge, Cynthia, but I understand the field and know how to operate the equipment.”

I take a deep breath and give him a long, wondering look. “What’s the word on the Fire Tribe since the fuckers hit our riverside settlements? I’m sure the city is talking about it.”

“Oh, they are. And they’re worried,” he says. “They fear it’ll lead to more blood and lives lost. The Fire Tribe are honorable but fearsome warriors. They didn’t need any of the Sky Tribe’s jets and laser weapons to kick their asses and keep them from taking over all of Sunna. They still don’t. On top of that, there are rumors flying about the human women assisting the Fire Tribe warlords. There’s one in particular that has put some kind of fear in the mercenaries.”

I can’t help but chuckle. “That would be Jewel, my friend. A soldier herself.”

“Ah. I see. That makes sense,” Kingo replies, half-smiling. “I think there’s a heavy retaliation coming, if you ask me. I don’t think the Fire Tribe will let that attack go unpunished.”

“So you think they’ll be coming for Sapphire City.”

“I sure hope so. The people are getting tired of this current ruling system. Those living in the slums down south are especially annoyed,” he says. “I can’t blame them. Their women were taken. Wives, daughters, sisters, the few who survived the plague. And they weren’t remunerated for their losses in any way. They were left to languish in dirt and poverty.”

“Yeah, I reckon the Sky Tribe brass are about to learn a few lessons the hard way about poor people and the power they actually hold,” I reply, then point to the centrifuge again. “Alright, Kingo. Let’s do this. Let’s take some blood samples and see what we can learn from each other. Time is not on our side.”

In the meantime, my mind keeps wandering back to Kai and Maur. They must be worried sick about me, but surely, they must feel I’m still alive, much like I still feel them. Alas, I cannot risk sending a message to them—Dahlen was the traitor, but I don’t think I can trust anyone in Sapphire City to take that risk for me. They’d have to leave the city in order to deliver the message. They’d have to explain to the guards as to why they’re leaving. And these are tense and dark times. I can’t risk any kind of exposure. It’s bad enough I’m in the belly of the beast.

But if my reasoning is proven right, I will see Kai and Maur when they lay siege to Sapphire City. I only hope enough of the Fire Tribe will see the riverside attack as the motivation they need to put their best fighters forth for this. They have to. Otherwise, they won’t stand a chance.

All I can do is keep working. The closer I get to a cure, the easier it will be to destroy Selina’s reign from the inside. That bitch needs to fall, and she needs to fall hard.

24

Kai

It takes us about a day to get a crew together and head out to find Dahlen. Our trackers picked up a scent the morning after the attack, and we know which way to go. We just needed to make sure we had enough weapons and supplies. We also needed to get the rest of the Fire Tribe leadership involved in our campaign to retake Sapphire City. That’s not going on the back burner anytime soon. On the contrary, the Sky Tribe’s assault only served to precipitate this event. Those arrogant bastards. Soulless monsters, all of them.

I can still smell the burnt flesh of our people.

I don’t think it will ever go away.

“The trail is relatively fresh,” one of our trackers says. Oyon is only fifteen years old but already the best in our clan. This kid has a nose that can pick up infinitely more than mine or Maur’s ever could, and he has proven himself more than once since we took him under our wing. “They went that way,” he adds, pointing to the wild orchards up on the hills.

“How many?” I ask.

“Two,” Oyon says. “Cynthia and Dahlen.”

“Why would they go all the way out here?” Maur asks, his brow furrowed with understandable confusion. I’m wondering the same thing.

“They could’ve gone up the river to the Tallas clan,” I say.

Oyon offers a shrug and points at the tracks in the ground, purple grass rising tall and swaying all around us. “Here’s the weird part. There are segments where Cynthia falls down and looks to be dragged toward the hills,” he says, beckoning my brother and me to get closer so he can run his hand over each crevice and mound and show us clearly. “She was bound. See here, how her elbows hit the ground. Look at these dents. Her wrists together.”

“What the hell is going on here?” Maur grunts, then curses under his breath.

---