Page 50 of Barbarian Daddies

“If I draw you a schematic of our defense positions within the city, will you let me live?” the mercenary asks, looking at Maur.

He picked the wrong guy to look at, though.

I take Maur aside, nevertheless, while Salim and the others keep an eye on the survivor. I know they’re itching to kill him, too. We’ve been on edge and thirsting for revenge since the attack on our territory. Salim buried a younger brother that night. It’s deeply personal for each and every one of us.

“I think Cynthia got away from Dahlen,” I tell Maur in a low voice. “She probably killed him and escaped.”

“Then why didn’t she come back to us?” he replies, his brow furrowed with concern. “She would’ve come back. Our bond demands it. She wouldn’t have run away. We’re way past that phase, aren’t we?”

“We are, yes. I wonder, what if she went to Sapphire City? Dahlen was likely taking her there. We can suspect that much, given his betrayal. It would make sense.”

“Then all the more reason for Cynthia to bolt in the opposite direction. Kai, this doesn’t make sense.”

“Give it a moment’s thought,” I tell my brother. “The research lab in the city. We both know how badly she wanted to get to it. She snuck in there once after she gave Selina the slip. What if…”

Maur gives me a terrified look. “No, don’t say it.”

“What if Cynthia went back to the city? What if she’s trying to get inside the research lab again and finish what she started?” I say it anyway. There’s no point in denying the possibility. We were both thinking it.

“She’d be insane.”

“And that’s why we’re both madly in love with her, isn’t it?” I ask, half-smiling. “Her bold madness. Her decisiveness and determination. Cynthia has already made her way through Sapphire City once. She knows we have supporters in the slums. If I were her and had such an important objective in finding a cure for the plague, I’d absolutely try it. All she needs is her own blood and the right equipment to study it.”

Maur runs a hand through his messy, black hair. It’s been a while since we’ve had the time and the energy to bask in the steamy waters of the obsidian caves. After the attack on our territory, we stuck to washing in the river, quickly and professionally.

“That’s just one more reason for us to move forward with our campaign against Sapphire City,” Maur concludes. “If Cynthia is in there, trying to sneak back into the lab, the Sky Tribe will find her. She can’t hide from them forever.”

“Alright, then. We have to move fast,” I reply, then give the merc another glance. “We could use him. We don’t have to kill him.”

“He’s useless once he gives us the schematics.”

“What message are we sending, though?”

“That we’re done playing nice,” Maur says. “Aren’t you tired of being the Sky Tribe’s punching bag? They made this extremely personal the minute they bombed our homes. Children died, Kai. Innocent children.”

I lower my gaze, allowing my mind and my conscience to wrestle for a little while longer. The merc keeps giving me hopeful glances, but I cannot ignore my brother’s rage. We’ve had issues before, and our disagreements and going behind each other’s backs almost got us hurt or killed. We’re in this together, with everything good and bad that follows. We’re in this until the end.

“Draw us an accurate schematic, and we’ll take you back to Sapphire City with us,” I tell the mercenary. He lights up, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Thank you. I’ll do that,” he says.

I give my brother a brief look. “He will not live to see the sunrise,” I whisper, then pull Salim aside with a clear and simple order. “Send word to the other clans. They’re already in the area, coming to our aid by the river. We need all hands on deck. Come morning, we’re headed for Sapphire City.”

“Are you sure?” Salim asks, his eyes wide with surprise but also excitement. He’s been itching for this for a long time.

“Yes. We’re taking the city.”

May the stars forgive us for what we are about to do, for it may very well determine the future of our species. There is no other way. I keep telling myself that. There is no other way. Perhaps if I say it enough times, I’ll have a shot at a decent night’s sleep when it’s over.

25

Cynthia

We’ve been at this for hours, but not without results.

It’ll be morning soon, however, and lab workers are bound to show up in the next few hours. Kingo has been a gift from the universe, if I’m to be honest. It would have taken me days to figure out how each of these machines works, let alone get this much done—at this point, we’ve identified three proteins in the human blood the Sunnaites don’t have.

“Here,” Kingo says as he comes back from another storage room. He’s been sneaking around, looking for infected blood samples while also dodging the night guards in the process. To my delight, I see he’s holding a couple of vials in his hands, both just out of a refrigerator—the glass showing signs of condensation. “I found them.”

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