Page 7 of Barbarian Daddies

“Well, we stopped trying to escape ages ago,” Amber laughs. “It can’t be that.”

“No, he’s just being punished. Temporarily,” I reply. “There was a skirmish about fifty miles east of here about a month back. Some traveling merchants got caught in between Sky Tribe warlords and Kai and Maur’s recon troops. Dahlen was told to guide the merchants away from the line of fire, but he ignored their orders.

He was so desperate to fight alongside his cousins, he grabbed his bow and arrow and went head-first into the battle. The merchants were killed, collateral damage. And Dahlen nearly lost an eye until Kai dragged him to safety. He’s been relegated to household duties ever since.”

Jewel shakes her head slowly. “The Sunnaites’ hormones are wild, I get it. Back in Kreek territory, the boys and the tweens fight like crazy to get the devil out of them, so to speak. In the olden days, they would’ve been sent to a ladies’ house or something. Back when they had enough women, that is.”

“Right, I’ve read about that,” Alicia says. “In order to get their heads clear for a battle or an examination or anything that required copious amounts of self-control, including matchmaking sessions with prospective female mates, the Sunnaite younglings were allowed to indulge in the pleasures of the flesh.”

“Nowadays, all they have is mindless violence,” Jewel says. “It’s sad. And it gets ugly way too fast. I’ve had to break up a couple such fights myself. They were beating each other bloody.”

“He means well,” I reply, thinking about Dahlen and his difficulties adjusting to this new stage of his life. “He was raised in the middle of a bloody war. The plague took his mother and sisters away from him. He and the twins have that in common, except they were much older when all hell broke loose. He doesn’t yet know how to cope with the high stress of certain situations.”

“Wanting to help without following orders can do more harm than good,” Jewel says. “But I get that, too. Granted, I was never a hothead during my training at West Point.”

“Women rarely are,” Alicia replies. “The truth is, we’re more emotionally hard-wired, though on an empathetic side. Testosterone is often a key driver of violent behavior. Across entire cultures and civilizations, it has been attested that warmongering and fighting pertains to the men. And for a species like the Sunnaites, whose hormonal drives have led to the development of tight sexual bonds… it’s no surprise it comes with such a rocky development.”

I’ve tried to understand this bond on a deeper level. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. Biologically, what Alicia is saying makes a whole lot of sense. We’ve already studied and discussed this topic aplenty. Hormones are a heavy player in the behavior and interpersonal relationships on Sunna.

Though, if I’m to be really honest about my species, we’re not that far behind either. But there is also the cultural aspect of the bond. The tradition of one female being shared by two males. It has been present on my planet, too. There were several tribes that practiced this freely in past centuries. That much I’ve understood and have come to accept.

But it’s the third aspect that continues to elude me. Something I can’t quite attribute to hormones or culture. Something profound, a sensation that titillates the spirit—which we’re still so far from actually quantifying. My thoughts often become abstract at this point, and that’s when I try to shake them away.

Until Amber decides to poke me some more. “Cynthia, I still want to talk to you about the twins.”

“My God, you are relentless,” I sigh, prompting Alicia and Jewel to burst of laughter.

“I’m serious!” Amber insists. “You’ve been fighting it for so long, it’s close to causing you physical pain. Izzo and Binzen have told me stories about Sunnaites who resisted their bonds. It got worse. It always got worse. The more you fight it, the harder it gets, and it eventually takes a toll on the body, as well. Why do you torture yourself like this?”

“Amber, you know my history. You know I swore off love long before we went to Vancouver to get wasted and celebrate your breakup,” I tell her. “I’m ready to deal with it, no matter how enticing the twins may be.”

Jewel starts peeling the black skins on some of the plums, biting into one and closing her eyes for a moment. “Damn, these are good,” she mumbles, then looks at me. “Let’s face it. You can’t still be holding on to the hope of going back to Earth. I know we keep lying to ourselves about it, and we probably will keep doing that for a little while longer, but if it’s hurting you physically, Cynthia, you might as well face it.”

“I’m trying.”

“I’m not sure I know how you’re feeling,” Alicia says, lowering her gaze for a moment. “To be honest, I’ve got my own share of mixed emotions to deal with, but Amber is right. We can all see it. You’re moodier. You sleep more. You barely eat. Why not just give into it? You might find happiness like Amber did.”

I might. I know I would, actually.

And that is what scares me the most. I’ve been so accustomed to building my life on my own, the prospect of letting anyone get that close to me again borders on horrific. But even I have to admit I’ve already developed something with Kai and Maur. One may call it a bond. I’m not ready to call it that, though. It’s a friendship, sort of. A sexually-charged friendship where I have full control—the twins have said it repeatedly. Nothing will happen between us unless I specifically ask for it.

Whatever this thing is between us, it’s getting stronger.

So strong, in fact, it led to that mind-blowing episode down in the steam cave. They took the initiative there, and I didn’t stop them. Oh, no, I came hard, gushing like a river. I get wet just remembering those sweet, spicy moments. But then they pulled away. I had no control left at that point. They could’ve claimed me right there, and I would’ve welcomed them both.

Maybe Amber and the girls are right.

Maybe I’m fighting this too hard. It’s messing with my head. And I need a clear head for my work. Ah, there it is, the perfect excuse. I need a clear head for my biomedical research, so I have to indulge in this connection with Kai and Maur. I have to take it to the very end and let myself be claimed by the Hadana twins.

Who the hell am I kidding?

I want to.

3

Cynthia

Long after midnight, once my friends have crossed back to the Mal clan, where Amber insisted on hosting Alicia and Jewel, and once the rest of the Hadana clan have retreated to their homes, I give the campfire one last admiring glance before I head back to my place. I love the bonfire nights the most. Once a week, when the night skies are clear and there haven’t been any Sky Tribe planes sighted in the vicinity, we gather all the dead wood we can find along the riverbank and set it ablaze.

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