Page 6 of Twins for the Barbarians

She laughs again. “Look at you, relying on two men to have your back.”

“Oh, piss off.” I pause and drop a kiss on her cheek. “Make sure you cuddle Kala for me nice and long tonight. I need your good energy for what’s ahead.”

Cynthia tears up and wraps her arms around me. I welcome the warmth of her embrace, letting it fill me up like liquid sunshine. “I’m serious, Alicia. Be careful. Come back safe. Come back in one piece. And hopefully, bring back what we need to end this plague forever. We’re all tired.”

“I know, babe.”

Downstairs, Kingo helps Helios and Kharo load the all-terrain vehicle with our stuff. Naturally, the Tallas men crinkle their noses upon noticing one too many bags for the journey, but Kingo takes great care to explain why we need each of them. By the time he’s done, Helios is rolling his eyes as he shifts the oversized buggy into first gear while I settle into the passenger seat next to him.

Kharo and Kingo take the back seat, and we wave Cynthia and the Hadana twins goodbye, leaving them at the top of the steps of the research lab. I’ve already bid Amber and the Mal brothers farewell earlier this morning. A knot is tightening in the pit of my stomach. It’s getting more uncomfortable the closer we get to the city’s western gates.

“We’re going to cross the wild orchard hills to get to the Sun River,” Helios says, his gaze focused on the road ahead as the Fire Tribe soldiers open the gates for us. “We should reach the Kreek base by tomorrow evening.”

“They’ll have fuel there, too,” Kharo reminds him. “Whatever we use on the way there, we should refill from their reserves and keep ours for any unexpected detours.”

“Unexpected detours?” I ask.

“Yes. We don’t know what kind of threats we’re dealing with out there. Once we’re out of the Kreek clan’s visual range, we’re on our own in a desolate land. Ruby City fighters may patrol the area. And Diamond City is riddled with bloodthirsty marauders.”

Helios scoffs. “If we thought Sapphire City was being run poorly, wait until you see what’s left of Diamond City. Once the crown jewel of our realm, it’s in shambles now. Bloody, dirty shambles and one too many Sky Tribe lieutenants claiming to be rulers of the chaos they helped create.”

“Bands of marauders frequently ride out of Diamond City and go up and down the river to raid other surviving settlements. They care little for tribal affiliation, mind you,” Kharo adds. “And the Sky Tribe generals are too busy trying to keep one step ahead of us to bother sending more troops to that place.”

I nod slowly. “I thought they’d be more careful of the cities they still have under their command.”

“They are, but Diamond City no longer has the resources or the equipment that makes it worth their while,” Helios says. “A second wave of the plague hit that place so hard, they had to carpet bomb the entire city to stop the sick from leaving. Those who stayed behind felt betrayed. They were furious, disfigured, and left with nothing but ashes and ruins. The granaries burned down; the orchards turned to cinder. It became a question of survival among them to the point that they became mean, violent, and desperate, and no longer loyal to Sky Tribe doctrines. Hence, the marauders. All they do is pillage surrounding settlements for already scarce resources. Even traveling merchants steer clear of Diamond City.”

“Wow, we’re not even out of Sapphire City yet, and I’m already looking forward to coming back,” Kingo mutters from the back seat. “I thought we had it rough under Sky Tribe occupation, but I’m starting to think Selina Sharuk was the lesser of the evils.”

“I don’t know. They each seem corrupt and awful in their own way,” I reply, unable to stop myself from smiling as the warm sea winds brush my face and playfully ruffle my hair.

I love the salty smell and the pleasant temperatures of this region. We’ll be traveling south next, which means desert and volcanoes aplenty, scorching heat, and dry air. A living hell, so to speak, so Kingo wasn’t far off with his metaphor regarding the Kaos region.

“Shaytan Hull pockets tax money from the cities the Sky Tribe occupies, but they never invest any of it back into said cities. Their infrastructures are on the brink of collapse. The only parts that do see funding are the breeding centers and the military. Selina Sharuk was just as bad, keeping the citizens impoverished and dependent on her troops while the city fell apart, which is why we took it back with such relative ease. And don’t even get me started on Ruby City or Emerald City. The stories I’m hearing from there are simply horrific.”

“None are worse than Diamond City, I’m afraid,” Kharo says, his voice tickling my ear. He’s closer now, leaning forward, and I can hear him breathing in my scent deeply as if it nurtures his soul.

I’m desperately aching for more sex, yet at the same time, I keep chastising myself for letting them do what they did. Because I have to face it: I let them do it. I wanted them to do it. And now, I’m itching for another, much bigger fix.

We have two days on the road ahead of us, and I fear my blood will be boiling by the time we reach the Kreek base. Sitting so close to Helios and Kharo is having quite an effect on my senses—I’m just grateful Kingo is around to keep my mind off these things, if only for a minute or two. Then again, I’m not sure I like the fact that Kingo is around because if he weren’t, then the Tallas men and I might be able to pick up where we left off.

3

Helios

The journey to the Kreek base feels a lot longer than it should have. It’s probably because of the insane sexual tension Kharo and I ignited in Alicia the other night. Perhaps we should’ve been more guarded, but Alicia’s desire to go out into the madness of Kaos on her own set us both off. We had to make our point. We had to stand our ground and begin our conquest of her. She is anything but indifferent.

More than once, I’d stood outside her door, listening to her moans as she pleased herself, wondering if she was thinking about us. More than once, I caught her lips parting slowly when she looked at mine or when Kharo subtly touched her during a reading session. I can smell her arousal the minute we’re close. Her body responds to us in ways she isn’t even aware of, and I refuse to let her deny this bond any longer. But I want her soul, and we’ll only get it if she takes the next step and surrenders to us.

The Kreek base is far bigger and better equipped than I had imagined. They invested months of hard work into it, but it was well worth it. The base is carved into the plateau wall, about fifty feet above the water. There are no steps, only rope ladders that can be easily rolled up or cut in case enemy ground troops approach. Stone shutters matching the plateau’s rock façade mask each entry point, and watchmen are positioned at every high point in a one-mile radius on both sides of the Sun River.

Looking at it now, I have to admit, I’m impressed.

“No wonder the Sky Tribe can’t pinpoint its location,” Alicia remarks as we get out of the buggy and cover it with a red, sand-colored tarp, thus concealing it from aerial view. “They’re so well hidden within the plateau’s wall; they only need half a minute to disappear in there, and no one is the wiser.”

“What kind of life is that, though? Always on the edge like this?” Kingo mutters.

“The life of a warrior,” I reply bluntly. “Comfort matters very little when there is a war to win.”

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