Page 68 of Twins for the Barbarians

My jaw drops as I stare at my darling Amber, recognizing the joyful glint in her bright eyes. “No way!” I blurt out, then rush to throw my arms around her, prompting the Mal twins to laugh as the whole crew turns around to do the same. “Oh, my gosh, I’m so happy for you! Amber, this is amazing! Congratulations!”

Despite the circumstances in which we arrived on Sunna, despite the violence and the constant fighting, despite the uncertainty of our very future—let alone that of the planet itself, we still managed to carve out our own little corners in this world. We still managed to find love in the strangest of places. It’s the kind of love that burns brighter than a flame, the kind of love that refuses to die in the face of powerful adversaries. We have become stronger and smarter. Braver. Infinitely more patient and more understanding toward those around us.

It took a while for the truth to sink in, for us to accept that we would never go back to Earth in this lifetime, and for us to make peace with that thought. But we did it. And once that happened, everything else seemed to just fall into place.

“Might we ask why you’re all so happy?” Sarin interjects with a polite smile as she and the other widows join us on the stage.

We all pause to look at them, splendid women dressed in dark red velvet and donning the royal gold jewels left behind by the royal family when the city was bombed decades ago. They look gorgeous now, at peace with themselves and the choices they’ve made along the way.

“Amber is pregnant,” I say, beaming like a star. This is her second hybrid child.”

“Congratulations!” Leela replies, bowing before Amber. “It’s a most auspicious occasion, then. May your carriage be smooth and painless, and may your infant greet the world with arms wide open, surrounded only by love, peace, and prosperity.”

“May Sunna’s fire guide and protect you and your children,” Neya adds, reciting a traditional wish her people offer when such news is broken. “May the volcanoes roar with joy when your baby draws his first breath of life.”

“And may the twin suns bless him, the three moons kiss him, and may he grow up to be strong,” Sarin says. “As strong as the ground beneath our feet, as passionate as the fire in our mountains, as resilient and as resourceful as water.”

“Thank you so much,” Amber replies, mirroring the widows’ bow most graciously. “Given that it’s my second such adventure, I dare say I’m better prepared for what comes next.”

Jewel chuckles dryly. “Fellas, you’d better stock up on those sweet plums, for everybody’s sake.”

We all burst into laughter and exchange a few more congratulatory words before Sarin, Neya, and Leela take center stage. The people have been waiting for quite a while now, and they shouldn’t be kept waiting any longer. Sarin steps forth, waiting for the crowd to settle down, then checks the microphone system mounted in front of her. Its wiring snaking around the square connects with dozens of cone-shaped sound speakers hanging from wrought iron streetlamps.

“Thank you all for coming,” she says, her voice echoing across the square.

“It has been a strange time for our city,” Sarin continues, her gaze wandering across the crowd as she registers every expression, every gesture, every movement. “Granted, it’s been strange since day one, since our King Solomon gave us the cure for the plague and promised us a new kingdom, free of disease and violence. We believed him, and we emerged from the tunnels with bitterness in our hearts but also with hope. We’ve built upon that hope ever since, and now, we know that our lives here were built atop a most egregious lie.” She pauses and takes a deep breath. “I must assure you, good people of Opal City, that Neya, Leela, and I didn’t know Solomon was behind the very plague that killed so many of our population. We didn’t know of his machinations and subterfuges, of his schemes and his plots to destroy Sunna so only he and a handful of his most loyal subjects would survive.

“We believed Solomon when he told us he had saved us, that he’d warned the old king and the government of the plague. That he had seen it coming. Truth is…Solomon had seen it coming, but only because he’d created it in the first place.” She pauses as murmurs rush through the crowd. “We bear no fault for his crimes, and neither do any of you. We were innocent fools who wanted a better life, who wanted to simply live. Please, do not waste a single moment thinking you were to blame for any of this. Sleep soundly at night and embrace each new day with the same wishful thinking, with the same love of life and reverence as you did until now.”

Neya takes the microphone next, giving herself a moment to assess the crowd and our group before speaking with a soft cadence. “The world outside these walls is alive, despite what Solomon told us. It is alive, but it is also troubled. Our society crumbled under the weight of a merciless plague and a bloody civil war. It is in peril, on the precipice of complete self-destruction, broken into warring factions and led solely by desperation. Our species is in danger. The plague virus targets all of Sunna’s women mercilessly, quickly wiping them out of existence. In response, one of the warring factions beyond the city’s walls has taken women from another planet to force them into breeding with our men, into carrying their children, and hopefully saving the species by creating hybrids.” She pauses, giving the people of Opal City a few moments to gasp as they take in this disturbing information. “The women of Sunna are rare and precious, but the women of Earth have been deemed priceless because of their natural immunity to the plague. Alas, the women of Earth are as determined and as strong as we are. They’ve been working with the Fire Tribe to stop the Sky Tribe from bringing more of their kind to Sunna, to develop a cure for the plague itself, not knowing that our King Solomon was sitting on the cure itself this whole time.”

I see it dawning on the citizens of Opal City. I hear the murmurs among them.

“Solomon was a monster. He created the plague, and then he let the world burn.”

I hope the underworld has welcomed him with open arms and enough pain to last him a billion lifetimes because he deserves every fucking second of it. Death was too easy for Solomon. Too short and simple when compared to his crimes.

It’s Leela’s turn to speak, and the tremor in her voice sends shivers down my spine. She’s been through so much. Solomon almost had her executed for trying to do the right thing.

“The people of the Fire Tribe have offered their unwavering support,” she tells the crowd, “to help keep Opal City safe while they go out there and fight to put an end to the plague and the war. We’ve provided them with all of Solomon’s research to reproduce the cure, and they will be given any other resources they might need along the way. In return, they will dispatch warriors to our city gates to make sure none of the Sky Tribe’s more persistent mercenaries get close enough to even glimpse our tranquil lives. Do not be alarmed if you see Fire Tribe men in the city. They’ll be working closely with us to ensure your peace and safety. And when the time comes, when the truth is finally out, and the heads of both tribes have sat down to agree upon a cease-fire, when the plague is gone…we will be given a choice. A choice that we will ask you to make.”

“What choice is that?” one elder man asks.

“We may remain independent like we are now, or we may rejoin the Sunnaite kingdom as they rebuild it atop the ruins of what was,” Leela says. “The Fire Tribe hopes to reunite the warring factions under a single flag, to recover what we were, and to gaze into a brighter, better future. Of course, we have a long way to go until then, but the others and I agreed that it is fair for all of you to know. We wouldn’t dare make that choice for you, yet we will assume leadership over Opal City in the interim.”

“That means we’ll continue to abide by Solomon’s rules, particularly those pertaining to leaving the city,” Neya adds. “He may have lied to us about many things, but there was always sense in this specific law. We cannot risk discovery by the Sky Tribe or any other unaffiliated parties. The world outside is dangerous, and anyone leaving Opal City without our written permission puts every single girl and woman here in potentially mortal danger. I’m sure you all understand.”

“We will, of course, organize a private audience with every concerned citizen in the meantime,” Sarin says. We will answer your questions and do our best to provide you with solutions. We have resources at our disposal and people willing to work to make sure we’re safe until the outside storm passes.”

The crowd seems to be taking it rather well. No one here wants to abandon the comfort of Opal City’s safety. Every rebellious act of younglings trying to leave in the past was merely a natural reaction to something that was lawfully forbidden. They know now. They understand what awaits beyond the black walls, so they don’t want to bring trouble back to their doorstep, not when we’re so damn close to ending it.

At least they have something to look forward to. And so do we.

It’s not too serious a setback that Solomon smashed the last of his vials containing the plague cure. Cynthia and the other Fire Tribe medics can work to build upon her research. Of course, we’ve got a key operation on that side, too. By year’s end, there will be no more starships to fly. We’ll make sure of it.

At midnight, I lay in bed in Helios and Kharo’s arms. It’s the first time in days that we’ve had some private time to ourselves. With everyone else here, it’s been meeting after meeting, briefing after briefing, while the Kreek techs worked tirelessly day in and day out to make sure we have a clear and safe drone communication channel open with Opal City.

We’ll be leaving tomorrow, but we have to be able to reach out to and hear from Sarin, Neya, and Leela without worrying about Sky Tribe sabotage or interventions. My mind is at ease knowing we’ve made significant headway through these most trying times.

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