Page 28 of I Married Amreth

“That’s exactly what we’ve been doing. Unfortunately, no luck so far. But that’s not surprising. If we are correct by assuming that it is a misfolded prion causing the disease, then symptoms can take days or weeks to appear. So if a contaminated batch caused this, it would be long gone by now. Therefore, narrowing down the cause will be tricky. But you could really help us scan the local wildlife for the potential source in the upcoming days.”

“I will be happy to do that. You will be hard pressed finding an Obosian who doesn’t enjoy flying, especially in such a stunning and pure environment as this one,” he replied with a smile.

“Thank you. It means a lot. Pinning down the source is the toughest part of the investigative work. Please bear with me if I become nerdy. Once I start talking about this stuff, I tend to ramble on. So don’t be shy to tell me to shush,” I said sheepishly.

The soft and almost tender way in which he smiled did funny things to me. “Never apologize for being passionate about something, especially not your work. And yours is extremely important. You change other people’s lives for the better. I am honored to be able to help you in this endeavor.”

My toes might have curled a little upon hearing his response. Just as I was opening my mouth to speak, the sound of bells went off. Amreth stiffened, immediately alerted.

“It’s okay!” I said, raising my palm in an appeasing gesture. “It’s just the bell indicating that the hunters have returned with meat. I should go test it for any signs of contamination.”

“Lead the way, my mate.”

Chapter 8

Amreth

Ifollowed Ciara outside the house while trying to sort out my conflicting emotions. From the moment Kayog revealed her existence to me, I pictured a million different scenarios as to what our first meeting would be like. As much as I prided myself on being the rational and stoic type, I hadn’t been able to resist fantasizing about countless heroic scenes of me rescuing her, dashing through the skies with her in my arms while being pursued by fiendish enemies. She would cling to me, confident in my ability to keep her safe despite the extreme peril we faced.

Being captured on my first excursion, in no small part because I hadn’t properly prepared, couldn’t have fallen shorter from those grandiose expectations. My gut still burned with embarrassment at having her calling me out on it.

Although she was undeniably physically drawn to me, Ciara had not seemed particularly impressed by me as an individual. It stung. But what had I expected? I didn’t believe in love at first sight, even though she took my breath away the moment Kayog shared her image with me. Still, I had hoped for more of aninstant chemistry that would have confirmed what the Temern claimed about us being meant for each other. In truth, without that assertion, I probably wouldn’t have pursued her further, in light of her lukewarm response to me.

Nevertheless, I took heart in the one or two instances where she seemed to let her guard down and show a less distant and reserved side of her personality. That was rich coming from an Obosian. We were reputed to be quite stiff. And that certainly had always applied to me.

But I had truly wanted a hug from her.

For a reason I couldn’t explain, I felt it deep in my bones that physical contact between us would be required to initiate the bond. And I didn’t mean sexual. Even something as simple as holding hands would help break the invisible barrier separating us.

A part of me wondered if I was overthinking things. But another strongly felt that if we didn’t manage to fill the gap between us early on, it would simply widen with each of us increasingly struggling to find a way to establish that connection. In a way, knowing that we were meant to be created this strange expectation that things should flow a certain way. Under different circumstances, had our first meeting been on a romantic date carefully planned by us, I believed it would have been a lot smoother than this awkwardness.

That didn’t stop me from being even more impressed with my Ciara. Beyond her physical beauty and the enchanting marvel that was her soul, my woman was smart, strong, and no pushover. I loved that she bluntly expressed her thoughts on a few occasions, even if it put me in a bad light. It was very Obosian of her. I had no use for a meek and skittish female who couldn’t speak her mind or call me out on my failures. The absence of cruelty as she did so, and the sliver of guiltthat emanated from her for having possibly hurt my feelings reassured me as to her being a kind person.

But it was her determination to do right by those who had been wronged, and to use the skills she honed over the years to better other people’s lives that truly warmed me from the inside out. People often wrongfully assumed that we Obosians had a sadistic side that made us enjoy the prisoners’ suffering. They couldn’t be more mistaken. It actually broke my heart every time one of my convicts failed to redeem himself or met a dire end because of their poor choices.

They didn’t see the amount of effort and work we did to get inmates to use their time in prison to improve themselves so that they could have a brighter future by making better choices thanks to the new skills and wealth they acquired.

Although I couldn’t deny having far less sympathy towards the criminals in our Dark Quadrants, some of them actually went out of their way to redeem themselves. Considering the atrocity of the crimes that had landed them there to begin with, seeing one of them complete their sentence and turn their lives around was probably one of the greatest accomplishments for us.

My mate hurrying up to the two humans I recognized as Mehreen Aziz and Ernst Wagner put an end to my wandering thoughts. Her two colleagues had already gathered around the wheeled cart pulled by a beast I didn’t recognize. A large animal lay dead on it. Ernst was looking at the interface of an analysis device, having likely drawn some blood from the beast. Mehreen was running a handheld scanner over every inch of its body.

My mate caught up with them and exchanged a few words with Ernst, who showed her the interface. She tapped a few instructions on it then pulled out what looked like a long needle from the top of the device. She held it up while Ernst replacedthe needle with a fresh one and fiddled with the device while Ciara pricked the creature again.

Not wanting to get in the way of their work, I stood back and observed the villagers. Quite a few of them had entered the inner courtyard, although they remained by the gates as if worried about trespassing. They were observing the scientists with undeniable wariness, but devoid of any aggression. It struck me then that the concern was likely more about the safety of their food than about the doctors themselves.

Once again, it sent my mind down a spiral of speculation as to who in Tharmok’s name were the friends who had so thoroughly convinced them that we could be trusted to do right by them. I needed to write to Maeve to set her on the trail of whatever powerful entity Elias might be in cahoots with.

Or could it be beholden to?

I made a mental note of the things I would want her to look into. As one of the Enforcers’ top hackers, there weren’t too many secrets that escaped Maeve once she set her mind on discovering it. So long as it had some sort of digital print, she would find it.

The thought that I couldn’t just take off right now and go to my ship didn’t sit well with me. I hated being a prisoner in that courtyard. How ironic for a Warden. My inmates wouldn’t let me hear the end of it if they knew of my current predicament. Technically, I could leave. They were clearly giving us enough freedom of movement so that I could grab Ciara and fly to my vessel before they could get into close enough range to disable me with their psionic powers.

But I would never do it.

Beyond the fact that I felt a strong moral duty to help them, I was honor-bound to stick around. With a certainty I couldn’t explain, I knew that Aku was not the type to easily grant his trust. And he had granted me his. It didn’t matter thatsome Seer’s prediction cemented that conviction. A part of me believed that our interactions convinced him that I was a male of my word. Had he felt I couldn’t be trusted, Seer or not, I didn’t doubt he would have shackled me.

Anyway, trying to bail now would be the surest way to torpedo any hope of a smooth relationship with my woman.

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