Page 58 of I Married Amreth

“It’s hard to explain. It’s just various subtle signals woven into the conversation and the messages. I got the distinct impression from the start that I was being somewhat recruited as a free agent for this specific mission so that they could keep plausible deniability if anything went wrong. And I believe there is something much bigger happening for which they need to make sure that no one knows that we’re here.”

“You think there’s some foul play happening?” I asked with a sliver of worry.

Amreth nodded with a grim expression. “Yes, I believe so. I may be overthinking things, but there was a single word out of place at the end of her message. It simply said ‘Kalmia’ like one would write their name as the signature.”

I recoiled. “Kalmia? As in that huge corruption case that resulted in massive casualties?!”

He nodded again. “I can’t be certain. But like you, it’s the first thing that came to mind.”

I shook my head in disagreement. “That doesn’t make sense. The berries that are currently killing the Kreelars grew organically over the past decade. The computers’ analyses of the spread pattern confirm it. No assassin came here and planted these berries. Animals caused them to be found in all these various places,” I argued.

“I don’t believe this has anything to do with the berries,” Amreth said pensively. “I agree with your rationale as to the fact that the berries spread naturally. But to me, Kalmia doesn’t refer to the current situation where an entire species is slowly heading towards extinction over multiple decades. It would rather implythat someone is sending a bunch of assassins to swiftly wipe out the entire Kreelar population.”

“But why?!” I exclaimed, refusing to believe anyone would do something so insane, egregious, and immoral.

“So that this story is never exposed,” Amreth replied with a conviction that sent a cold chill down my spine. “Aku mentioned that there were powerful individuals who would bring about a terrible outcome for his people if they went public with this from the start instead of kidnapping you.”

I nodded. “Right, he said as much to me as well when I challenged him about it. But who could it possibly be?”

“As part of the message I’ve sent to Maeve, I asked her to dig deeper into the story and the identities of Elias’s crew back then. There would be a record of all the members of his team. Maybe looking into each of their backgrounds, we might find a connection.”

“If they truly are considering sending assassins, we have to warn the others,” I said, my voice tense.

To my surprise, he vehemently shook his head.

“Not the others,” he said forcefully. “I agree that we should inform Aku. However, this currently is pure speculation on my part. What if I’m wrong? There’s no need to make people panic until we have more solid reasons to believe this is a real threat. Frankly, I hesitated about telling you.”

“Why?” I asked, the hurt I felt audible in my voice. “I know we’ve only just met, but I would trust you with absolutely anything.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, my Ciara. I just don’t want to freak you out with a bunch of unfounded speculations,” Amreth said with a sincerity that eased some of the irrational sense of rejection I felt. “You already have so much on your shoulders that it feels irresponsible to add even more to your plate.”

“I appreciate that you’re trying to protect me,” I said softly. “But honesty is really important to me. I rather have an ugly truth that I can figure out how to navigate than to live in blissful ignorance until reality finally slaps me in the face. I cannot prepare for a blow that I didn’t even know was coming my way.”

“I apologize, my mate,” he said with a guilty expression. “I promise to be more transparent in the future. It just messes with my head that Aku claims I will punish those responsible. I wish he would tell me more than those cryptic one-liners that prompt more questions than answers.”

“He can’t,” I said in a sympathetic tone. “That Seer and Oracle stuff is pretty messy. All the games involving Fate are tricky. If one of them tells you that they cannot go into greater details, you just need to suck it up and accept it.”

He frowned and studied my face with undisguised curiosity. “How do you know that?”

“Earth is part of the Galactic Alliance, remember? We hear a lot about Oracles and Seers. If they tell you too much about what they’ve glimpsed of your future, it can influence your choices the wrong way. They all make a blood oath to always speak the truth but to also never try to dictate the path that one should follow, especially when it comes to Oracles as they see possibilities, not immutable certainties like the Seers. Free will is essential.”

“But wouldn’t it remain my free will whether to act on it if they told me clearly what would happen?” Amreth argued. “If you tell me that a person will drown at a specific time and place, I can choose to ignore it, go there to try and rescue them, send someone there in my stead, or try to warn that person not to go near the water at that crucial moment.”

“Right, but that initial premise would be the kind of thing the Seer or Oracle would tell you,” I countered. “The options you listed are the types of paths that an Oracle sees. What she will not tell you is that if you go yourself, you will indeed save thatperson but drown in the process. She will not mention that if you ignore it, a different person will attempt to rescue the victim and cause a massive disaster that will claim a hundred more lives. She also won’t say that sending someone else there will allow them to discover that they were soulmates, or that warning that person not to go into the water at that precise moment will allow them to go to a different place where they will enter into a business deal that will bring prosperity to an entire people severely struggling.”

“But why wouldn’t they mention those two paths with positive outcomes? Then I could choose which one I believed was more beneficial. I would still exercise my free will,” Amreth argued.

I smiled. “Not really. Because at that point, you’re merely choosing between the two morally more suitable options. But every path has its own set of domino effects. Your drowning while attempting to rescue her will set in motion the creation of a series of new laws and safety measures around that area that will save countless more lives down the road. So your sacrifice was worth it. The more you mess with any threads of Fate, the more lives end up getting affected whether positively or negatively.”

“Which is why the Kreelars’friendsrefused to get involved further. The potential paths they saw had too many negative trickle-down effects,” he replied pensively.

I nodded. “Believe me, I hate nothing more than to be told to just wait and see. But I get it. It just warms my heart knowing that some way, somehow, you will bring the sons of bitches who caused all this pain to justice.”

“This, I pledge,” he said with a fierceness that was sexy as fuck.

I smiled, closed the distance between us, and slipped my arms around his waist. He returned my embrace, his tailwrapping around me as a tender emotion settled on his handsome features.

“Thank you for sharing all of this with me,” I said with sincere gratitude. “I’m so happy you’re here. You make me feel safe and supported, like everything is possible, and that no matter what hurdle is thrown our way, we shall prevail. Thank you for coming to rescue me.”

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