Page 13 of Ngozii's Plight

“Don’t you think you’re putting them at an unnecessary risk? What if Tavionna attacks the village with some plague or something that gets them hurt?” Jeff pinches the bridge of his nose, his frustration with me evident, and I’m nearly at a loss of what to say.

I sigh as I try to find the right words. “It’s a risk, I know, but now that we have this, figuring out the issue with her is top priority for me. If I handle this right, no one will be hurt. Don’t you trust me? Trust that I’m trying to do the right thing here?”

There’s a long silence that has my heart rate jumping. Jeff stares at the floor, his fingers tapping his hip as he refuses to look at me while he thinks.

“I think it’s a good idea, and with the changes around here that we’ve made and us hunters doubling as security, everything should be fine. We can get some new cabins built up in no time.” Kosiiba pipes up excitedly from the back, the others all gawking at him before Terax nods, voicing his agreement with him.

Jeff sighs and turns back to me. “All right, but we need to handle this carefully. No more making plans without us, we’re a team. All of us.”

I step closer and grab his hand out of the air, stopping his pointing and squeezing it tight. “Always. This was something I had to make a decision on without you all, and I’m sorry. Now we have a way to communicate and it won’t be an issue anymore. We’re in this together. Always.”

“We need the village’s approval before we bring anyone here or start construction. We’ll need to hold a meeting, get a vote, and go from there first.” Criido sips his tea, his gaze meeting mine, and I nod.

“Right. Well, this is bigger than any of us, it’s about helping unfortunate kids who never asked to be in this situation. Giving them a chance to start fresh and make a life all their own. These are the kids who have no family to go back to. I want to give them a family.”

Criido smiles. “Let’s tell the village that. If they have the same heart you do, they’ll agree. Then we can celebrate your return and plan a party for the new arrivals, eh?”

“You really like to party, don’t you?” I smile as he laughs, Tonya and Melodia bouncing and giggling beside him. We all laugh at their enthusiasm, and as Willa falls forward, the front of her dress presses outward, exposing a bright gold color I’ve never seen before on her skin.

I step toward Jeff and pull at the collar of his shirt, exposing the same mark on him on the same shoulder. “You have it, too.” Our eyes meet, confusion in his for a moment before he pushes aside the collar of my shirt as well, revealing my silver mark.

“Ah, the soul bond mating marks. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen those. You’re all very lucky.” Criido smiles in approval at us, and I turn to face him.

“What do you know about the mark?” I ask, curiosity eating at me as I wonder if what Vahru and I have been feeling is normal.

“What do you want to know?” He raises a brow at me, forcing me to admit the oddities of my new bond in front of everyone. Sometimes I think he wants to keep things to himself just to mess with us, I really do.

He only wants to give you the necessary information and not overload you.Vahru’s voice rings in my mind, causing me to turn and look at him. He gives me a small nod as he grins, and I shake my head, turning back to Criido.

“Okay, well, since this mark appeared, there have been moments where Vahru and I can sense each other's emotions, and sometimes speak telepathically. Is that a normal occurrence?”

Criido looks up as he thinks for a moment, and I glance around the room, noting that all eyes are on him. Being the oldest and wisest of us all, he’s likely to have the most information on the subject. I also notice the hint of longing in some of the hunters' gazes as they land on us, their eyes focused on our shoulders.

“Let’s see here. If I remember correctly, it depends on the depth of the soul bond. The deepest of bonds allowed for a flow of emotions and thoughts back and forth, which you may have to learn to block at times. Some develop a deep dependency, causing them to stay close or they struggle without the other. If the bonds are that deep and one partner dies, the other follows shortly after, unable to cope without their soul. Each bond is different and depends on the individuals involved. One thing is the same, though. All bonds share a mark of the same color, which depends on the couple, and soul bonded mates have more children than anyone else.”

“Whoa! Wait, I thought he couldn’t get me pregnant because we’re different species.” My eyes nearly bug out of my face as Criido laughs, leaning forward to set his tea cup down on the table.

“We’re not that different, dear. Vahru can’t get you pregnant, not yet. When the time is right, you’ll both know. Now, let’s get this meeting in progress with the village so we can see where we stand on helping those kids, shall we?” Criido stands and heads for the door, effectively dismissing us all as we stand flabbergasted and confused.

“What the hell does that mean?” I look at Vahru, his shoulders lifting in a shrug.

“I guess we’ll know when it happens?” He chuckles, and I punch his arm.

“Must be pretty obvious then.” Jeff comments as he brushes past me, causing me to huff as he laughs. Atsatsa and Cruzig head out with the chief and Jeff, while Nakarra sticks by the girls. Kosiiba and Terax wait patiently for Vahru and I to file out behind the others before following us out.

Chapter 8

Kari

The hunters disperse, finding others to help spread the word of a village meeting. I follow Criido over to the center of the main village circle, stepping up onto the rocks to be easily seen by everyone. I watch as people begin to file out of the forest around us, come out of their homes, and gather around us, whispering and waiting for some news.

My gaze wanders through the crowd, noting the varying shades of purple, the different types of swirling patterns on each set of skin, the different colored eyes gazing back at me. No one, not a single person in the village bears the marks that we now do, and something like pity drops in my stomach. No wonder this village is so small, that their population is so small and the cities are filling with outsiders. If bonded mates are the only ones who can have more than one child, then their numbers would drop pretty rapidly.

Something has to change here. I have got to find time to start digging into this divide and figure out what it is that’s keeping everyone from coming together. There has to be more to it. Based on the conversations I’ve had with many villagers, they aren’t opposed to technology, they just prefer minimal amounts of it, preferring to keep the forest abundant and their main provider.

I’m sure the city dwellers wouldn’t mind a vacation in a sweet little village like this once in a while. They could all learn from each other. I just have to get them to see that somehow. One step at a time, though. With the threat of Tavionna hanging over us, and Criido recovering, that takes precedence. I wonder why it’s taken so long for her to attack again?

I would have thought it would be the distance between our planets, but considering she didn’t seem to set foot here, I’m not sure that’s it. I don’t know what her plan is or how she’s reaching out, but I’ll figure it out and stop it. One way or another. She has more up her sleeve, and there’s more to the story than being angry over a deadbeat dad, I just have to figure out what.

---