Page 26 of Betrothed to the Yeti

We’ve crested the top of the hill where we watched Gamma, a safe place to talk. I’m proud of my mate for allowing me to drive her forward until we were in a defensible position and push affection through our heart bond in gratitude.

“The scene you imagine is ridiculous! Not only is a royal welcome highly unlikely but also pageantry will incense the Leaders who don’t want to share their power. We will become a target and our crops aren’t diverse enough to stop the tributes completely. I must sell these lambs for seeds, not bless the commoners like some queen. You should stay outside while I make the transaction.”

I huff with annoyance. I don’t want the storm cloud that lived over her head when she moved into my home to return. She blossomed under my care, not just emotionally but also with the thickening of her arms and legs. Will they try to convince her to stay with them? They could guilt her into living with her sister or offer hollow promises of inclusion in Alpha. She will stay with me—even if I have to steal her back—but will they ridicule the new Jaya? She is no longer someone for them to step on.

“Do you think you can return to the village that starved you—after living with me?” I allow my fears to wrap around the question. My mind shows her pictures of her living with Dronma and Nawang while I watch from outside the gates. The image shifts until she hangs on the arm of a faceless young man with children chasing around them. Tears gather in the corners of my mind of being alone…of losing her.

“I can’t parade into Alpha as a Goddess when Gamma lives happily as a colony of equals,” she replies, taking my cheeks in her palms. I lean to her height so she can kiss my eyes, nose, and lips. “You have given me hope of a better, peaceful Alpha. This isn’t about us, but the lower caste of Alpha. How am I to assess the state of things objectively if they are putting on a show for a Goddess? You have shown me what could be with the right leadership—one that fades over time. Thank you, husband.”

Her words, as well as her fiery kisses, soothe my soul. We walk around the walls of Gamma in contented silence. I contact the Seer in a platonic mental brush. She agrees to meet us between all the villages. I’m not surprised when the tiny door beside Gamma’s gate opens. Given the choice between jovial Gamma and oppressed Alpha, I’d live in Gamma, too. I never stopped to think about why the Seer would prefer this village when I assumed they were the same. With the diversity among human individuals, why did I believe their groups would be the same? I can’t deny the memories I found through my link with Jaya. If anything, I’m ashamed I invalidated her experiences.

“I’m happy to see you’ve accepted your marriage,” the Seer says while staring at our joined hands. She fishes for compliments telepathically before hugging a bewildered Jaya. My prickly bride gives me a wide-eyed stare over her shoulder and lightly pats the older woman’s back.

“Ku Huang has had her lambs and I’m taking them to Alpha,” she says with a nervous hitch in her voice.

“So, this is just a visit,” the Seer says with the rising pitch of a question. Thank goodness my two bonds don’t flow into one another. If Jaya saw the telepathic images of the Seer living in Jaya’s place, would she be jealous? Insecure? Angry? This is one complication we don’t need.

“A brief visit,” I say with a dip of my chin. Jaya doesn’t dress or command respect as a Goddess, so the humans won’t see her as my equal. The Seer expects me to order her around. “Jaya wishes to check on her sisters. One of them is married to the butcher. Bringing the lambs is an excuse for the sisters to reunite and swap reassurances.”

“Of course,” the Seer says with a curtsey.

Jaya’s eyebrows fly up to her hairline and I’m reminded that she’s never seen other humans interact with me. She’s never seen the festivals in my honor within the other villages. She sees the sleds of gifts left at our door, but never when they are given to me in person. What would she think of the pageantry in my honor?

No, Alpha hasn’t festivals of any sort—let alone the games, parties, and pageantry floating through your memories. The villagers work, starve, and work some more. I would like to visit one…if you permit it.Jaya’s words traveling through our link are candy for my brain. She spoke! I’ve stolen images and memories from her thoughts, and she’s spoken to the dark phantom who lives within me, but we’ve never talked through our mental link. The urge to carry her home where we can celebrate privately overwhelms me.

…And Jaya’s anxiety cools my libido as quickly as the spark ignited.

You will have your visit today. I’d love nothing more than to take you to a Yeti festival and allow the villagers to honor you as my wife. Not only can I deny you nothing, but I’m proud of the woman whom fate chose for me.The flush from the neckline of Jaya’s traveling dress climbs her neck and settles on her cheeks. I push love and admiration for her beauty through our link.

“We will meet you here shortly,” Jaya says before stepping close to me.

My left hand wraps around her slender waist while the other clasps the back of her neck. My fingertips push her hat upward so I can tunnel into her thick curls. I tilt her head and hold her captive. I pour love, devotion, and promises of protection into our kisses, using my tongue to assist her acceptance. She kisses me with equal fervor, and I’m lost…

…Until the Seer clears her throat.

“I promise to return her,” the Seer says to me with another curtsey.

My heart jumps to my mouth, blocking my words of protest as they walk away. The women are linked at the elbows to steady themselves in the deep snow. I hate our growing separation and Jaya’s fear…increasing in proportion to the distance. What can I do with myself? I might as well fight the wolves who followed us here. The extra meat will keep the butcher busy…hopefully too busy for lambs.

Chapter 16

Jaya

How long have I been gone? One…two…five menstrual bleeds since I left Alpha. With Nima’s baby’s birth, I knew my family’s lives would change but I didn’t expect the sweeping changes within the village’s walls. A thinner mud wall, taller than me, runs from the right edge of the front gate to the right side of the brothel. Within this wall is the crystal fusion plant, spewing all its radiation and pollution. I press my ear to the wall to listen to the murmur of voices. What the hell are those? Faint cries of children or the distressed calls of animals?

The brothel, temple, and ceremonial space sit proudly between the thin mud wall and an ornate wall. This second wall is waist-high with decorative carvings and spent crystals. Over the top, the houses of Leaders and Elders are the same as when I left.

“If there hasn’t been an increase in wealth, why the increase in walls?” The question flies out of my mouth before I can stop my lips. Months of encouragement to speak my mind from Pabu ruined my subservient upbringing. I just hope I don’t speak out of turn to someone who may hurt me.

“No new wealth, but lots of wealth and power changing hands,” the Seer says cryptically. “Would you indulge a friend and visit the other side of the ‘low wall’?”

“Sure,” I say with a raised eyebrow. The lamb’s hooves clack on the packed snow as I lead them left by their ropes.

“No, this way,” the Seer says with a tug on my elbow. “It is called the ‘low wall’ because the lower-class people are housed inside. There are four keys, and I have the misfortune of owning one.”

“I can’t believe this,” I mutter as the Seer’s gnarled hands fumble with the rusted key lock. Will I find my family inside? How many people are crowded into the tiny space? Goats bleat and rodents chitter through the door. Are they living with the people? There isn’t a water source on this side of the village—unless the addition of one coincides with the building of new walls.

The stench suggests they must melt snow for clean water, and there’s not enough for bathing. Calling the water clean is a stretch if they aren’t given crystals to diffuse for heat. They would be reliant on the residual heat coming off the walls of the fusion plant. My family ‘collected water’ every week by throwing snowballs at the side of the building and collecting the water in buckets at the foot of the wall. Whatever grew or accumulated on the wall fell into our buckets. We did our best to remove what we could see, but Dronma always complained of things she couldn’t see floating in our drinking water.

---