Page 73 of Ronan

“That’s only a day’s drive from here,” I mutter, and Cam looks at me curiously.

“That’s a city, right?”

I nod, silently mapping our location in my head. “Yes, it’s the largest major city remaining in this part of the world. The military holds a strong presence there.”

“Have you ever been?”

“A few times,” I admit. “Though I’m not a fan of all those people in such tight quarters. The military built walls around the cities they were most anxious to protect, and the population from the surrounding wilds came to live within the borders, for the most part.”

“I’ve never been in a city,” Cameron mumbles, but I shake my head.

“You are not missing anything, mo’sziv. Maybe a century ago they were fun places to visit, but they are barely more than prisons at this point.”

“Then why do people stay there?” Reyes asks.

“Safety. Security. Propaganda has been around for decades, warning of the threats out in the wilds. Most of the humans inside the cities were born there and have never stepped outside the walls.”

“What the fuck do they think is out here?” Cameron asks, incredulous.

“Mutants… hordes of wild monsters. Gangs of dangerous humans that will shoot you as quickly as they’d say hello.”

“Well… I mean, they’re not wrong,” Reyes mutters, and Cameron grunts his agreement.

“They’re also provided for in exchange for their labor. The military assigns them jobs based on their aptitudes, and they are given living quarters and rations.”

“So, they’re basically military themselves?”

I shrug, seesawing my hand in front of me. “More like the military’s minions to keep from wasting manpower on the trivial day-to-day activities.” I realize we’re getting off course, so I focus on Reyes again. “These soldiers claimed they grabbed these people… thesemates, from Atlanta?”

“Yes, and they mentioned their destination, but it’s somewhere I’ve never heard of… some base called Ljómur.”

My brows slam together, and both of them notice. “Does that mean something to you, Ro?”

“At my rank, I know of all the military installments around the world, especially those on this continent. Hell, I’ve been to pretty much all of them, but I’ve never once heard of that one. The word, though… the word is from our language. It means ‘glow.’”

“Well, that’s not concerning in the least,” Cameron mumbles, glancing at my palm at the same time I do.

“More came after that set of prisoners?” I ask Reyes, and he nods.

“Numbers varied, and I heard a few different cities mentioned—Montgomery, a few times, and Columbia once—but it was usually Atlanta. This place became an official pitstop for their convoys, and it was the same every time. Paired monsters and humans, glowing marks, and transport vans. It became frequent enough that others learned to stay away from this place, so I guess that’s theone positive. Raiders stopped coming, aside from one-off visitors that were probably just passing through.”

“So we aren’t the first mates,” Cameron murmurs, worry creasing his face as he meets my eyes.

I reach for him, my fingers weaving through his hair and tugging him closer as I press a kiss against his lips. “That doesn’t matter,” I whisper as he sighs, scooting his chair closer so he can rest his head against my chest. My arm wraps around his shoulders, breathing in his familiar smell. “All that matters is that you’re safe and we’re together.”

He nods, his cheek mussing against my shirt, before he glances at Reyes. “How many sets of mates do you think you’ve seen pass through?”

“I… I like to keep records… write things down. Written history is pretty much gone, you know? So I take notes.” Reyes’s face turns hard as he stares down at the table, anxious hands fidgeting over Boomerang’s fur. “Seventy-six,” he whispers.

“Seventy-six people?” I ask, anger causing my voice to rise just on this side of a shout.

“No,” he says with a sad laugh, shaking his head. “Seventy-six couples.”

Silence descends among us, suffocatingly heavy. Grief gnaws at my insides for those mates who had found this sense of rightness… this sense of being complete, only to have it taken from them.

Let them come for me,I think.Let them see the world turn to ashes if they try to take what is mine.

“Ro?” Cameron whispers, and the sound of splintering wood cracks through the quiet as the edge of thetable snaps underneath my hand. My eyes close as I fight to slow my rapid breathing.

---