Page 54 of Ragoru

“But so is love. And we will show them how Ragoru love their mates.”

A smile lit her face as she turned in his embrace. “Oh yeah? Will you show me how you love me then? Just as a reminder.”

And he did. And then Sabol did. And Vrishna was pleased to show her as well. Love united them all as they at last lay together in their bed, letting the world beyond their village continue on without them.

They had love. They had each other—not only their family but their community as well. And soon their family would have rogs to add to it. If no one else could see the beauty of it, then they didn’t deserve it.

This was her happiness, and she fully embraced it.

EPILOGUE

Evie unplugged her comm from the solar charger and carried it inside the house. Although the village had grown with the new arrivals of women, their territory remained spacious around their home. The initial “brides” that had been given from the founding families at the request of the Feriknikal had not come to them but rather had been mated, out of concern for the secrecy, to volunteer Ragoru triads who struck up their own territories in the Northern Continent. But even without them, there were many women that had joined their community over the years. All of them were willing tributes from the northernmost villages lying along the edges of the habitable zone due to contacts established by Dr. Farris that Evie had nurtured and built upon.

Because of the strength of the relationship between their communities, Evie traveled with her mates and bachelor triads down to a mutual meeting area safely outside of the habitable zone where the brides would gather with their families. Gifts of fur and many handmade goods were brought with excessive meat from hunts in offering for the families of the brides of their oaths to care for them. They had gone to two such gatherings since the establishment of their village and the had to begin construction on several cabins to make room for the new families. Especially when the odd triad showed up with a mate looking for sanctuary. That always threw things off a bit.

Even smiled a little at that, thinking of the recent addition of males who’d arrived with a small, nervous woman clinging to them. She’d had a wild look in her eyes as if she expected someone to part them by force. That had hurt Evie’s heart but no less than the look of relief that had replaced it when Thral had immediately began rounding up males to work on setting out a new den for the family.

That her mates called it a den still amused her. She glanced down at the comm in her hand and sighed. They were still suspicious of her comm and some of the more advanced pieces of technology, certain that the Order would use the technology to find her. As much as she assured them that it didn’t have tracking technology within it, she mostly kept it off and stored, checking in on updates to what was happening in the High Citadel a couple times a week.

Today, however, was different. This was something she felt was important for them all to see. The Order was addressing Solum with a “life-changing discovery regarding the truth of Solum,” and that was enough to give her and others within her field with whom she kept regular contact with a premonition that this would now mark the beginning of the end.

Thral’s nostrils flared, his hackles rising slightly as she brought the device inside, but he didn’t utter an objection as she set the comm on the table in front of their huge nest of pillows and furs and brought up two projections. One was the broadcasted event and the other was her direct line with Dr. Farris. The scientist, already old, appeared to have aged rapidly over the last several years, exhaustion heavily lining his face as he too watched the proceedings on his own comm, his lips thinning with disappointment.

“We’re all set, doctor,” she said quietly.

“Good. Good,” he rasped as she took her seat. A smile lit his weathered face at the sight of her mates and offspring as they gathered in close. “Ah, your family looks hale and hearty. Such a wonderful sight despite these grim times we appear to be entering.”

“Perhaps it won’t be as bad as we expect,” she suggested, not even believing it for a second herself.

Farris made a dismissive sound as he removed his eyeglasses and wiped them on a rag. “The First Elite is a power-hungry fool who has been encouraging the High Council to sanction extermination of the Ragoru despite our agreement with the Feriknikal. There is nothing good that will come of this.”

Evie silently agreed and was grateful when her mates crowded around her, providing their silent support and reassurance by touch as they did so. Thral slid behind her, his arms wrapping warmly around her, as Sabol and Vrishna settled in at either side of her, their arms laden with their rogs. The youngest set of boys, only months old, slept soundly in Vrishna’s upper arms while their little three-year-old daughter lay against Sabol’s chest sucking her thumb as she watched the activity within their family with wide-eyed curiosity. Once everyone got comfortable and her eldest pair of boys climbed up onto their nest on either side of her, Evie leaned forward and expanded the comm’s projection capabilities on the broadcasted hologram.

Although it made the details in the projection a little bit blurrier, she was satisfied to note that they could all comfortably see what was happening within the projected image as the First Elite of the Order took the podium and stared out over the crowd. Far above in a balcony, the oracle could just barely be made out as she took her seat behind a gossamer veil as her attendants stood around her, giving her visible support to the proceedings. The crowd hushed, and the First Elite flashed a wide, charismatic smile as he raised his hands in a gesture of welcome.

“Citizens of Solum, welcome. It pleases me that so many have such a vested interest in knowing the truth. We have broadcasters set up to send this to every working comm system planet-wide so that all may hear. For generations we’ve all been told a carefully manufactured lie that went unknown to us, even to our great and first oracle Felicity Anwar.” He stared out, his eyes sweeping over the crowd as he played on their tension.

“What is it?” a broadcaster demanded, breaking the silent stare-off.

The First Elite’s smile widened. “Why, it’s the most insidious of lies to strip our people of our authority and power, to make us feel like aliens on our own homeworld.” He raised his hand, cutting off the sudden rise in voices talking excitedly over each other. He scanned the crowd, making a show of meeting the eyes of the crowd. “I assure you that its true. I havepersonallyfound the records,” he bit out, holding his datapad aloft. “Records that were buried and shall now remain in safekeeping within the Order of the Huntsmen to preserve their integrity. These records show clearly that while this planet was set ablaze with war and all manner of contaminations that changed so much of our wildlife and even the ground beneath our feet, this Solum isn’t a mere colony of Earth. ItisEarth.”

The crowd surged forward, a cacophony of voices shouting out questions as the First Elite continued to smile. Finally, he raised his hands again in a call for silence and patiently waited as the roar died down.

“You may be asking yourselves, why would our ancestors wish to deceive us in such a way? I will tell you why. After the wars, they wanted to strip all sense of sovereignty from us so that we felt like strangers on a strange land. They wanted to weaken us. And they succeeded, keeping all the power for themselves until the oracle rose. And following her wisdom, we, the Order of the Huntsmen, established by her divine foresight, ousted them from power though we remained crippled and frightened in this world.”

His smile dropped away as he eyed the populace sternly. “But it was too late to repair the damage. The knowledge was lost, and we were left ripe for hostile alien invasions and their insidious plans. Perhaps this was the scheme all along, that they conspired together, and we remained ignorant of it! Now we have the opportunity to reclaim our birthright and duty to destroy these monsters before they destroy us. But it will demand sacrifice from everyone. We know that certain colors draw their attention. We have it on good authority that every woman they’ve stolen from us has been a redhead or a blonde, favored bright clothing, or showed a fondness for boldness in color and temperament.”

Evie rolled her eyes.What a crock of shit.

“These bright colors shall be covered and muted, and all gaiety will be harshly restricted to avoid drawing their attention, especially in our rural towns and villages. Disobedient display of color outside of sanctioned and secured events will be considered an endangerment to the populace. Strict curfews will also be maintained.” His eyes skimmed the crowd again meaningfully. “Rebelliousness and disorder in any form will be seen as endangerment to the populace and be punished to the fullest extent of our laws.”

His expression relaxed once more into a fatherly smile. “This is all, of course for your protection—the protection of our species and society. The Feriknikal forced us to surrender our women to them—to whatever terrible fate waited them at the hands of the beasts, but those aliens are long gone and its time that we take our planet back. We will hunt down the Ragoru and any other abominations they have set on our planet. We will havecontrol,order,andpeace.”

“And may the gods be merciful on our souls,” Dr. Farris rasped. He leaned forward grimly. “I say this with all due respect and affection: destroy this comm, Evie. I don’t trust the sanctity of my offices or home with this new development.” He sighed heavily. “If anyone got ahold of my comm they would be able to access its direct-link program. They would use it to uplink to yours, automatically acquiring your coordinates. The moment they do, you will be in the utmost danger.”

“Dr. Farris, you can’t stay. Come here and take sanctuary with us. I can provide you the coordinates or take a boat north. I can get you from the mining camp and escort you here personally. The Ragoru have been building more cabins to house the growing families. I can arrange for one to be made ready for you.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Perish the thought. I’m too old for such adventures. No, I will remain here holding the line and spreading as much information as I can among our people. Rest assured that I’ve sent SAM and all of our data to a safe place where the Order will never look for it. I have friends among a certain convent who have agreed to keep him and all your work safe.” He sighed softly. “You have provided me with years of studies for which I can only express my utmost gratitude, but it’s time now protect yourself and your family. There is a darkness descending from which none of us will escape. Stay safe.”

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