It reminded Kai of Morlie as a little girl after their parents had passed, scared and unsure of the world around them with watery eyes.Kai had to remind herself that Morlie was a young lady now, and the world was cruel and unpredictable.It was her job to prepare her sister for it.
“You don’t have to thank me.It’s what I’m supposed to do.It is what you would do if the situation were reversed.You find your inner strength, and you deal with the situation head-on.It’s what Dad taught us.”Kai gripped the edges of the drab-green jacket, needing to feel her father close.
Morlie nodded.Instead of returning to her seat, she walked over to the windows.
Kai moved up beside her.From the angle of this room, they could see people, some as large as Aodh and his brother or well-built like Ninki, striding toward the building.A few glanced up in their direction but never paused their stride.The sky was darkening to the color of eggplant.Without a moon, seeing anything above the tree line was difficult.Flying dragons now cloaked in darkness.Kai let out a soft breath in relief.She wasn’t entirely ready to divulge that information, mainly because she hadn’t wrapped her head around it and didn’t know enough to share with her sister, not because she wanted to keep things from Morlie.
“Who are these people, and why do they appear as if they thrived better than those of us in the Dispatch?”
“Because they did.”Morlie glanced over at her.Her sister scrunched her brow, showcasing her curiosity, but her tears had stopped.Kai took a deep breath and worked on getting her words together momentarily.
“How?Did they live underground like our parents?”
“I don’t think so.”Kai shook her head.
Morlie’s brows shot up as she glanced at her—shock.
“Their bodies have some genetic make-up that kept them from being affected by nuclear destructive chemicals.”She held up a hand to forestall her sister, asking more questions.“I don’t know fully how it all works.Except they can heal themselves and use their smoke to heal you.”
“Smoke?”That was all Morlie said as she turned back to the people on the ground.Her sister’s features relaxed.“How long have we been here?How long was I in that glass room?”
“A week.”
“How long will Aodh, their leader, let us stay?”
“That’s a little more complicated.”Kai exhaled.
“Is he forcing us to go back beyond the wall?”Morlie clutched Kai’s arm tight.
Kai grabbed her and took hold of her hand.“No.We will never do that again.”She hadn’t known what this world consisted of since the Great Disaster, but she knew it had to be better than how their government forced them to live.
Morlie nodded.“Okay.Do you think they’ll let us stay here?Is it safe?”
“We can stay.As far as I know, it’s safe.”Aodh made her feel protected, like he wouldn’t allow anything to happen to her.Kai moved away from the window and stood before the empty hearth separating the sleeping areas from the small sitting area.She stared at it.She wasn’t cold, but she would have loved a fire to deal with the chilly nerves running through her body as she had to tell her sister what was happening.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Glancing over her shoulder, Kai saw Morlie, who now had a shoulder leaning against the window as she stared at her.“When we left the Wall, I had no clue where to go, how to get you help.When Aodh found us, our truck was close to running out of recycled fuel, and I was trying to hang onto hope.I was desperate.”
Her sister continued to stare at her but remained silent.
Kai licked her lips, glanced at the empty grate, and looked back at Morlie again.“I bartered for your health.For him to save you.”
“Bartered what?”Morlie stood and straightened away from the window.
“The only thing I had left.”She shrugged.“Me.”
A short gasp filled the room as Morlie rushed toward her.“What does that mean?”Her sister grabbed her arms, her golden-brown eyes darkening with fear.“Are you a prisoner in these stone walls?Are we?”
“No, no, no.Nothing like that.”Even though Kai had seen little beyond them and the medical room, she didn’t feel like a prisoner.Even though Aodh had commanded she not leave his suite without him, her thoughts paused for a moment, but she shook her head.“I’m his.”She lifted and dropped a shoulder.
However, she couldn’t ignore the warmth spreading through her core at her small confession.Even though she had said those words to her sister, not Aodh, they still affected her.She could almost feel the big, fierce leader’s cerulean-flamed gaze on her—a claim.Her mind played around with the words he’d said to her before he left.There was so much promise and heat in his touch.Recalling it made her head swim and her sex ache.
“For how long?”Her sister’s question pulled her back to the discussion at hand.
“I’m not—”
Bang.Bang.
