“You know, the place where the Nmen live.”
She blinked her large brown eyes a few times and shook her head. “You can’t go there. It’s forbidden.”
“You’re right, but the council gave me a green light.”
The triangle forming between her brows told how worried she was, but she said nothing.
“Part of our peace treaty with the Nmen requires that we share information about the past. Apparently, they’re in need of an archeologist, so either all their archeologists are working on other projects or they don’t have many to begin with. I don’t know, but I can ask them when I go there next week.”
“Have you lost your mind?” Kya shrieked. “You can’t go to the Northlands. I won’t allow it.”
I sat quietly, allowing her time to digest the news.
“You’ll die!” Kya’s eyes teared up.
“No, I won’t die.”
“Then you’ll end up as some man’s property. That’s almost worse than dying if you ask me.” Kya was crying now and used the hem of her shirt to dry away her tears while shooting me a glance filled with blame.
“I didn’t mean to upset you, Kya, but obviously, I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t trust that the Nmen would keep me safe.”
“Yes, you would. You do crazy things all the time. You don’t think about the consequences, Cina,” she said, using my nickname.
“Hey, it’s going to be all right.” I clapped her hand and tried to suppress my own worried thoughts.Am I making a mistake and just being too thickheaded to realize that Kya is right?
“How are you going to get there?” Kya asked with her tears still running.
“I’ll fly up to the Green Area and take a drone to the border. That’s where I’m meeting my contact person. His name is Boulder.”
“Boulder?” she exclaimed in a high pitch. “What kind of name is Boulder? Why would you go into unknown territory with a dangerous man called Boulder?” She put her plate of fruits aside and moved forward, placing both her hands on my shoulders. “I’m begging you, Cina, don’t do this!”
I was sad to see my best friend so upset, but I wasn’t going to back down now that the council had approved my request. This was the adventure I’d been waiting for, and I had to believe that I would come back unharmed.
“Kya,” I looked deeply into her eyes. “Thank you for caring so much about me. You’re a good friend.”
“So, you’ll stay home?” she asked hopefully.
“I can’t. This is a great opportunity for me. I’m getting the chance to learn more about the Nmen and see a part of the world that has been closed off to us for hundreds of years. Doesn’t that sound exciting?”
“No!” She picked up a tissue and blew her nose. “Maybe if it was someone else going, but there’s nothing exciting in my best friend putting herself in danger.”
“Councilwoman Pearl assured me that I’ll have a personal guard to ensure my safety while I’m in the Northlands. Their ruler isn’t going to let anything happen to me.”
“How doyouknow?”
“Because they know that our council would retaliate with heavy sanctions on their trade business.”
“But how long will you be gone?”
“I’m not sure. Probably a few months.”
“And is this personal guard of yours the man called Boulder?”
“Maybe. Or he’s another archeologist that I’ll be working with. I’m not sure.”
“And if he tries to rape you? What will you do?”
I caressed her hair and cheek. “He’s not going to rape me, Kya.”
