"On it," she agreed.
"No, wait," Zaarek cautioned. "They look like they've already been spooked. If Noodar comes back, they'll run and probably never come back. Let's just walk down there and see if we can make contact."
"And that's why you were the primarch," I said, smirking. It wasn't meant just as a joke. Zaarek had always been more considerate of situations than I had been.
"Excellent suggestion," Sloane agreed. "But be careful."
"Yes, Commander." Zaarek grinned at me.
"Absolutely, Commander." I grinned right back at Zaarek.
"Assholes," Sloane cursed, but I could hear the smirk in her voice.
ALICE
This was officially turninginto the longest day of my life. How could so much happen in the span of just a few hours? I mean, I was glad we were finally finding answers to all our questions, but it was starting to feel like a tsunami. It didn't help that we were cooped up on the bridge while themenfolktraipsed around Darlam.
We had several screens up. Some showed us drone footage from surveillance cameras Noodar and Tharaax had launched while flying over the planet. On another screen, we watched Xyrek and Zaarek make their way down a mountain, followed by another drone.
Each man had one pointed at him, but right now, the one that was supposed to be shadowing Zaarek was pointed at the Darlams on the other side of the river. My heart stuttered in my chest when I watched this group of twenty-eight people—we counted. The men cast nets into the river to catch fish while the women and children sat down and washed their clothes.
The women and children were dressed in colorful, carefully tailored clothing, reminding me of medieval times, while the men wore leather pants. Most were shirtless, but some kept their chests covered.
"Can we get a closer look at that one?" I asked, pointing at one of the men with a shirt.
"Oh, he's a looker," Nova said.
"You know we can hear you?" Zaarek's annoyed growl came from the other end of the comm.
"Oh, keep your pants on," Nova purred, her Southern accent thickening in amusement. "There’s only one man for me, and you know it, sugar."
"What are you looking for?" Sloane asked, adjusting the camera and zooming it in.
"Can you get his arm?" I squinted my eyes. "There! See it?"
Sure enough, black lines stood out. "Now that one," I pointed at another shirt wearer. His markings were clearly visible as well. After a few minutes, it was clear that all the men who wore shirts had mating marks.
"Now the women," Sloane demanded, already adjusting the camera.
All of them wore shirts, some with longer sleeves than others, but there didn't seem to be a pattern as to why. Three of them bore mating marks, just like three of the men.
"What does that mean?" Zoe asked.
"I'm not sure," I replied. I wasn't sure it meant anything. But seeing surviving Darlams was a miracle all on its own.
"Who do we think they are?" Sloane asked, her voice steady, calculating.
"I think they’re the descendants of Shade’s Vale," Xyrek answered over the comm in a rough voice, which appeared to be mirroring his emotions. He had surely been through the wringer today, and I wished I could be there with him. For him.
"Shade’s Vale?" Zoe echoed, frowning. "That sounds like something out of a fantasy romance novel."
"It was named after the Shadebound," Xyrek explained. "Single Darlams who never found their Soulweb bond."
"Wait," Tucker leaned forward, brow furrowing. "You mean they were exiled? For not mating?"
"Not exiled," Xyrek corrected. "But they weren’t welcomed, either. They left. Created their own community."
"That’s insane," Luph muttered. "Not everyone finds their fated mate. Why would they be punished for something they couldn’t control?"
