"Hold on, we still need to discuss what to do." Sloane stopped him, and with a groan, he sat back down, pulling Zoe onto his lap.
We all knew what Sloane meant.
Nock was about to leave with Daisy in tow, but Sloane called him back. "Wait, you and Tucker get a vote in this, too. You might not be Darlams, but without you, we wouldn't have been able to find them or this planet."
Appreciative grunts followed. She was right. Both Nock and Tucker deserved a vote in this.
"I told you when I assumed command that important decisions would be up to all of us, that we are a democracy. Now that we have had some time to think about it, I need to know your votes on waking the others."
"Wait," Hannah rose from her seat. She looked paler than normal. "I need to say something first."
Tharaax placed an encouraging palm on her shoulder. "Zapharos didn't return all my memories, just what I needed to see. In my vision, the group of Arkhevari that landed on Darlam was made up of fifty couples. A ship dropped them off and left. They didn't bring any technologically advanced things with them, nor did they share their knowledge with the Darlams. They sought out different towns and simply lived with them. Over time, their children grew and mated with Darlams; some bore the Soulglyph webs, others didn't. But the ones who did were revered over all others.
"From that, a priesthood grew, and several generations later, I became a part of it. And… this is so hard," Hannah twisted her hands.
"Keep going, sweetie, you're doing fine," Zoe encouraged.
Hannah smiled gratefully at her. "I didn't know any better. I swear I didn't."
"It's okay. You don't have to do this," Luph said, rising and wrapping her arms around her.
"No, I do. I really do. Like I said, I didn't know any better, but I was part of the priesthood that preached about Soulweb Glyphs. I was one of the ones who believed with all my heart that everybody was destined to find their Soulweb Mate, that no other love was acceptable." Hannah swallowed, and her tears threatened to spill over. "I was part of the group that made people run to Shade's Vale."
"You didn't know any better," Sloane said in her no-nonsense voice. "And now you can change things."
"I want to, so very much." Hannah nodded.
I cleared my throat, "Hannah, if I've learned one thing through all this, it's that none of these things happened by accident. It was always fate that dictated our path. Always. You had your beliefs, and so did we. We all believed the same. People made their own choices. Do I think it was terrible that Darlams had to choose like this and move to Shade's Vale? Absolutely. But you know what? If it wasn't for Shade's Vale, hardly any of us would be left."
I paused. I had never spoken like this before, and I didn't like that everybody was staring at me, but Alice was holding my hand, and that was enough. "We counted twenty-eight Darlams the other day, but I think there are more of them, a lot more, because a group of twenty-eight can't sustain a village or thrive as a population. That they are there is a miracle. Their ancestors would have been killed or captured like all of us had they lived out in the open."
Hannah's glassy eyes met mine. "Do you really think so?"
"Yes," I nodded. I did.
"Thank you," Hannah said, and by her expression, it was easy to see that she wasn't just saying it; she meant it. A slight smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
I shook my head, "I wasn't saying it to make you feel better. These are facts, and?—"
It was my turn to get elbowed by Alice. "Stop while you're ahead," she cautioned, and light laughter erupted from our group.
"Alright, anything else?" Sloane asked.
"Yeah," I surprised everyone, "I want to say that having learned all this, I vote to wake the others up. I don’t feel right making a decision like this for others; it makes me feel like one of the Ohrurs, but we are left to sort out their mess, and I think every Darlam has a right to forge their path. Allowing them to keep sleeping… for however long? What, until we find enough human females who wethinkmight be their mates?" I shook my head. "Again, that makes me feel like we are taking their lives away just like the Ohrurs did."
"Damn straight, brother," Zaarek nodded. "I vote to wake them too."
The vote was unanimous, and we decided to figure out how to proceed the following day.
"I'm proud of you," Alice said on the way to our quarters.
"I'm proud of you, too," I told her, pulling her into my arms. "You are the most amazing female I've ever met."
She tried to laugh it off. "I don't know about that. There are some pretty amazing women aboard this ship."
"None as amazing as you," I reiterated and pushed her against the wall to look her in the eyes so that she would see the truth.
"You're pretty amazing yourself." She smiled.
