Taming the Queen of Beasts

GAR

"I know it's a joke, but I mean it, Gar."

"Believe me. I know that's pure truth."

She watched him for a minute, her eyes on him felt like his mother's and that made him swallow.

"I miss my mate, as well," she said suddenly. "I fear for him. And if I allow myself to think of it… it can make me shaky." She looked down and took a deep breath. "But I cannot help him by being in fear. Or distraction. I know that."

"How do you deal with the not-knowing? I mean, what if she needs me and I'm not there?" Gar blurted.

Suhle gave a pained smile. "You have to accept that you cannot make it right. If it was wrong and you didn't know… it wasn't for you to know. That's what faith is, Gar. It's doing what you know to be right—what you know to be the Creator's truth—no matter how you feel, or how hopeless it looks."

Gar felt like he'd been thrown in a pool of cold water. "I… I hadn't thought about it that way."

Suhle smiled. "You have a good heart, Gar. Not surprising as Reth's son. You will do well. Just don't believe it's all up to you. It's not. It's only up to you to do as the Creator has shown you."

Gar swallowed. "What about you? What has the Creator asked of you?"

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Suhle went quiet and looked down again. "I'm not sure yet. I know I'm here for a purpose—I know I was sent for a purpose. Now… Now I mainly pray that purpose doesn't include losing my mate."

Gar wanted to reach for her, to hug her as he would his own mother, but he wasn't sure it was the right thing to do. Before he could ask her there was a disruption in the milling crowd of Protectors and Guards that were being shown to campsites.

They both turned to find one of the guards from the front, plowing towards Gar, calling for Tarkyn, who appeared at his shoulder just as the male reached them, panting.

"A bird messenger just landed on the plains. He can't walk. They're bringing him. But he said you have to know. They were shot down. He's saying they were shot down."

"Who?" Tarkyn barked.

The Guard's face twisted in grief. "Reth and Elia."

Gar froze as Suhle gasped, "No!"

*****

RIKA

She'd been shown to another tent—this time allowed to walk through the camp with nothing over her eyes, which was a relief. But she was still under guard, and now they'd split her and Reece up. She prayed that she'd given him clear enough instructions and that he remembered them if he got a shot at one of the command devices.

She'd laid down on the cot, staring at the ceiling, trying to fix all the details she'd seen in her mind.

There were vehicles, lots of them. They looked like golf carts with large wheels and pick-up truck beds in the back. They'd brought camels through to carry water and food across the desert. There were tents peppered all over the large circle of sand and dirt where the humans had made their stop, but most of them were the small, three-second-pop tents like she'd been given for when she was foraging. They were small and light and would sleep one or two people. They were temporary housing. Used for camping. Not a base. There were only half a dozen of the larger tents, like the one she'd been led to. Obviously, they'd been hastily erected when the convoy came to a stop.

She'd stopped just before they stepped into this tent and looked around, her stomach sinking. There had to be close to two hundred people. Well over one hundred, anyway. She hadn't been able to see the entire camp.

More than half of them were carrying weapons, though she saw a lot more tasers than she would have expected. Except on the soldiers.

There were so many soldiers. She hadn't expected that. She'd been thinking that this crew would be mainly scientists like her—people who were comfortable surviving and defending themselves, but whose primary focus was on gathering and understanding.

She knew the Anima were bigger, stronger. If it came to hand-to-hand combat, they would win. But these soldiers were trained, disciplined, and focused. It would be far harder for the Protectors to sneak up on them and remove them as a threat than if they'd been scientists.

Her stomach trilled with nerves. She prayed that Gar was patient and didn't try to come after her before she could get the tech down. And she prayed she got a shot at a Command Device. Soon.

There was far too much here—even more technology than she'd anticipated.

She sighed and rolled over on the cot, her eyes drooping closed. She wanted to fight sleep, but she was exhausted, and the truth was, she wasn't going to learn anything while she was stuck in place. So maybe it was better to rest now while she could.

She'd just doze.

Just a quick rest.

*****

"Rika?"

Rika sat bolt upright, heart pounding.

The woman who stood in front of her cot, who'd been leaning down to touch her shoulder, straightened quickly and put her hands up. "Sorry! Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!"

Rika gaped, blinking. "Veronica?" she said, rubbing her eyes and trying to find her bearings.

The woman shushed her, motioning for her to keep her voice down. "Oh, you do remember me! Awesome. I wasn't sure—"

"Of course, I remember you," Rika whispered, though she wasn't sure why. "It's only been a year. What are you doing here? I thought you went to the lab at the other project?"

"I did, I did, but then this opportunity came up and I wanted to see what it was like and I remembered you… Anyway, I'm here. And I volunteered to watch out for you." She looked left and right. "They don't know what we were friends. They think I just know who you are. So… don't say anything, okay?"

"Okay. Sure. But… why?"

Veronica looked back at the tent door, then leaned into her ear and said, "They're suspicious and they're trying to figure out whether to let you know or not."

"What? Why?"

"Because… that guy you brought in, he's Anima, did you know that?"

Rika's mouth dropped open.Â

*****Â

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