The Primitive King ~ ON HOLD ~

TWENTY

ALVARA

After we'd woken up, Iden called a clan meeting to discuss procedures moving forward. He was tense and much colder than usual. I had to remind myself not to take it personally, I'm not sure how I'd react If I were in his shoes.

"We'll have four men on rotation from now on, constant patrolling needs to become our norm. I won't have another woman taken under my watch gentlemen." His voice turned hoarse, and everyone bowed their head in respect. Nobody dared argue.

"Has anyone seen Jopu?" Iden's voice rang out, and a few glances were exchanged. After a moment a throat was cleared and Shiv, one of the males in the trouple, stepped forward.

"My father is... He'd back on the Bjoi. It's been twenty seasons, but he's worse than I've ever seen...." Iden stiffened and motioned for him to come forward.

"We'll go and see him together now. Everyone else begin training. Bakra, I expect you'll train them harder than ever given their insufficiencies yesterday." His glacial gaze swept out over his clanmates, and there wasn't one face that hadn't been turned down in shame. 

I locked eyes with Iden as he led Shiv away. I got the hint that it was a private moment and decided not to intrude.

I refocused on my training and allowed my mind and emotions to get lost in the sensation of utter physical exhaustion. This was my bliss.

~~~~~

A week had passed since Duna was kidnapped, and every day Iden became more withdrawn. At first, I gave him space... but now it was evident that he was avoiding me.

My heart clenched at the painful realization, and I had to physically shake the thoughts out of my head to clear it. Stubborn males, always lost in their imaginary labyrinth of self-preservation. Not that I was one to talk.

I'd been spending more time with Cuby, Bakra, and surprisingly Shiv. He was the most chatty of the trouple, and though his flirtations fell on deaf ears, he accepted the rejection and was happy to be friends. I made it very clear that Iden was the only male I was interested in. I felt bad for the man, his father had slipped back into an addiction that he'd been sure he'd kicked many years ago.

All four of us were out collecting food for dinner when I stumbled across a large mound of dark brown dirt. It had dozens of holes in it and seemed precariously balanced due to the oblong shape and odd angle.

Bakra appeared beside me and grabbed my shoulders to move me back a couple of feet.

"This is a colony of Gi, a small insect known for their flammable saliva. They eat dirt, and when they poop it out it becomes explosive. They pack it all together into a giant hill and live in it until a predator comes. When something begins digging at the hill, they all send signals to each other to release their saliva at once and the whole thing goes boom. You don't want to get too close to these." His tone was teasing, and I smiled at him enjoying the fact that he was finally opening up.