It had been a week since the Sky People had attacked the first village. Since then, four more had been torched, each one a grim reminder that they would stop at nothing to hunt down Jake.
At that moment, Jake and I sat cross-legged on the floor of Ronal's hut, his arm wrapped in a makeshift sling. He'd gotten a nasty cut from the reef during our last hunt, and Ronal was carefully mixing a thick, earthy paste to dress the wound. Her hands moved with precise efficiency as Jake hissed at the sting, but she didn't flinch. I watched him clench his teeth, my ears flicking nervously, my heart clenching alongside his.
When she finally stepped back, her piercing gaze found me. "You are mated," she said, the statement both declarative and knowing.
I froze. "You knew?"
"I could sense it. Who?"
I smiled shyly, bowing my head before looking back up at her. My fingers remained intertwined with Jake's, a subtle but telling sign. Her eyes flicked between our hands and me, and a faint, approving smile tugged at her lips. "The match is good."
I exhaled a silent prayer of thanks to Eywa. Ronal's approval was no small thing; she was a force, formidable and unwavering, and her quiet affirmation felt like a shield.
But that moment of calm shattered. Ronal fell to her knees, clutching at her chest and belly, a sharp cry tearing from her throat. I rushed to her side while Jake sprang to his feet. "Jake, we need Tonowari!"
Ronal's breaths were shallow, her hands trembling. "Where... is it in pain?" I asked, focusing on her, hoping against hope it wasn't her baby.
"Up here... like I'm being stabbed."
Within seconds, Tonowari arrived, and together we followed Ronal out of the hut, diving into the water and summoning a Tsurak. None of us knew where the Tulkun might be, but Ronal led the way, her movements urgent and purposeful.
We soon spotted a pod circling a motionless figure. Birds wheeled overhead, squawking warnings. Ronal slipped from her Tsurak and swam swiftly toward Ro'a. My stomach clenched as I saw her floating dead in the water, her massive body supported by orange flotation devices under her fins. Next to her, her newborn lay helpless, unable to survive without its mother.
Ronal hovered above Ro'a, tears streaming freely, moans of grief escaping her throat. The pain radiated from her in waves, and I couldn't help but feel it too.
"Her name... is Ro'a," Ronal murmured to us, Jake sat tensely beside me, taking in the scene. "She was my spirit sister... a composer of songs. Revered by all. She waited many breeding cycles to have this calf. The clan rejoiced for her."
Ronal's anguish escalated, her voice cracking as she screamed, "What is this, Tonowari? What is this?!" Her grief at the loss of her spirit sister—and her child—at the hands of the Sky People was almost unbearable to witness.
Tears streamed down my own face as we approached the other side of the body, and there it was: a massive red spike embedded in Ro'a's back. Jake and I exchanged a determined glance and, together, heaving with all our strength, we pulled it free.
Jake turned the incessant beeping device attached to it off, its signal undoubtedly designed to track the Tulkun and their pod. We rejoined Tonowari and Ronal, sharing the grim discovery. Ronal's cries grew louder, her grief raw and unrestrained.
Back at the village, we called the community to attention. I stood just behind Jake, who positioned himself in front of Tonowari and Ronal. "My spirit sister—and her child—have been murdered by the Sky People!" The words cut through the crowd like fire, and cries of shock and outrage echoed back at us: yips, hisses, and wretched laments filled the air.
"This war... it has come to us," Tonowari shouted, and I could feel my own anger coiling inside me. "We knew about the Sky People hunting our Tulkun, but it was over the horizon—far away. Now... now it is here!"
The warriors seethed, ready to fight, but Jake's calm, gravelly voice rose over the chaos. "No! You have to understand how they think. The Sky People... they don't care about balance. They don't care about life."
"We do not answer to Sky People!" one warrior barked, echoing the sentiment of the enraged crowd.
"Listen to him," Neteyam urged from beside me, gripping the tracker we had removed from Ro'a. "The Sky People will not stop. This is only the beginning. You must tell your Tulkun to leave... to go far away."
The crowd's outrage swelled. "Leave? You live among us, and learn nothing!" Ronal's voice cracked. "We will fight to protect our brothers and sisters!"
"No!" I yelled, heart hammering. "If you attack, they will destroy you. They will destroy everything you love!" I gestured toward Ronal, her swollen belly trembling. "Do you hear me?"
Neteyam struggled to calm the warriors. "Stay calm! Stay calm! Listen to my father!"
Jake stepped forward, taking the tracker from Neteyam. He climbed onto the mat beside Tonowari and Ronal, holding the device aloft. The room fell silent at the sight of him.
"You tell the Tulkun: if they are struck by one of these, they are marked for death. Call for me—I will silence it. Saving their lives... that is what matters. Saving your family. Right?" He looked at me, the weight of his words settling over the crowd.
Tonowari and Ronal nodded. "Tell the Tulkun."
"Go," Jake commanded.
