Chapter 30

Axon

All this time, I'd grown up believing that my people had suddenly appeared on this planet as a part of the goddess's will, that we arrived here through some miracle, but that never actually happened.

I felt tricked, played like a fool. Did my parents know about this? How many generations have lived and died not knowing the truth? And all for what? To keep us from discovering this technology?

This ship was of no more interest to me than the human's ship. I did not care for this technology any more than I cared for a noisy leak in the ceiling on a rainy night.

"I'm so sorry, Axon," Ashley put her hand over my clenched fist. I hadn't even realized I'd tensed up so much.

I looked at her hand over mine. The human's arrival changed our dekes in the most wonderful ways. Change was not to be feared, not if it could lead to good things, not if it could make our lives easier.

"We have to tell the others," I declared. "I will not perpetuate this lie. "

"You may do what you wish in your dekes. I will not stop you. But if you try to tell the main dekes the truth about this place, I can assure you, Kahina will do everything in her power to silence you."

"Why?" Ashley asked.

Holey looked down at her feet and furrowed her brows. "After her mate died, she threw herself into her work. She became obsessive about her mission to keep this place a secret. She brought me here often so I could watch the recordings of our ancestors and hear their pleas to keep this place hidden. I think she sees her mission as the last bit of control she has left. Her mate is dead and Dameron is nearly impossible to keep in line, so this," Holey gestured widely to our surroundings. "This is all she has left."

She leveled us with a piercing stare. "If you try to take this secret from her, she will make you regret it. Again, I will not stop you. I am just warning you of what is to come."

I nodded my head in understanding. Telling my own dekes about this place will be a good start, and together we will decide what to do next.

I spun my chair back around to face the screen and tapped the buttons in the same order I'd seen Holey do. A recording of Kahina herself appeared on the screen.

"That's strange. I haven't seen any of her recordings." Holey stared at the screen as Kahina started to speak.

"There's something happening to our sietlings. They are being born with strange abilities," The priestess began. She was so young when she recorded this.

"One was born last night with four arms instead of two. His parents wouldn't let anyone see him but me. I told them to go, leave the valley. If Dameron saw the child he would surely have it killed. He is so small minded that he cannot stand even the smallest bit of change. His mate is pregnant with their first child, and I fear for her. I fear what might happen if the child is born differently like the others have been. There have been small differences, but there are enough of them that it doesn't seem like a coincidence anymore. One was born with milky eyes,"

My breath stopped in my lungs. Me, she was referring to me.

"He is sensitive to every little sound and wails loudly while covering his ears when too many people speak at once. But, I've also noticed that he can hear a predator approaching from a great distance away as well. This gift could be used for the betterment of our dekes, but I doubt Dameron would see it that way," Kahina sighed. "Dameron only sees what he wants to see, a child who is different, a child to be feared."

I had no idea about any of this. My parents didn't speak of my childhood often. I also do not remember a family leaving the dekes. They must have followed Kahina's advice.

"Another speaks to the trees, it is gibberish, the mere mumblings of a baby, and yet I swear they bend down to listen to him, and finally there is Lumod, the first sietling to be born in this sun cycle. From the moment he learned to crawl, he has sought out the river as if it were calling his name. I plucked him out of the stream myself as his sire ran to grab him before he drowned and I was shocked to see his fingers had become webbed in the water.

I see these differences as a blessing, and I will do what I can to keep this new generation safe, but I fear Dameron will do all he can to snuff their young lives out if they are discovered. Goddess above, I pray his child is born without any of these strange gifts."

The screen faded to black and my heart sank at her words. From what Brexl and Drovo said of their conversation with the priestess, Kahina had done all she could to keep us safe. She was the one to convince Dameron to let us go into exile instead of killing us outright.

My heart also sank at the knowledge that the Savrix's child was in fact born with a strange gift, as the priestess had called it. He was in our dekes now. His mother had been very protective of him up until her death and Dameron had very little to do with him. I wonder if he knew even then and chose to keep his distance.

"I think it's time for us to go home." I squeezed Ashley's hand and she folded me into a tight embrace.

"I think that's a good idea."

"I need to head back too," Holey said as she made her way toward the exit .

"Do you need an escort?" I offered.

"No, I've walked this trail many times on my own, and with winter approaching, there are far fewer animals to watch out for."

I nodded and wished the acolyte farewell.

Ashley and I headed back through the crumbling village to the tunnel that led to my moon cave. Her hand in mine gave me the comfort I needed to sort through my torrent of emotions.

I felt as if my world had been turned upside down. How do you recover from a lie so big, so foundational to your life, your history?

"How are you feeling?" Ashley asked.

"I feel... I feel as if a part of my history that kept me tethered to the ground has been severed and now I'm floating like a leaf in the wind desperate to reach the ground again."

"You just have to take it one day at a time. The more comfortable you get with this new reality, the more tethered you'll become. It just takes time."

I gave my mate a kiss on the cheek as a thank you. I was confident I could face it alone, but I knew it'd be easier with Ashley by my side.

I did worry, however, how the others in our dekes would take this news. I think for some it will not make a difference, but for others, Tarak, for example, might question how we should do things differently moving forward. My parents may want to speak to the priestess themselves and to gain her opinion, but also to question why she kept this hidden from us .

Once we get back, we'll reveal this truth to everyone. Everyone will have a chance to make the choices that suit them best.

Ashley and I restocked our supplies and continued our journey home. It was a long walk, but we'd be back before the evening meal was served.