THIRTY-SEVEN

- sedona -

"I feel like a decorative display," Renata says with barely concealed disgust as she flicks at the beads looped around her locs.

"I kinda like it to be honest," Xo retorts, smoothing her hands over the leather and fur dress she wears.

Preparation for the Rites went fairly well. Tiqii and the other women pretty much just dropped everything and left, overpowered by the sheer funk in the hut. I won't lie, that sweat smell is still stuck in my nostrils, but it'll be worth it in the end.

"Just pretend you like it and remember to stay girly and weak until I give the signal." We're talking quietly, though no one but Kuvier and Enikk can understand us anyway.

As a part of our plan, Kuvier and I purposely have not seen each other all day. We have to walk a careful line here, and unfortunately, the bias towards him would mess up that tightrope walk.

Finally, Tiqii moves aside the hut's front flap and barely pokes her head in. "Come. It is time."

The flap closes behind her and we all share a look. It's now or never. I lead the line out of the hut, with Amari directly behind me and everyone else following singlefile. There aren't many other people out of their huts and I'm grateful for that. I appreciate the respite from harsh glares and wide-eyed stares.

When we reach the pit, it's mostly empty save for a few stragglers who are setting up small bone drums with ultra thin leather stretched over them. Tiqii points us to eight stones set up in a single line in front of Junq's hut and on the edge of the pit.

"Sit." She doesn't wait for us to follow directions, entering the hut without a backwards glance. We all sit on the hard makeshift seats.

From the corner of my eye I see movement, and when I look I'm relieved that it's Kuvier. Enikk is not with him, though I am not surprised. He must be preparing for Amari's Rite. We didn't include him in the plan, only because if it goes wrong, Kuvier didn't want him implicated.

Kuvier gives me a heated look and mouths our word, Mine . I mouth back, Always . And then the drumming picks up. The beats are heavy and stilted, and like sailors led by sirens, the clan begins to fill in the outskirts of the fighting pit.

My eyes are scanning the crowd, searching for signs that any males have caught the other women's scents. Besides hungry gazes from some and hesitant stares from others, I don't see anyone who looks how Kuvier or Enikk looked the first time they realized they had mates.

I hear movement behind us, and a second later, Junq moves around our place to enter the circle. Let the games begin.

Junq steps into the fighting pit, his presence commanding immediate silence. He stands as tall as he can, his eyes scanning the gathered clan.

"May the Great Mother see you," he intones, his voice carrying over the hushed crowd.

He launches into his monologue, and I feel a mix of anger and anxiety bubbling inside me.

"As your atan," Junq begins, "it is my duty to ensure that everyone in our clan is cared for, that our traditions are upheld, and that fairness prevails."

His words feel hollow to me, especially after what happened yesterday.

"Yesterday's Rite of Challenge left much to be desired," he continues. "Today, the rules have changed. The fights will be conducted by two people at a time. The winner will then face a new challenger until there is only one man left standing."

Of course.

Of course, he would come up with a way to make it harder. If this Rite took place, Enikk would be forced to face challenger after challenger, growing exhausted as each fresh-faced competitor took him on. And he'd have to do it all without Kuvier's help. My eyes find Enikk in the crowd and the hard look on his face tells me he knows this too.

Junq continues his one-man show gesturing and going on some pompous tirade about the importance of customs. It's not until he gets to the end of his speech that I realize he is setting up for my ‘apology.'

"...In light of this, our newest clan member wishes to speak with all of you." He turns to me expectantly. "Female?"

I take a deep steadying breath and send up the first real prayer I've done in years. I don't care who hears it, but hopefully, they do because I need all the luck I can get.

"Let's do this," I say to my girls as I rise to my feet. They follow suit and confusion flashes over Junq's face briefly as he watches us all file towards him. And then we continue straight past him, following the plan and getting closer to the clan.

At that moment, as if my prayer is being heard, a gust of wind blows from behind us, and I see the familiar shift in several faces as soon as our scents hit them. Nostrils flare, pupils dilate, and I notice several males instinctually take a step forward. It's go time.

I launch into my speech, influenced by Kuvier and polished with the help of Xio, my voice carrying over the crowd, "Today, many of you came here with the intention to fight for a chance at a mate. However, this is wrong—"

"Female!" Junq barks. I hear steps behind me, but Kuvier moves and I don't have to look to know that he has stepped in front of Junq, blocking his path to me.

"These Rites are meant to be used when the Great Mother has not already chosen; however, she has chosen. Some of you feel it, the call of your bond, and you know in your hearts that one of the other human women is meant to be with you."

There are angry shouts from some people in the crowd, but I catch sight of many of the males, the ones who stepped forward, listening and watching with bated breath.

"You are not a Lieq! How dare you bring the Great Mother into your treachery?" Tiqii calls, moving from the side of her son, whose eyes are trained on Renata as if he's seeing the world for the first time.

"I am not, and yet, I have more respect for her than you," I retort harshly. "These Rites spit in the face of the gifts she has given. If you have found your mate amongst these women, if her scent calls to you, step forward."

There is deadly silence. Then, Tiqii's son moves around her to the front of the crowd. She gasps and grabs at his arm, but he shakes her off, his eyes never leaving Renata. One by one, four more men step forward. My eyebrows raise briefly in shock when I realize that all but one of us has a mate amongst the Lieq. I gather myself quickly to finish my speech.

"Your atan would have you fight and potentially lose the right to win your female's heart because he cannot stand one of your clansmen," I continue, my voice carrying. "Is that what you want? To potentially lose the right to your mate and be forced to watch her be given to another?"

My words have the intended effect as I hear snarls and growls from the six men who reverently listen to my speech, their eyes locked on each of their fated with devotion.

"This is preposterous!" Junq screams. I cock my head back and see him attempting to lean around Kuvier who stands like a wall between him and us.

None have moved to defend him, everyone watching this showdown with curiosity and intensity. I don't let him get more words in.

"The human women will not participate in these challenges," I declare firmly. "Instead, if your mate is amongst us, we offer you the chance to fight for her heart through care rather than violence. And as for the rest of you, ask yourselves this, is your atan working in favor of you and your Great Mother, or is he enacting revenge for his own perceived wrong-doings?"

There is silence at first and then Viquum says, "Junq is our atan, clansmen. Do not forsake him in the face of these strange creatures who have no respect for our customs."

There are murmurs in the crowd, but when I look at all of the faces, not everyone seems so convinced of Viquum's words. I turn and put a hand on Kuvier's back. He looks over his shoulder at me and then moves aside, allowing Junq to move towards the clan, but he still stands as a barrier between the two of us. Junq walks up to the clan, his eyes on me and hard as flint.

I make eye contact with Renata and she gets it immediately. She steps forward. Kuvit follows her with his eyes.

"I will speak to no man but the one that is my fated mate." She says the words that we practiced with Xo in Lieq, and though they're a bit stilted, they get the point across clearly.

One by one, the other girls step forward, echoing Renata, and I see the panic in the faces of the six who stepped forward for us. They will each have to work to prove their bonds.

"We are human," I announce after staring Junq down daringly, "not Lieq, and therefore, we will not participate in a custom that we do not agree with."

Junq sneers, "This clan is Lieq. If you cannot follow our customs, then maybe you should not be amongst us."

He's playing right into our hands right now, and I almost feel giddy at watching my plan unfold so well. Checkmate.

"Very well." It's Kuvier who speaks this time, his voice booming and controlled. "My mate and her human companions are no longer welcome amongst this clan, and therefore, I am not. We will leave this clan behind."

Junq's face alights with triumph, but the look is gone almost as quickly as it appeared when our final piece falls into place. Kuvier told me that surviving the dark season with only him and Enikk would be nearly impossible. But, surviving it with others? That we can do.

"I will follow my mate." Enikk steps forward, coming to stand in front of Amari. "I renounce my place amongst my clan."

There is a beat of quiet, and then once again, Kuvit is the first to step forward. "I renounce my place amongst my clan."

A loud wail sounds from behind him, but he does not turn to look as his mother throws herself to the ground in sorrow. His announcement starts a chain and one by one the other men step forward. Each of them has the same general phenotypic makeup, the strange mix of goat, lion, and humanoid, but their colorings and sizes range. Yet, they all have the same look of awe and determination as they leave their home behind to follow their hearts.

What shocks everyone, including me, is when Vierqa, Kuvier's mother, steps forward and declares in a shaky but loud voice. "I will not be without my son. I renounce my place amongst my clan."

She moves to stand beside him, clutching at his hand tightly, a mix of fear and resolution on her face. Kuvier is shocked, but he holds onto his mother's hand with one of his while keeping his other arm around me. Her words fall like a boulder in a pond and suddenly, more women, children, and men are stepping forward, following their sons and brothers on a path no one expected.

By the time everyone has stepped forward, we have added seventeen Lieq, including the six new males, to our group. Junq stares on with stony fury, his teeth clenched so hard I can see the muscles flexing in his temple.

"So be it," he says coldly, addressing us all. "You are all exiled from our clan. You may not speak with us or rely on us. By the time the final eye is left in the sky, you must all take your things and be gone from this place. Do not come back when you realize that you cannot survive the dark season alone. There is no longer a place for you here."