Epilogue

Traze sat at the head of the table with Veda by his side. As Najol and some of the other warriors and seers walked into the room, they gave Veda a curious look. They were not used to anyone leading these meetings other than Traze.

Well, they will have to get used to it,Traze thought. From this point forward, Veda was going to be at each and every meeting. Traze had already come to the realization that he could not lead without her. His greatest achievements as a warlord were only because of her. She needed to be by his side.

Najol asked about it first.

"Will your kode be staying for this meeting?" he questioned.

"Yes." Traze looked down at Veda, who seemed uneasy.

She had been a little worried about Traze's insistence that she now attend all warlord meetings with him. She thought the other Aterans might not appreciate this and could resent her for being there. She brought up Aldohr and how much he disliked her in the beginning. She did not want to bring that same resentment on from other Aterans.

But then Traze reminded her that she'd won over even Aldohr, and if anyone was to be resentful, she would win them over too. She was meant to be here, meant to lead with Traze. It was the will of Eana.

Traze knew Veda still did not exactly believe in Eana. He had accepted this, but he thought one day, she would see that of course the Goddess Eana brought her to Atera. Events like her arrival did not just happen. Everything had fallen into place so beautifully. It had to be fate that she was here.

Traze continued, "Veda will be at all our meetings from now on. Her role in this community is vital. She will be by my side, leading the Aterans of the Living Sands every step of the way. If not for her, we would not have replenished the healing sands. Does anyone object to her presence?"

Everyone in the room shook their heads, with one of the seers speaking up.

"Because of your kode, we now have a much more convenient way of delivering the healing sands. Now that healing sands are once again full, we will be able to increase our trade and heal people at unprecedented rates. I will follow your kode forever for this reason. She has changed the Living Sands forever."

Traze looked down at Veda who was now blushing and smiling. Traze hoped this put Veda at ease and that she no longer doubted her ability to lead.

"Thank you. I have gotten so much out of my time here at the Living Sands, and I only hope I can continue to give back to your community," Veda responded.

Traze put a gentle hand on her back, rubbing her softly.

"We are forever in debt to Veda here at the Living Sands, and I am so grateful to be able to call her my kode."

Another warrior spoke up.

"I do agree that she is a hero, but I am confused about how she was able to fix or problems. What was causing the healing sands to be depleted?"

"That is what I have called you all here to discuss," Traze continued. "Veda suspected that the healing sands were being interrupted by an underhanded Ateran. Unfortunately, she was correct in this. She discovered what she calls dams. These structures impede the flow of liquid. Apparently, Aterans from the Frozen Sands have created these structures in order to steal our healing sands for their own use."

Murmurs erupted across the room. Everyone was appalled and upset.

"How could they take Eana's gift to us this way?" Najol asked. "The healing sands are property of the Living Sands. We all know this. It is not for the Frozen Sands to take."

A wave of agreement rippled from everyone in the room.

"Yes, it is not their property, and we will make sure they never steal it again," Traze announced.

"Because we will now be at war with them?" Najol asked eagerly, clearly out for blood.

But Traze looked down at Veda who bit her lip. She didn't like the sound of this. She didn't want a war.

And Traze had promised there wouldn't be one.

He understood Najol's anger. He had felt that anger too at first. He had wished for the Frozen Sands' blood.

Veda had talked him out of that, though. She reminded him of his promise of nonviolence to her. She had insisted they would find smarter ways of dealing with the Aterans of the Frozen Sands.

"No, we will not be going to war. We will only negotiate with the Frozen Sands," Traze announced.

Many of his warriors looked angry and grumbled but only Najol spoke up.

"Negotiate with them? They have stolen from us. They do not deserve our kindness or our negotiations."

Other warriors murmured their agreement, but Traze put his foot down.

"That may very well be true… But this is not about what they deserve. We will negotiate because it's better for us."

"How?" Najol questioned.

"How many of us have kodes? How many of us have families? Every time we declare war, we risk our lives and theirs. Even if we go to war on Frozen Sands land, where our families are presumably safe, we may never come home. Can you imagine your kode having to live without you? What pain that would bring?" Traze looked down at Veda. "I cannot imagine it. And I will not do that to my kode. So we will negotiate with the Frozen Sands, end of story. It may not be what they deserve, but it is what our kodes deserve."

Traze had definitely convinced them. Every man in that room with a kode could understand where Traze was coming from. They quickly accepted his verdict.

"We will soon plan a trip to negotiate with the warlord of the Frozen Sands, but until then, I want you to all go be with your loved ones. Treasure them tonight and every day as I will with my kode. From this point forward, the Living Sands will be as peaceful as we possibly can. We will not fight but to defend ourselves. Enjoy what that peace brings to your lives."

Many smiled and nodded as they left the room, Najol as well.

When they were gone, Veda stood up and wrapped her arms around Traze.

"I'm really so proud of you. You don't know how amazing what you just did is."

"Well, I would not be doing it if not for you." Traze kissed her on the head.

And this was very true. Everything Traze now thought made him a good warlord was an idea that Veda had given him. Every day she improved him, and every day, he vowed to give her all she desired because of it.

"And do you see how they like you?" Traze asked her. "You will always be a hero of the Living Sands. We will never again be low on objects to trade now that we know of the healing sands injections. We will never be ill. We will never injured. That is thanks to you."

Veda hugged him tightly. "I just hope I can live up to their expectations of me."

"But, Veda, you already have."

Just then, they heard a knock on the door. Traze turned to find a seer standing there. Aldohr.

"Yes?" Traze asked.

"I wanted to inform you that the seers have created several experiments to test whether or not humans can create children with Aterans. They have made it their top priority. I suspect with the current plan in place, we will have a way for you to conceive children within the year."

"Within the year?" Veda gasped and then looked up at Traze with a grin on her face. "My love, we could be on our way to becoming parents within the year?"

"That is what it seems, my kode." He turned to Aldohr. "Thank you, I appreciate this message."

"Thank you so much, Aldohr," Veda chimed in. "You have no idea what this means to me."

Aldohr smiled at hearing Veda's praise. It was hard for Traze to imagine a time when they ever did not get along.

Aldohr left them, and with the privacy, Veda began to cry a little as she kissed Traze's cheek.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," she muttered.

"For what?" Traze asked.

"For loving me unconditionally. For giving me everything I could possibly want. For being the future father to my children. Truly, with every piece of my heart, I thank you."

Traze hugged her in return. "No need to thank me. You are the gift from Eana, my kode. You will always be my gift."

Thank you SO much for reading "Living Sands"! I hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing every word. It would be totally awesomesauce if you'd leave a review for this book at your preferred retailer as reviews are an easy and FREE way to support your favorite authors.