Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Find him,” Kaias growled out.
His advisor bowed low. “We will do our best to find Lord Auryn, my Lord. But his concerns aren’t just his own. There are whispers of others who agree. Especially now that you’ve brought one of them to your bed.”
Kaias glared at the man. The older man looked back, unfazed by the stare. Out of all of the members of his father’s cabinet, the Secretary of Defense was the only one still alive. Kaias valued his opinions and steady connection with the army.
“And where does your loyalty lie?” Kaias asked slowly. “Do you believe Lord Auryn’s words?”
“I believe humans are multi-faceted, as all of Koureshtka’s children.” The Secretary said, wisely. “But, you must understand that what you’ve done is a shock to our people.”
“It is a shock to the men who want to bribe for a position with their daughter’s pussies,” Kaias commented, “there was no witchcraft in the Heart Binding. The High Sister performed it in Koureshtka’s Tomb.
Not only do I still stand here, but I am invigorated with a new energy only the goddess could bestow.
Olivia is the right choice, and I would choose her again. ”
“You sound like a lovesick child.”
“I’m not lovesick.” Kaias rolled his eyes. “Did you know there are ant hills of humans?”
“Do they live in the ground?” The Secretary asked in confusion.
“No,” Kaias shook his head. He rubbed his forehead in frustration. “I am told there are billions of humans on Earth.”
“What are billions?”
“A number only insects have succeeded in procuring.”
The Secretary blinked at his explanation. Kaias could see the man working through his own thoughts. His eyes widened at the realization Kaias had when learning that detail.
“Their numbers are astonishing,” the man gasped in awe. “If something were to happen to them…”
Kaias nodded emphatically. “If something were to happen to them, their world would come for blood.”
“You Heart Binded with her as a political move.”
“Now you understand,” Kaias walked through his office, looking out into the city from his window.
He could see the temple, welcoming strangers into its marbled chambers.
The ugly, metallic pods in which the humans lived shone in the sunlight, causing him to squint.
Smoke billowed out from chimneys as taverns fed their patrons and mothers readied their kitchens for their families.
The sound of the market echoed through the streets. Wares and food in exchange for coins.
The city was filled with his people, and beyond the stone walls, the fields of farmers and woodcutters. There are forests filled with hunters and foragers. Each one of those people was his to protect, and none of them equated to a drop in how many humans stood on Earth.
“It is a good thing they are delicate creatures.” The Secretary commented, following the same mental path that Kaias had taken the day before.
Kaias turned to the man and shook his head. “They have weapons.”
“But I haven’t seen any swords.”
“No, their weapons are more advanced.” Kaias explained, “I do not know what they look like or do, but I plan to learn more. Olivia will discuss it with me. We need to keep our relationship with humans as peaceful as possible. Auryn’s ideas will have all of us killed.”
Kaias sighed. “Not just me.”
The Secretary let out a sigh of defeat and slumped into a chair.
He looked out at the city, his eyes wandering, as he tried to find something to say.
Kaias sighed and walked to his desk. When Auryn left the feast before the binding, he never expected his cousin to make a blatant display of rebellion.
The decision to Heart Bind with Olivia solidified his relationship with his cousin. They were enemies.
Auryn knew close to every secret in the kingdom. He knew every one of Kaias’s weaknesses. But Kaias knew the same. Except for how many Auryn had been recruiting since the humans arrived, or where they were. It was a position Kaias was uncomfortable with.
“What is the plan?” The Secretary asked.
Kaias looked at the man and nodded slowly.
“I’ve already started it with the Heart Binding.
I fit perfectly inside Olivia, and I believe that means we can mate properly.
How the children would look is something to learn later, but we are similar enough that if more humans arrived, we would keep living. ”
The Secretary nodded slowly. “And their weapons?”
“We learn from them just as they are learning from us,” Kaias explained. “I do not want to lose our culture, and I know Olivia and Eun-Ji believe the same. Bri-ahn, I want people watching him. He wants something from us.”
“He does feel like a politician.” The Secretary commented.
Kaias snorted. “I guess they are the plague of the stars. No planet is without them.”
The Secretary laughed. He shook his head. “Your father was like that.”
Kaias stiffened. His father was awful. The man pitted his children against each other, watching the bloodshed and encouraging each one to keep pursuing the power.
Kaias would have preferred living on his own, away from the struggles, but his brothers didn’t allow that.
Each one died by his hands, and he made sure the act was bloodier than the last.
He knew his father was laughing at him from the Abyss, waiting to see if Auryn would do what his brothers could not.
“I am going to the temple,” Kaias stood up and walked to the door. “When you find Auryn, take him down. I don’t want him or the rebellion to continue to grow. They’ve done enough of that already.”
“We already know where they would attack when they’re ready. Why not just wait?”
“It is a sin to destroy the temple,” Kaias sighed, “and if we don’t do what we can to save it before it comes to that, that sin would be mine. I will not allow that. Find him and kill him. Send a small group of guards to watch over the humans, as well.”
“What are you going to do at the temple?”
“I have to learn a language and see my wife.” Kaias left the room and walked down the hall. He ordered his servants as he walked.
Olivia was waiting for him.