Chapter 27
Alex squinted at Buosoa uncertainly. “I’m assuming that you aren’t just speaking of wildlife here.”
The female glanced at her from the corner of her eye and sighed.
“If it were a matter of merely wild beasts, you would have far less to worry about. Unfortunately, due to politics within the Aglatha, it is not so simple.” Her gavo flared slightly, her ears flicking in the Seshanamitesh equivalent of a shrug.
Her head shifted as she looked around. “At least Therxian had the sense to hide you here. Even here you should not entirely let your guard down, but it seems far safer than any other place in the shinara.”
Alex studied the female from beneath her lashes.
Although Buosoa was aloof, she was quite talkative.
The opportunity to get information outside of what Therxian filtered to her was too good to pass up.
She understood his struggles and the social issues that affected his species, generally, but she still had no idea why it specifically compromised her safety.
She was no one. Just a non-gratas who got stuck on the wrong side of the desert at a really bad time.
“Therxian has never explained it to my satisfaction, but I really don’t get what any of the conflict has to do with me.
Raza has been on good terms with the shinara, as per our agreement, and we have even been trading successfully.
Other than the little dispute involving Slengral, and several hunters leaving...
by their own free will, I might add... there is no reason at all why a nobody like me would even be worth the time or effort to hunt down. ”
Buosoa turned on her tail to regard her soberly, her wings folded neatly against her back.
With her velkat in hand and visible strength through her torso and tail, she looked both graceful and imposing—an alien type of beauty that made her feel squat, flabby, and weak.
Therxian would look good next to a female of his own kind.
Why did that make her feel so fucking terrible?
“I will put it plainly, human... Alex,” she amended with a hiss of impatience when Alex’s nose wrinkled in distaste at being referred to by her species classification.
“It is not because of your species that you will be hunted should anyone discover your presence here or anywhere else unaccompanied and unguarded. Humans travel unmolested through upper caverns regularly to conduct their work without an issue from the shinara since they have ceased using the defiler.”
Alex frowned in confusion. “Then why?”
The female’s mouth curved in a hard smile as she slithered closer.
Alex stepped back, suddenly nervous of the menace constricting the air.
“Is it not obvious? The miners work together in close teams and never alone, but not a single human male among their number would have anything to worry about. Do you know why? Do you comprehend it after all you have seen and all that you know?”
Alex shook her head mutely.
A hiss of amusement escaped Buosoa. “Perhaps it is not so obvious from your perspective. You do not understand the weight of our heritage. So, I will make it simple for you. The males would not be bothered because it is the females that would be hunted and exterminated on sight by virtue of their gender. It is solely because you are female and Slengral’s Lori proved something that we believed to be impossible...
a female not of Seshana is able to breed with our own males.
It is a threat to the way the shinara is organized and every belief that we dearly hold—that the females of our species are the vessels of survival.
The image of our divine mother, Shangla.
It is this belief that formed the governance of the first shinara and solidified the female’s position of authority.
The council of noble matriarchs will not allow a rival female to potentially strip them of their power.
No human female would be tolerated on Seshana, just as our ancestors hunted and pursued the Uralial females who dared to mingle their blood with ours.
Even now they are not allowed within our territory without certain provisions to ensure that they will never be able to compete against a Seshanamitesh female. ”
“But the Uralial share the same ancestors with the Seshanamitesh,” Alex protested. “I have heard all of this from a hunter within the colony. His mother is Uralial.”
Buosoa’s smile widened, the sharpness shifting into something friendlier.
“You speak of Ehsash. The offspring of a forbidden union. His father hid his mother away to keep her from being slain for unlawful breeding, and he has done the same in his father’s stead since his return to Shangla.
Since he is a male, and one of unusual and highly desirable coloring, the council was willing to overlook it.
Sadly, he is elusive and infertile, from what rumor tells. ”
Alex stared at her, her stomach twisting. She honestly felt a little sick. Hunting rival females wasn’t just a sport of the ancestors of the Seshanamitesh matriarchs; it had merely faded with the lack of opportunity.
“So, when Kitanara rescued me—"
“She has a soft heart. She risked her own skin for you,” Buosoa filled in. “The matriarchs would retaliate if they knew what she had done. To rescue a lone female instead of terminating the threat would have seen our entire family banished from service, and my sister’s life forfeit.”
“Then why bring me here? She could have carried me closer to the shinara and sought out a hunter.”
Buosoa regarded her mirthfully. “Do you imagine that a wily hunter who has intentionally left the authority of the shinara would let a female close to him? For that matter, do you imagine that every hunter on the surface is friendly toward your Raza?”
Alex felt heat rise into her cheeks, suddenly feeling very foolish. “I never thought about it,” she admitted.
“Of course you did not. You are not from this world, but you treat it as if it is an environment that you are familiar with and in which you do not need to take extra precautions to navigate,” Buosoa pointed out.
Her words were a harsh pill to swallow, but her tone was even rather than scornful, which did much to remove some of the sting from her words.
“You are right,” Alex quietly replied. “If I had been lost on the desert sands, I would have gone to the first hunter I saw without thought.”
The female flicked her gavo, her expression shifting to something akin to sympathy.
“Too trusting by far. Na?ve. Maybe you can trust the males who allied themselves with your colony, but you have limited experience. Many hunters are brutish and would capture you merely for their own pleasure to claim as mate for their nest, if they did not decide to just eat you instead. I don’t think you would have enjoyed either possibility.
And among them are many who are loyal to the shinara.
It is how they were reared and molded in the haga.
They would have executed you on sight in the most painful ways possible to please the Matriarchs.
Trusting you to a hunter would have been impossible for Kitanara. ”
Alex’s stomach sank, the reality hitting her hard.
She was in more danger than she ever could have imagined, just because she was female.
Life was hard as a non-gratas but never had she imagined a scenario where she would be hunted and destroyed for her sex.
It wasn’t fair that she had escaped one oppressive system to land on a world where another terrible system was determined to destroy her completely rather than just use her.
She wanted to curl into a blanket and hide away from the entire terrible planet and cry.
Buosoa’s head tipped as she studied her, the expression softening. “Now you see. The truth is not easy. It is ugly. This is why we need Therxian to help us change things.”
“And I am a danger to him,” Alex whispered.
“Yes.” The female didn’t mince words. “Your presence here disrupts everything he has intended to do and will threaten what he seeks to accomplish.
Alex hugged herself, suddenly uncertain of what she should do.
“What now? I don’t know what to do other than be a good little captive down here and pray I am not discovered.
I don’t want anyone hurt when I am sick and tired of being someone’s target.
” She exhaled heavily, a feeling of hopelessness crushing her.
The more Therxian came to her, the more he would potentially endanger himself and everything he was working so hard for.
“I suppose that is why you were sent here. To make sure I remain where I was put and not cause any trouble. On that count, you don’t have anything to worry about.
I would not do anything to jeopardize anyone needlessly.
But you are also here because you think that he should stay away. ”
Buosoa’s tail shifted, uncurling as she adjusted her weight.
“Jathella is of this opinion. Kitanara disagrees, and so our sister does not permit her to come here because she does not believe that our youngest sister will act rationally in the shinara’s best interest. I, however, was undecided.
But now?” Her gavo lifted slightly as she studied Alex.
Her mouth suddenly twisted into a smile.
“I think you may be exactly what Therxian needs. And what our shinara needs is to topple the power of the Council. The system of mother’s right by Shangla was useful for a time, but that time ended long ago when it began to harm us. ”
Alex met the female’s gaze, a spark of hope warming her chest and easing the ache that settled within her. “What do you suggest?”
“We wait, but change nothing. If you care about his well-being, then be Therxian’s strength and the center of peace for him. He will need it,” the female muttered.
Therxian. Right now, he was being paraded before the council to be forcibly paired yet again.
It made her angry, angrier than she had felt before when she had contemplated the council’s plan.
She was angry for everything. For him, for herself, for the lives of the Seshanamitesh manipulated by the power of the Matriarchs.
“Ok,” she muttered. “But I look forward to burning it all to the ground.”
Buosoa’s face lightened with mirth, and she hissed with laughter. “As do I, Alex. As do I.”