CHAPTER 25 #2
I tucked my hands beneath my head, nodding.
“I think so, too. I’ve always found it odd how so very few are tested.
” If even joining the army made it possible to a meagre ten percent.
“If some skills are considered valuable, why not test broader samples of the population? It would strengthen the community as a whole.”
He arched an eyebrow, leaning in slightly to meet my gaze. “And who do you suggest pays for the sap and resources used for those tests?”
“Whoever needs the people with those abilities.” I shrugged. “The army, for stronger units, the government, if it’s for roles in their departments, or businesses if they do.”
“And smaller businesses?”
My brow creased. “I guess they should ask for help from the government if they can justify needing more sapped people and don’t have the resources to get them.”
Zephyr chuckled dryly. “That’d only work if the government’s resources were endless, Lachlan. As it is, there’s only so much they can invest in inking sap, and what they can afford, they use it on their terms for their own institutions and divisions.”
I thought about it for a second. “I guess. I’ve just always thought that things would be better for the majority if it wasn’t such an exclusive resource.”
“Well done. You’ve just identified the root of every civilization’s growing pains: limited resources, and who gets to claim them. Throughout history, anything rare with the ability to change lives became a tool for dividing people. Those who can afford it, and those who don’t.”
He leaned back, shifting his long legs and getting them into the roll before mirroring my position.
Warmth fluttered low in my belly. I hadn’t accounted for how close we would be, even on our sides. How small the gap between our bodies in the cramped crevice. Should I take too deep a breath, my breasts would brush against his chest—
Do not go there, Davina.
“I get that,” I said, dragging my focus back to the conversation rather than the heat I felt seeping from Zephyr’s body.
“I just think that something that has become so intrinsically necessary for humanity to live and evolve should not be tied to wealth.” My mind flashed to Ludwig’s lavish studio in The Paragon, all shining floors and endless resources.
“Luxury exists for that purpose. Gold, gems . . . but in the same way that knowledge and education are accessible to everyone, I think sap should be too.”
“There’s a flaw in that thinking, and it’s how scarce sap is in comparison to paper and ink.”
“Obviously,” I said, pushing up slightly on my elbow to meet his gaze.
“What I’m saying is that what sap is available should be spread in a more .
. . egalitarian way. Who knows? Keeping it within the same circles might actually be limiting how many people can access certain abilities.
I’m not a scientist, but I’ve heard changes in genetics and mutations happen in the strangest of environments, so taking from the same sample might be the very thing that’s limiting the commonness of rarer skills.
Perhaps even from the discovery of many others that are still unheard of. ”
He didn’t speak as he watched me with squinted eyes.
I had no idea what had possessed me to start down this road with the Kobrant captain, of all people, but the words were flowing from my mouth faster than my brain was able to catch up with the implications, so there was that.
Perhaps these thoughts had just weighed on my conscience for too long, doomed to escape at the first chance they got.
And maybe, just maybe, the way Zephyr was listening pushed me to keep going.
“Take me as an example. I didn’t come from wealth. Hell, there was barely any sap where I grew up.” The Hook was fairly insulated, a forgotten peninsula on Widesight’s far eastern coast.
I closed my eyes, letting the memory wash through me.
The familiar ache of nostalgia thickened something in my throat and I let my head fall back, blinking slowly.
In truth, there were Evergreen Mahogany trees in The Hook, but whatever sap they produced flowed away from The Hook, and into the Republic’s capital.
“Yet, when I was orphaned and brought to The Paragon.” Zephyr’s eyes flashed with surprise, and I barreled on before it had the chance to become the pity I was all too familiar with.
“It turned out I could sustain one of the rarest abilities. Shouldn’t that be the first evidence for how keeping the sap limited to certain circles might be what is hindering the discovery and expansion of abilities? ”
Zephyr’s expression shifted. His voice low and sharp. In warning. “Those are quite seditious words you’re speaking, Lachlan.”
Every muscle in my body tensed, pain spearing through my exhausted thighs at the sudden jolt. I wasn’t surprised to see the shadow of a frown clouding his eyes, I had gone too far.
My own brow furrowed. “I wasn’t saying it should be done through rebellion, Kentar.
” I was satisfied to see the flicker of anger spark in his gaze.
“And I’m no damned Sapless, if that’s what you’re implying.
” I’d rather die than stain my mother’s memory like that.
“I merely believe in the value of knowledge over that of wealth, or weapons, or power.”
Zephyr pushed up onto his elbow, eyes gleaming. One large hand rose between us. “Slow down, menace. I wasn’t implying anything. Merely pointing out that what you were saying is not that different from what some of the damned Sapless preach, so be careful.”
If only he knew.
His hand fell between us, fingers curled into a loose fist. There was barely an inch between his skin and my chest, and I cursed the heat that pulsed in my core at the realization.
I scowled. “It’s not a crime to think outside the box.”
A slow, knowing smirk spread across his face. “I know.”
My frown deepened, the words slipping out sharper than intended. “I’m not any less loyal to the Republic just because I think some things could be done differently.”
Zephyr’s smirk evolved into a full-on smile. “Well aware.”
I’m going to kill him.
“Then why the fuck are you smiling?”
I briefly wondered why there was not a sign of the walls that should have existed between us in sight, but it wasn’t the time. I took note, though. I would have to think later what it was about Captain Zephyr Kentar that had them crumbling so freaking often.
His fingers twitched. It was the smallest movement, but I got the strangest sensation that he was restraining himself from reaching for me. His teeth caught his bottom lip as he studied me, and there was no stopping the bolt of heat that shot down my spine.
“Because you’re not what I expected.”
I flushed. Whatever it was that I was expecting him to say, it wasn’t that. Words scattered like startled birds, leaving me mute and exposed in the dim, narrow space we shared.
The warmth flooding my body was quickly chased away by a shiver of unease.
I am in so much shit.
If I wasn’t careful, the stash and a looming war wouldn’t be the only things at stake.