Chapter Four #4
Luckily, they wouldn’t have to stay much longer.
They’d been sent here to talk to people, and it was what they’d been doing since they’d arrived.
There was only so many things Kael could say to convince the people who were reluctant to reach out to the world outside their towns.
In fact, he didn’t think he could get anyone to change their minds.
The people who’d already been inclined to meet humans and other paranormal beings would take that step, and the ones who wanted nothing to do with the outside world would just stay in their towns.
It wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, it was a good thing.
It was how things should be. No one should be forced to do anything, let alone leave their town.
If some of the demons weren’t interested in that, it was their prerogative, but they shouldn’t have the power to prohibit the demons who did want to leave from doing so.
Kael cleared his throat. “At the end of the day,” he said, looking around, “I think that each and every one of us needs to make the decision individually. Some of you won’t want to leave this town, and that’s okay.
Others will want to, though, and it’s not fair to take that away from them, especially when they might have a future that doesn’t include the town where they were born. ”
“A lot of people might get hurt,” a man said.
Kael didn’t remember him. In fact, if someone told him this was the first time he’d seen him, he would’ve believed them.
He’d been meeting so many people these past few days that they all mixed together in his mind.
The only reason he remembered Samara’s name was that her color was so similar to Nymon’s.
Still, he smiled. “Some people will definitely get hurt. It’s what happens when you’re in a relationship.
I’m guessing that of the demons who want to leave, not everyone will be able to find their mate.
Not all demons might have a mate, and even if they do, it’s not always easy to find them.
But keeping everyone locked in when they don’t want to be is taking away a lot of opportunities.
It’s fine for you to stick around if you feel more comfortable with that, but why should Samara be forced to do the same?
What if she wants to see the ocean? To explore forests? ”
Kael looked around again. He felt a little self-conscious with everyone watching him, but he needed them to hear him.
“I loved Starhaven. I still do, and sometimes, I miss it. I miss how green it is, how much easier life was for me there, how I was just one of the many demons in town. I miss seeing demons everywhere I went. Now, I see humans. They see me, too, and since a lot of them have never dealt with demons before, they’re intrigued.
They stare, and sometimes, they have questions. ”
A hand landed on Kael’s shoulder. He knew it was Ridge without having to look, and he leaned back slightly toward his mate.
He hadn’t been planning on opening his heart to everyone in this room, and he still wasn’t entirely, but he felt like some of these people needed to hear all of it.
They had dreams, and they might fulfill them, but just like that man had said, they might also get hurt, and that was something they needed to be prepared for.
They would never be fully ready for it, but they might be able to handle it better than they would have if they hadn’t known.
“I’m not going to say it’s easy,” he said. “In fact, it’s not. It was terrifying, especially in the beginning. I still don’t always know where I stand or what my place is. I still have people stare at me every time they see me, whether I’m just going for a coffee or to the grocery store.”
Kael tilted his head back slightly so he could look up at Ridge.
If he hadn’t left Starhaven, he wouldn’t have had this opportunity.
He still didn’t know exactly what was going on between him and Ridge, but just the fact that there was something going on was a major win.
It wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t had the courage to leave Starhaven.
He straightened and looked around. “And yes, sometimes I miss my old life, but I wouldn’t trade what I have now for the world.
I don’t know what my place is yet, but I’ll find it, just like any demon who leaves their town will.
We can carve ourselves a spot in the world.
And yes, it is scary—everything worthwhile always is.
The people we become, the advancements in our medicine, and the improvements in our lives, all of that will come from a few people having the courage to take that step.
We don’t expect anyone to decide to move out right now and go through with it.
We don’t expect demons to open up their towns to anyone. We just want you to think about it.”
Hopefully, Kael had been convincing enough, because he and Ridge only had a few days left here. Whatever happened, though, he’d done what he’d been asked to do.
And he’d come out of it with a mate.