“Why is that?” I ask. One of the reasons I wanted to come to this village was to get information before the council meeting tomorrow. Hopefully Gnan’om continues to be just as talkative so I can learn more about the Dydrak. If there’s anything I hate, it’s being unprepared.

“Come, sit with me,” Gnan’om says. We follow him off to the side and sit down at a small table. Further off around a larger fire, someone sits around a huge drum, beating it with his hands. A few of the Dydrak women dance to the beat of the drum. I glance at Willow and she looks more relaxed now than she has all night. There’s something about being outside of the walls that lightens the mood.

“Something to keep in mind,” he continues. “Always be cautious of warriors that have no one to fight.” He leans close to us so he can be heard over the noise of the crowds. He takes another swig of his ale and I can see the red tinge around his eyes. He has been partying for a while and that works to our advantage.

“What do you mean by that?” Willow asks.

“From what I have heard, they’re bored. When you have warriors that have nothing to do, they go looking for trouble. That’s why you need to be extra cautious.” He looks at both of us, not just me. I glance at Willow, too, wondering once again what Gnan’om knows that I don’t.

“So the Dydrak have no enemies?” Willow asks. “It just seems strange. They have the huge wall.”

“Yes, you’re right. And a long time ago, there was a need for the wall. Before there was peace, our people fought for our land and resources. The Dydrak were bred to be warriors and the males were heavily favored over the females.”

“Yes,” Willow says, intent on his story. “One of the servants told me about that. She said that now the males outnumber the females by a lot. If the males here fought as well, why don’t you live in the walls with the other warriors?”

“Those of us that don’t live in the walls have found mates. And we don’t want to share them, so we live here.”

“Share them?” I ask.

“Instead of finding one mate, some of the women serve as pleasure mates instead. They won’t get to have a family but they’ll live a comfortable life. For some, that is enough.”

“No thank you,” Willow says. Just another reason why I like her so much.

“She’s right about that,” Gnan’om says, laughing. It makes me realize this is the first time I’ve heard the Dydrak laugh. It’s very jovial, giving him a much friendlier air than his warrior relatives. “Which is why you need to watch yourself.”

“What keeps them from coming here and taking what they want?” I ask.

Gnan’om takes another swig of his drink and looks at us with a mischievous smile on his face. “It may look like it, but we’re not completely helpless here. We can defend ourselves if we need to. We were all warriors once upon a time.”

“Sounds like it’s a good idea for your people to be prepared,” I say. “Do you know anything about a weapon that the warriors are trying to acquire, or have acquired?”

“I haven’t heard anything about a weapon,” he says.

“From what we know, there’s a powerful material being smuggled on the black market. The sellers, the Atronox, acquire the capsules and transport them to the buyers using human women. Willow was one of these women. Once they removed the capsule from her she was forced to live as a slave and eventually was offered as a prize to warriors that fight in the arenas.”

“I haven’t heard anything about that … but it’s not good. If it’s true they’re looking to start a war with someone.”

“That’s what we’re worried about,” I say. “We will see how open they are with us tomorrow. Otherwise we’ll need to be more creative about figuring out what is going on.”

“If that’s the case, make sure you have enough man power with you,” he says.

“We have back up on the way. A few days out.”

“If you need us, you know where to find us.” He lifts his mug toward us and Willow and I reciprocate the gesture. I hoped things would go well here but I didn’t expect them to go this well. It’s good to know my intuition is correct, there’s something strange going on in the keep. Hopefully we can resolve our business before things go sour. “Now, before you head back for the night, stay and have a few drinks with us. I’d like to introduce you to my mate.”

“That would be nice,” Willow says. I can tell she’s not in any rush to hurry back to the keep and I don’t blame her.

“I’m not sure where she disappeared to. I’ll see if I can find her and bring her back this way,” Gnan’om says. He stands up, carrying his mug with him. Willow and I watch him disappear into the crowd and though people surround us it feels intimate between us. As soon as I look at her, all of my thoughts dissipate and once again I can’t think of what to say. She’s the only one that has this affect on me.

“How do you feel about the council meeting tomorrow? Now that you know what you know, that is.” Willow asks.

I rest my arms on the table and grip my mug tightly with my hands. My shoulders are tight from the stress of wanting to complete this mission successfully. Now that I know the Dydrak are up to something all of my muscles are tensing up. “It’s the same mission, either way. Somehow we need to find out if the Dydrak have the weapon material and what they’re planning to do with it.”

“Do you think we’ll be able to leave tomorrow? After the meeting?”

“We’ll leave as soon as we can. I know it’s unnerving being there but like I said before, I won’t let anything happen to you. You have my word.”

We’re sitting close together on the bench, our legs occasionally brushing against one another. Every time I look into her eyes, my feelings for her grow. I know she’s strong because of everything she has endured but there’s also a vulnerability about her that makes me want to claim her as my own and offer her my eternal protection.

“I trust you,” she says, smiling. This time I don’t look away and she doesn’t either. Something passes between us while the night’s festivities go on around us. Right now, she’s all I want. In the next moment, Gnan’om returns with his mate, quickly putting an end to whatever just happened between us.

“Meet my mate, Vruyhz,” Gnan’om says, proudly introducing his mate to us. I stand to greet her, as does Willow next to me.

“I am excited to meet a member of the Force,” Vruyhz says. “And I have never met a human before, either.”

I look at Gnan’om; surprised that he knew Willow was a human. Before the Atronox abducted them we had never seen humans in this part of the galaxy before.

“It is nice to meet you,” Willow says. The two females study each other and smile. “Is this celebration for a special occasion?”

“No. We simply enjoy having a little fun once our work is finished for the day,” she says.

“We try to enjoy the weather before it turns,” Gnan’om says. “These cold nights mean the cold weather will be upon us before we know it.”

“That’s true. We’ll stay inside huddled around our fires to keep warm. We’re working now to fill our storage with food to help us make it through the winter,” Vruyhz says.

“I know what that’s like,” Willow says. “There are some brutally cold winters on Earth.”

“I’d love to hear more about Earth,” Vruyhz says.

“I’d like to hear more about it too,” I say. I’ve wanted to ask her about it for a while but I didn’t know if bringing it up would cause her pain.

“Well, what would you like to know?”