I’m trying to focus on the meeting with the Dydrak but thoughts of Willow are constantly getting in the way. I hate being the one who had to break the bad news to her and now I just keep thinking about ways I can fix things.

“This should be interesting,” Kayne says, coming up beside me. “What’s the plan?”

“The plan is to keep things diplomatic. We will all be on our best behavior and see what the Dydrak are willing to disclose.”

“And what happens if they decide not to disclose anything?”

“Then we’ll have to get creative,” I say.

The rest of the crew lines up behind me, Kayne just slightly behind my left shoulder. This is the first face-to-face meeting we have had with the Dydrak so we are keeping things formal. The ramp begins to lower, giving us our first glimpse of their massive brick fortress sitting inside of their impenetrable border walls. Mountain ranges rise up behind the fortress, as black as looming night.

The Dydrak line up in formation with their generals in the front, the rest of their men behind them. They are dressed in their armor but their weapons remain sheathed. I want to turn around and search for Willow. She will remain on the ship until we tell her to disembark but I want to make sure she’s okay … and somewhere safe. Instead, we walk toward the Dydrak.

They allowed us to land inside of their walls but now that we’re here, I can’t decide if it was wise or not. There’s something about these walls that makes it feel as if we’re walking inside of a prison. We are completely at their mercy.

“Jot’ohz,” I say, bowing to the leader. “Thank you for welcoming us. We appreciate your hospitality.”

“You are welcome within our walls,” he says. “We have prepared rooms for you and your men. And tonight, you must join us for a feast.”

“Thank you, Jot’ohz.”

“Tomorrow you are welcome to join our council meeting.” I nod in response. He points to a small woman and says, “This is Samsew. She will show you to your quarters and be available to bring you anything you might need while you are here.”

A small female Dydrak steps out from behind Jot’ohz, keeping her head down while she is introduced. I’m surprised to see her. In this vast sea of males she is the only female in sight. She is tall but still half the size of the males. The females have very small horns but their hair is just as thick and black. I’m not sure if Samsew is Jot’ohz’s wife or just a servant of the warriors.

“We are thankful for your generosity,” I say.

He looks me over for a minute and then turns toward the massive wooden doors of the castle, motioning for me to follow. I glance quickly at Kayne and then step forward. The rest of the men follow indicating the formal introductions have concluded.

The inside of the fortress is cold, the stone bricks doing little to maintain the warmth from the small fire. There are large tables where the feast will be held tonight and more of the women are already busy preparing food for the celebration.

Samsew directs us to the corridor off to the right. “These rooms will be where you can stay while you are here,” she says. “All of the rooms in this corridor are available to you and your men.”

“Thank you. And Samsew, there is a woman traveling with us. Do you have anything that she would be able to wear for the feast tonight?”

“Of course,” she says and bows. “I would be happy to assist her.”

With that, she takes off back down the corridor leaving us to our own devices.

“Well that went well,” Kayne says as soon as she disappears from sight.

“I agree,” I say.

“I was being sarcastic. This show of diplomacy is clearly a mask to hide what they’re really up to.”

“Quiet, Kayne. They didn’t have to be so inviting.”

“It would have been fairly obvious if they denied us. Then it would have been clear that they were hiding something.”

“We’ll most likely find out tomorrow, won’t we?”

“We will. Unless they try to slaughter us all in our sleep tonight.”

I breathe out, exasperated. Changing the subject I say, “Some of our men will remain on the ship, the rest will stay here. Everyone is invited to the feast but I don’t want our ship unattended at any time.”

“Got it,” Kayne says.

“And now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to find Willow and show her to her room.”

“Show her to her room, or show her to your room?”

“You’re exhausting, Kayne,” I say, already on my way down the hallway.

“I’m just trying to get you to loosen up a little bit,” he shouts behind me.

I’m already back in the main room so I don’t bother answering. I would prefer to keep Willow in my room where I know she’s safe. Even if she doesn’t want anything to do with me right now. Hopefully she’ll eventually forgive the messenger.

When I get back outside, I see Willow standing next to the ship. My temper flares seeing her there, knowing she hasn’t followed my directions and remained on the ship.

“I thought I told you to wait for me on the ship,” I say, marching right up to her. She shrinks back from me and I immediately regret my tone. Bear growls at me, also not appreciating my temper. She crosses her arms over her chest, taking a defensive stance with me. Unlike when I act this way with my men, right now I feel … bad.

“I am waiting for you at the ship. But I don’t like being enclosed inside of things for a long time. I needed the fresh air and Bear is right here with me. No one will bother me when she is by my side.”

I take a deep breath to try to steady myself. One of the reasons I knew joining the Force would be a good move for me is because there is a strict order to things. I like knowing that rules will be followed all along the chain of command. “You’re right, I’m sorry about that. I am overly worried about your safety in this place. I don’t want anything to happen to you and it’s my job to keep you safe.”

She visibly relaxes with my apology. “I understand,” she says. “So what happens now?”

“They are giving us rooms for our stay. I can show you where you’ll be if you’d like. I also asked their female Samsew if she could provide you with some things to wear. I know we haven’t been able to accommodate you since you’ve been brought on board. Poor planning on our part.”

She waves her hand, dismissing my apology. “It’s okay.” She looks around the fortress and I can’t help but wonder what is going through her mind right now. “This place is massive but not the most inviting. It looks like they’re defending themselves from an invasion.”

“Yes, I know. From what we know, the warriors live in the keep along with some of their women. Those that don’t live here, live outside of the wall. Those people are said to be poor, struggling hard to earn everything they have.”

“Why don’t the warriors let everyone in? I mean, if there were really an attack the poor people outside of the walls wouldn’t have a chance.”

“It’s my guess that not all of the people want to live here. Some choose their freedom outside of the walls, no matter the cost. It isn’t the most inviting inside. You’ll see.”

Once again I put my hand on the small of her back and guide her toward the gates. We walk into the banquet hall and it is easily the most inviting room of the keep that I have seen so far. Kayne’s words begin to creep back into my mind and I wonder if he is onto something. Perhaps they are putting on a show for us to hide some of the darker things going on when no one else is around.

“Your room is down this hallway,” I say. Willow and Bear follow closely. Other members of the Force are milling about but I can understand how she would be feeling apprehensive about this situation. “You’ll be in the room right next to mine. If you need anything, I’ll be close. And make sure you don’t go off on your own while we’re here. If you want to take a walk outside, ask me and I will accompany you.”

She nods her head but I can tell that I’ve scared her by the way her eyes remain unblinking as she surveys our surroundings. “There’s really nothing to worry about,” I say, trying to calm her fears. “I’m just being overly cautious.”

I open the door to the room next to mine and step aside so she can walk through. The rooms are cold even with the fires burning in the fireplaces, indicating that they were lit not long before we arrived. Many of their rooms must remain vacant. It makes me curious to know what the rooms of the Dydrak warriors look like. If Kayne has his way, at some point on this visit, we’ll take our own journey through the castle to find out.