Ty stared at Samira, trying to keep his mouth from hanging open as he processed what was going on. He was still coming down from the elation of finally bonding with her and had been taken off guard by Pyra's announcement that it was time to declare war on the Klimnu and eliminate the threat that had been plaguing the Denynso. Now he was watching as his beautiful mate offered herself as a tool for them to use in battle. It was all so overwhelming and he didn't know what he was supposed to think. He wasn't a warrior and had never been involved in any of the battles or the raids. The thought of Samira handing herself over to the violent and aggressive warriors so that she could be a part of whatever battle plan they devised was terrifying.
"We need to go now. Tonight we plan how we are going to handle these creatures once and for all."
He looked around the room, meeting eyes with the warriors. They started to walk forward toward him, gathering at the base of the stage. Ty watched Samira turn back toward the other women.
"Eliana, Zuri told me that you are working on healing ointments."
"Yeah. Ciyrs, Eden, and I have been working on some potions we hope will help make the healing process much faster when people are injured. Right now it is a pretty involved process that can have some rather…unintentional effects, and we are hoping that we might be able to come up with some ointments that will allow us to treat some of the problems that way rather than having to always use our hands."
Ty knew exactly what Eliana meant with her delicate wording. It was well-known that the healing procedures used by the clan healer Ciyrs and his mate Eliana often resulted in extreme arousal, and sometimes even a link that rivaled the connection between mates. This is what had happened between Eden and Ciyrs, creating some tension between Ciyrs and Pyra even though the connection between the Eden and the healer would never go any further than just a very close friendship.
"Ciyrs and Eliana can't always do the healing," Eden explained, "It takes so much energy that it can put them at risk if they try to heal too serious of an injury, or too many people at once. We've been trying to find a way to help that."
"If there is a war coming, there will be injuries, potentially a lot of them. And that means that Ciyrs and Eliana are not going to be able to handle the healing completely by themselves. We need that potion finalized as soon as possible. Can the three of you go work on it now?"
Eliana and Eden nodded and stood. Ty watched Samira turn her attention to Zuri and Leia.
"If the two of you can come with me, we can go to the cave and get an idea of where it goes. That is going to be at the center of all of the planning."
"Samira," Ty started, reaching out a hand to place on her shoulder, "The warriors can plan their battles. They do not need you to do it for them."
"Don’t question your mate, Ty."
Pyra's intense voice right behind him made Ty jump slightly and he turned to face the warriors who had gathered close to them.
"We are coming with you to the cave," Samira told Pyra.
"She's smart and she's brave," Pyra said, "Be proud of her."
"You can't bring the women into battle, Pyra," Ty insisted.
"We aren't going into battle tonight," Samira said, "We are finding out where the cave leads and coming up with strategies. If I can help with that, why shouldn't I?"
Ty knew that he had no argument against her. There was nothing that he was going to be able to say that was going to stop her from doing exactly what she wanted to do. Just like she had been able to convince him that she was not too young to be his mate despite his mind telling him that she was and him trying his hardest to resist her, if she was set on being a part of the preparations for the battle with the warriors, he was not going to be able to convince her to do anything else. The thought was frustrating, but at the same time it made him even more proud to be her mate. Like Pyra had said, she was smart and she was brave. These human women were proving that the Denynso had known nothing about Earth and its inhabitants.
"We're leaving now," Pyra said, starting toward the door.
"Are you coming with me?" Samira asked.
Ty felt a surge of protectiveness and knew that there was no way he was going to be able to let her go off into some unknown area of the planet where there very well could be direct connection point between the compound and the Klimnu without him. He nodded and she returned the gesture, extending her hand to him. Ty took her hand and intertwined their fingers, immediately feeling calmer when his palm pressed against hers and he could feel her soft skin touching his.
They filed out of the meeting hall and Ty watched as Eliana, Eden, and Ciyrs took a sharp turn and headed off toward Ciyrs's shop. Those three had been working tirelessly on the ointments for weeks and he was hoping that they were going to find the right formula soon. The war was not going to wait, which meant they were running out of time.
Ty and Samira followed the warriors as they made their way across the compound, walking so quickly that she had to jog to keep up. Leia and Zuri caught up with them so that they all walked together, moving across the compound toward an area that Ty had never seen. Though he had spent his entire life in the compound, because he was not a warrior, he had not had reason to spend much time roaming around and exploring the borders. It was only the warriors who had to go on patrol who had the opportunity to really learn the entirety of the land that surrounded the compound. Now it seemed that part of that land had been breached, allowing the Klimnu access to their compound and to them. They would need to not only find that breach and learn everything that they could about it, but find a way that they could use it effectively to fight off the Klimnu and keep them from ever returning.