Chapter Three
I still wasn't sure exactly what I was doing even as I followed the warriors through the compound. Holding Ty's hand gave me strength and I squeezed it slightly the further we got away from the meeting hall so that feeling it in mind would make me feel braver as the distance between the brightly lit hall and us became greater and we got closer to the dark, unknown areas of the compound. I had only been on Uoria for two days and I had not had much opportunity to explore it during that time so I didn't know where we were headed or what we might encounter along the way. The thought was unnerving, but at the same time exciting. I knew now that I was a part of these people for the rest of my life and that I was going to do everything I could to ensure that they were safe and that we could all continue living our lives comfortably and happily in the compound.
The thought suddenly struck me and I felt my hand tighten on Ty's. He looked down at me with concern on his face. That was one of the strangest things that I had encountered during my time on the planet, but one that I was learning to love. While I was on Earth, I was not accustomed to men being considerably larger than me. Not only am I taller than most women, but I happened to spend the vast majority of my time at a university involved in a department that seemed to be dominated by men who were smaller than average. The result was me being taller than, just as tall, or only an inch or two shorter than all of the men who I encountered. This was most certainly not the case when it came to being on Uoria, and especially not being near Ty. My mate was tremendous beyond description and just standing beside him made me feel small, delicate, and protected.
I needed that feeling now as the realization hit me that choosing him meant choosing to leave Earth forever. I could not be with him and live on my own planet, which meant that I was going to have to leave everything that I knew and the people I cared about behind. It was a sudden and frightening realization, but one that I came to without hesitation. Now that I was bonded to Ty, I couldn’t imagine a single moment of my life not devoted to him. It didn't even cross my mind to be sad about leaving Earth, or even bitter at the thought that I was going to be the one who was expected to make such a complete and life-changing alteration. I would never for a second entertain the thought of asking him to leave Uoria to be with me on Earth. Though just 48 hours ago I knew nothing about this man or what it meant to bond to him, the second that I did, I understood that meant I now, and forever, belonged to this planet and these people.
I had been so lost in my thoughts that I didn't realize we had left behind all of the buildings of the compound and were now walking past a lake filled with purple water. It was quiet and beautiful, but something inside me felt the tightness of apprehension in my chest when we started to walk along its edge. I had never been completely comfortable around water when I was living on Earth, and the purple of the water combined with the knowledge that I was on a totally different planet made me wonder what could possibly lurk beneath that surface. I took a step further away from the edge and Ty smiled down at me. The fact that he didn’t say anything about the water or what was living in there seemed to confirm to me that I should be nervous.
When we got the rest of the way around the lake I saw that we had approached a large bank of cliffs. I noticed Ero stiffen where he stood in front of us and heard Zuri gasp. They grabbed hands and looked at each other.
"What is it?" I asked.
Zuri turned to look at me.
"This is where Ero and I came the night that we arrived back here. We had a picnic right by the lake and then went up on top of that cliff."
She pointed to a cliff nearby.
"I don't understand."
"The cave is at the base of that cliff," Pyra said from the front of the group, "If the Klimnu are using that tunnel to connect with the compound as we suspect that they are, that means that they could have been within just a few feet of Ero and Zuri when they were up there and the two of them didn't even know it. Everything that has been said near these cliffs might have been overheard by the Klimnu, and they could be using that passage to get in and out of the compound unnoticed. We think that the Traitor has known about the tunnel for quite a while and has been using it not only to bring the Klimnu information and supplies, but also to get to them and back into the compound quickly without anyone realizing that he was gone. That's how he was able to betray us so completely and for so long."
"Who is he talking about?"
"There was a warrior named Ullie," there was a hiss from a few of the warriors and Ty turned to them sharply, his hand coming up as if to quiet them, "Refusing to say his name is just giving his memory power. Don't let the sound of that one word be what is going to weaken you when you face battle with the Klimnu. If you let it be your defeat, it will be, but if you use it to enrage and empower you, it will only make you more effective when it comes time to fight."
"Ty's right," Pyra said and Ty felt a surge of pride go through him, "We aren't going to revere Ullie. We are going to remember what he did to us and ensure it never happens again." He turned to Samira, "Ullie fashioned himself as a warrior. He came to battle with us and fought beside us. Then he made an alliance with the Klimnu and enabled them to breach our compound and discover our defense plans. He is why they were able to injure Eden, capture Leia, hold her prisoner, and nearly kill her, and try to do the same to Eliana. We found out about his betrayal while we were in battle with the Klimnu but it was not enough to prevent another battle and to completely eliminate them."
The group started walking toward the cliffs again and Samira hurried to keep step with them.
"What happned to Ullie?" she asked.
Ty glanced down at her with a stern face.
"Pyra killed him."
Samira stopped short. She had always heard about the Denynso and their reputation for being fierce and fearsome warriors. She knew that they had fought wars with other species attempting to take over their section of Uoria and protected the planet from many threats. Hearing Ty describe Ullie's death so matter-of-factly, though, was a shocking, harsh hit of reality that made her truly come to the realization that they were not just talking about a distant and abstract threat, or going to see something that could be dangerous in theory. They were marching into war.
Suddenly something strange occurred to her and she ran forward to talk to Pyra.