Chapter Eight – Chapec
Seven Earth Months Later
A thin wail came from inside the little house he had built for Veronica and their child. Chapec paused in his work, building an ancient-style wooden fence to keep the livestock he planned to keep inside. His heart ached at the sound of his daughter's cries. Veronica still refused to see him, and he hadn't even seen his child since her birth two days ago.
Not that he blamed Veronica for keeping them apart. After all, he had promised to send her back to the Sanctuary. And he had every intention of doing just that once it was safe. But it wasn't safe right now. There had been an increase of human kidnappings across the galaxy. The only way Chapec could know for certain that Veronica would be safe returning to the Sanctuary was if he took her himself.
That was out of the question. But the fact was he promised to send her back, and she was still here. As far as she was concerned, it was just another one of his lies.
Chapec tossed aside his sonic hammer, heading towards the house. The planet that they had settled down on – for now – was a new project from one of the corporations. Individuals were given land to farm with necessary supplies provided by the corporation. Money was non-existent, leaving residents to rely on the barter system. Chapec might have been happy with the simple life if Veronica wasn't so clearly miserable.
He entered Veronica's house without knocking. He and Dievca shared another building, although his twin spent most of her time in town, trading or drinking. Veronica narrowed her eyes at him as she paced the floor, gently bouncing the baby.
"I don't want you here," she said shortly.
"She's my daughter. I deserve to see her at least."
Veronica stared at him stonily.
Chapec shook his head. He'd grown his hair since settling there, and it now hung in a braid down his back. "Veronica, please. I know that I hurt you, but—"
"But nothing. You can say sorry until your face turns blue, but the fact that I'm here and not back at the Sanctuary like you promised just tells me that you still care about yourself more."
"That's not true!"
Veronica turned on her heel and marched away. She went into the bedroom and slammed the door behind herself with a note of finality.
As he stood there, staring at the door that hid his child and mate from him, his frustrations mounted. Chapec wanted to go after her. He wanted to demand that she talk to him, that she at least try to see things from his perspective. How could he send her back when he wasn't sure she'd make it? She was his mate. He had to make sure she was safe…
But she had made it very clear that as far as she was concerned, there was nothing between them.
Chapec stormed from the house. He strode over the carefully-tended garden and went into the trees that surrounded their homestead until he couldn’t see the house anymore. There, he found the thickest tree he could and started slamming his fists into it again and again, until his knuckles split open and the bark stained red.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. "Stupid!"
"Who's stupid?"
Chapec whirled. Dievca stood a little way back, her arms wrapped around her midsection. There was a weariness to her eyes that made him take pause, but his anger rose quickly. He pointed an accusing finger at her.
"If you had just waited and not attacked Gylden the same damn day we ended up in the Sanctuary, then I would still have a chance at happiness. Veronica wouldn't hate me, and I could be happy with her and my daughter. But you had to have your own way, regardless of what I wanted or what was best for us."
"Veronica will come around eventually."
"While she's a prisoner? She will never forgive me!"
"Of course she will. But maybe you should stop beating up trees."
Anger bubbled in Chapec's gut. How could Dievca treat this so casually? "Duel."
"Duel? Like, for real?" Dievca's arms dropped and her eyes widened. Chapec didn't blame her. They often fought, but not seriously. "To the death and all that?"
"Of course not to the death!" Chapec growled in frustration. "I don't want to kill you. But we duel, and whoever wins decides what we do next."
"What are you going to choose if you win?"
Chapec was silent, staring at her.
His sister narrowed her eyes. "I'm not going to duel unless I know what I'm dueling over!"
Chapec let out a pent-up breath and turned away. This had been building in his head for a long time. He knew Dievca would never go for it. Even if she agreed to the duel and he won, he doubted that she'd accept his decision. But it was the only way he could see to make restitution to Veronica for what he had done.
"I am going to take Veronica back to the Sanctuary and turn myself over to Zon. Let his justice and mercy decide what to do with me."
Silence answered him. He turned back to his sister. Her hands were trembling, her skin a shade of pink he'd only seen on corpses. She shook her head wildly, her short hair flying into her eyes. "No! You can't! He'll kill you."
"It's the only way to get her there safely."
"And what about me? Yes, I messed up, but that's only because I thought you were… I thought you were abandoning me for her. I thought that she was going to end up more important and that sooner or later you'd get rid of me."
"What are you talking about?"
"How could you possibly be happy with her when I was there? I'm sorry for what I did, and if I could fix it, I would. But committing suicide isn't going to make Veronica forgive you."
"She's not going to forgive me while she's a prisoner, either." Chapec shook his head as he sadly looked at his sister.
Maybe he was finally understanding her. She was afraid. Everything she did was either to avenge their father or to make sure she was never left alone again. And even though he was still angry with her, he also pitied her.
"Dievca, you will find a mate someday. And you'll have children, and you won't be alone. But we have been crutches for one another for far too long. I have only stayed here for as long as I have because I thought you needed me. But you don't. You're strong, and you are going to find a way to survive without me. But I can't keep going as if my life here isn't utterly meaningless."
Dievca clamped down on her lower lip. "You're determined, then?"
"I am. But I'll let you have the chance to stop me. Duel."
She shook her head. "I can't. I'll go with you."
Chapec opened his mouth to argue, but before he could, a giant T'shav jumped through the trees. A blue broadsword swung towards Chapec's head. He barely had time to dodge it. Shouts rang from all around, and half-dozen aliens armed to the teeth surrounded them. Chapec and Dievca quickly moved back-to-back, facing off with the enemies.
Laughter rang all around them as the aliens attacked.