Alien Soulmate(7)

And Angen, the leader of the Sitheri, his father had done nothing. The king of the Des'kos had assured them that the rebels would be put to death, but there was no proof of that. No proof that it hadn't been a ploy the whole time.

From that moment, Ithril had realized that he couldn't rely on his father. The man cared more about peace than about his family and the dignity of his people. Carver had been upset, but he'd easily bowed to their father's word.

And that was why Carver had to be sent away. He showed every sign that he would follow in Angen's footsteps and continue giving away what little the Sitheri had until they had nothing. Until they were all but slaves to the Des'kos, forced to capitulate to their demands just to stay alive.

Ithril wasn't going to let it get that far. Not without a fight.

The Des'kos had conquered plenty of clans across the planet of Khaosali over the past two decades. They came from a desert land themselves and instead of working to make their home more habitable or finding an unoccupied part of the planet to live in, they had decided to seize the lands of other clans. Many of the clans had decided to fight back, but in the end, most of them had been conquered.

It didn't make sense for one race to have so much power over the others, and Ithril was determined that the Des'kos threat was going to end and end soon. He would contact the other clans, get them to stand with the Sitheri, and they would wipe the barbarians from the face of the planet.

And then, once Ithril had claimed his victory in their mother's name, he would send for Carver to come back. He didn't bear a grudge against his brother at all, really, he just knew that Carver would make things difficult for him.

Once it was all said and done, they could be a family again.

There was a knock on the door then, jarring him from his thoughts, and Ithril turned to see Cain coming in. Ithril had picked him for this specifically. Cain was one of the many Sitheri who were mixed with some other race because of how few Sitheri women there were.

He was tall with skin as brown as a nut, and the only thing (other than his unnatural height) that made him look less than human were the silver horns that started from his forehead and then curled back on either side of his head. His eyes were a deep shade of purple, and he met Ithril's eyes calmly.

"You summoned, Leader?"

"Yes," Ithril said, nodding. "I need your help."

"It is my honor to serve you, Leader," Cain said. His voice was deep and almost inflectionless, which irked Ithril because he could never tell what the man was thinking. But no matter.

"There are going to be a few changes around here. I have spoken with my brother, and he's decided with me that we can't continue like this."

Cain blinked slowly. "Like what?"

"Bowing and scraping to the Des'kos! They come here and steal our land and take our resources without penalty. We just give it to them, and for what?"

"In exchange for peace."

Ithril snorted. "Is that what this is? Peace? Forgive me, only I though there were still skirmishes every week. I thought guards were still armed to the teeth with axes and blasters to fend off the ‘rebels' who are supposedly not sanctioned by the Des'kos king. That doesn't sound like peace to me."

There was no response from Cain, just another slow blink, and Ithril let out a rough breath. He had to stop sounding so angry and start sounding like a leader. A leader's word was law.

"Like I said. There are going to be some changes. I want you to find people willing to go to the other clans. I'm not stupid enough to think we can do this on our own, and I want to see if there are others who are tired of being under the thumb of barbarians."

"Very well. We shall find these people. Where is your brother?"

"Carver's sleeping. It's been a long week for all of us, but him most of all. Trust me when I say, I have his support in this."

Cain stared at him for a moment, and Ithril willed himself not to flinch or look away. It was early in his leadership, and he had to start establishing his dominance now. They couldn't look at him as Angen's youngest, a hot headed little boy playing at war. No, they had to see him as the leader that he was, that he had been meant to be, and that meant making sure that he was always acting the part.

"Very well," Cain said finally, inclining his head. "I will spread the word. When will we convene again as a group?"

He could hear the real question in there. ‘When will Carver be back?' He'd have to come up with something to say to them before they met again.

"After the evening meal," Ithril decided. "That will give my brother time to sleep, and us time to spend with our sister. She has been taking this hard."

It was a strategic comment, however true. When he'd gone to speak with E'lira earlier, she'd still been in tears. But he knew that his sister was a soft spot for anyone who had watched her grow up, and the ploy worked. Cain's eyes softened and he nodded again.