He studied her, then nodded once before turning toward his office. Before he closed the door, she heard the same sound of the alert she had with Silas’ tablet. Rowan walked outside to find Kara working in the garden.
“Have you heard all the alerts?” Kara asked as soon as she saw Rowan.
“Yes. All morning. What’s going on?”
“I don’t know exactly. They try to keep it hush-hush but something is up. I’ve heard talk of ‘unrest’ but I don’t know much more than that.”
“Has this happened before where there are so many alerts?”
Kara’s expression darkened. “Six years ago.”
Rowan dropped her gaze, registering Kara’s meaning. “Silas tattooed me this morning. I don’t know what Commander Norrin will do about that but hopefully he’ll never find it.”
“Where is the mark?”
“Here,” Rowan said, turning and lifting her hair.
“It’s pretty. It’s his mark.”
“What do you mean?” Rowan asked. “His?”
Kara smiled wide. “It’s Silas’ pattern. Each of us has our own. He marked you with his specific pattern. You belong to him.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Did you see how upset he was when you got sick?” Kara asked.
“I didn’t see much of anything but I assumed it was because if I died, he would have to answer to Commander Norrin.”
“No, Silas doesn’t care about Commander Norrin. In fact, if it weren’t for the good of the village, he would never have accepted the commander’s plan to impregnate you. I still don’t know how he’s going to let them take your babies or you. I don’t think he realized how it would be with you two.”
“What do you mean with us two?” Rowan asked, tilting her head to the side. She had come to see a different side of Silas, that was certain, but to him, keeping her wasn’t a possibility. He said as much himself, or at least she had understood as much: he’d do what he needed to do to get his son back and keep his village safe and he said it knowing her fate. She accepted it in a way, even if it did hurt.
Rowan walked off a few steps. It did hurt. Even understanding his reasons, it hurt that he could not choose her. But what if what Kara was saying was right? That he had marked her as his? She touched the back of her neck.
“You ok?” Kara asked from behind her.
“I’m fine,” Rowan said, turning to Kara. “Let’s get our work done.”
* * *
It was early afternoon before Kara went home and Dr. Stone called Rowan in to eat lunch and take some rest from the sun. All the while, her mind was spinning, coming up with scenario after scenario of what was happening, of what the alerts meant.
Dr. Stone’s first question took Rowan by surprise: “How are you settling in?”
“Um, all right, I guess. People are not staring at me anymore, or at least they’re staring less and Charlie’s mother seems to have turned around.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” At that moment his tablet went off with a similar alert as Rowan turned to get a glimpse. But Dr. Stone just pushed it away and shook his head. “This will never end.”
“What is happening?”
“Nothing that concerns us and it would be wise for those on the council to remember that,” Dr. Stone said.
“Can I ask you how long you’ve been living in this settlement?” she asked.
He studied her for a moment. “I was born at the colony you come from,” he said. “I left it when I was twelve. I’m now forty-one.”
“You left? It’s not possible. It’s forbidden.”
“Precisely why I ran away. The commander who was in place then was worse than the one they have now but no one seems able to see that. The colony’s laws are not our own. We should not interfere but keep to our own government. Work on becoming as self-sufficient as possible so that we no longer depend on them.”
“But they still hold power over the settlements,” she said, nodding.
“Yes. Without them we have no electricity and no clean water, to mention just two very necessary things. But they need us just as much. We provide food for them, food they are unable to grow, but as they claim all land as their own, they look at it more as a leasing of land and a peaceful existence in exchange for keeping our heads down and carrying on as we always have.”
“And these alerts are news of unrest within the city walls?”
“Yes and within some settlements. Truly, I understand that we will never be free of the colonies. It is simply not possible. Even if we were to do all that we had agreed to, they could wipe us out in a matter of hours if it so pleased Commander Norrin,” he said with disgust in his voice. “Just look at how they got Silas to go along with the plan to breed you.”