Khalid frowns. “Nope. Definitely a lupion.
“Fuck my life,” I say, rubbing my face in my hands.
“I spoke to Kayoda the other day, and he and Roxanne had some patients recently that definitely brawled, too. One was a felion, the other a lupion,” he says. “Broken teeth, black eyes, they said it was bad.”
Yikes.“I really wish this would all just fucking stop,” I say, my fingers balling into fists.
“Hey.” He reaches a hand towards me, gesturing for me to sit down, and I take the chair beside him. “Take a deep breath.”
“I’m fine, I’m just… I don’t know,” I say, feeling the exhaustion taking root in my bones.
One corner of his mouth curves up. “How’s it going with all your fancy engagement plans? Anything promising that might end this war?”
I wish I could say we’ve made major progress, but everything feels like baby steps right now. “We’re trying, Khalid. I swear I’m working on this as much as I can, but it won’t happen overnight.”
“Sweetie, I know. Just keep doing what you’re doing. Nobody is judging you,” he says, and I hate how much my little brother seems to be comforting me these days.
And he’s wrong. Some days it feels likeeveryoneis judging me, watching me. I’m supposed to perform and work alongside a lupion who hates me, and help her people, who also hate me.
The entire situation is absurd. The lupion and felion hate each other because we have to share the same space, and I think some part of our genetics recall once being just cats and dogs. Instead of fighting against those ancient genes, we’re giving in to them, creating our toxic reality.
It’s a vicious cycle, and one I’m hoping to end as soon as possible.
Luc enters his office,followed by Tempest, and I swear I can suddenly hear my heart beating in my chest. The look she gives me sends shivers down my spine.
We all stand and take a knee. “Our Infernal King.”
“Please, take your seats,” Luc says, taking his own chair. “We just met with Cain.”
“About what?” Absinthe asks, as if she has the social awareness of a fly.
“He wanted to talk to me, ask how I’m doing. King Luc and Governor Raph were kind enough to chaperone the meeting.” Tempest’s voice sounds honest, but she smells wrong. I don’t think she’s lying, but she’s skating the truth. Perhaps she’s still upset they don’t trust her to be alone yet, or maybe she’s mad over her cousin.
Tempest’s records don’t indicate she was close to any of her blood relatives, only listing an older caretaker named Saoirse. She did work with her cousin and father daily, though, so there’s no telling what trauma bond might’ve formed there.
Everyone else takes their seats, and Draven clears his throat. “We should discuss the next steps in our campaign. Gemma, feel free to take over.”
“Gladly!” she says, and stands up, clicking on the projector. A slide of photos pops up onto the wall, and she begins to explain her five-step plan. “Engagement. Community outreach. Performance. Participation. Treaty.”
“How are things progressing?” Luc asks.
“Well, seeing as it’s been less than a week, not far. We’ve completed step one of five. Engagement! These two lovely ladies are officially engaged. They’ve begun practicing for their performances, so we should really get to working on community outreach. Participation will come with time,” Gemma continues.
I look down at the ring sparkling on my left hand, gemstones the colors of our eyes.
“Define community outreach,” Tempest says, and the room goes still. “I know we’re doing some kind of food donation thing today, but could you be more specific about the overall plan?”
“Outreach… in your communities…” Reina rolls her eyes.
Absinthe smiles. “Specifically,the lupion and felion comm?—”
Tempest’s face is turning red. “For the love of Hel, could Gemma please explain?”
“Of course! You two are going to go around and poll your communities, asking them about specific topics and issues, and then we as a team will come up with resolutions for what we can solve. Once we find those resolutions, you two will go back out into the communities and volunteer to implement them,” Gemma explains. “For example, if a felion were to complain that they struggle to find work, you would go looking for job opportunities for them.”
“I think that’s totally doable,” I finally chime in.
“Definitely. Plus, the more you make it look like Yasmeena is helping the lupion and Tempest is helping the felion, the more tensions will ease between the two species. I think, but we’ll see how it actually plays out,” Gemma says and smiles. “I believe in you guys, and we’ll send Absinthe or Reina to lurk in the shadows as backup in case you need a bodyguard.”
