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"Rae," I started but wasn't sure how to finish the sentence.
"Why did you come back here? And with a Thyre Warlord? Are you ready to take on the bastards?" Rae demanded, looking at me in anger. Gone was the joy of our reunion, now she just wanted to find out which side I stood on.
"There are things… things I'm questioning. I want to go to talk to the Confederation, to make them stop this… madness."
"Where did they take you? They must have taken you to Thyre if you came with a warlord. What's going on there?" Rae bombarded me.
"King Uthar took me to Thyre." I told her what happened to me and how I had lived with Alahna and Warlord Brogan for a while until Kendryx and his khazar showed up.
"The humans on Thyre are not mistreated. They live among them like all the other citizens, some of them are even married to warlords," I concluded.
"I didn't know that. But Thorodoth explained to me that humans live peacefully among the Thyres."
"And how does he know that?" I asked distrustfully, because Alahna told me that the Vandalls had little to no interaction with the humans, and even if she hadn't, I saw Uthar's reaction to her when he first arrived in Grymburg.
"There is a breech within the Vandalls as well," Rae confided uncomfortably, as if she feared betraying somebody's trust and the pieces clicked into place.
"You and Thorodoth?"
She nodded, blushing slightly. "Yes, but we're not the only ones. There is… I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say."
"Who are you afraid of?"
"If King Uthar finds out… he would kill Thorodoth and the other person."
"Trust me, Uthar is not a friend of mine or Kendryx's," I assured her.
"During their last raid, Gunhar, Thorodoth's brother, was injured and separated from his men. A human woman found and nursed him back to health. When her clan found out, they ostracized her and kicked her out, but it didn't matter because she and Gunhar had fallen in love," Rae filled me in. "When Gunhar regained his strength, he built a small boat, and they crossed the Dark Sea to return to his family. He feared, however, that his father, King Uthar, would have the human woman killed because it's against their beliefs and laws for a Vandall to take a woman from another race as their wife. So Gunhar approached Thorodoth carefully. Thorodoth was thrilled to see his brother alive. Instead of killing his brother's wife, he felt rightfully indebted to her for saving him.
"Together, the two brothers conspired to keep the woman a secret for now. They live further down the coast. To this day, Uthar doesn't know that Gunhar is alive."
I was stunned. "Would Uthar truly hurt the woman who saved his son just because she's human?" I asked, but then I waved my hand knowing full well what a complicated man Uthar was.
I had felt his attraction to me more than once. That he hadn't touched me had confused me, even though I was grateful for it. There had been times where I was sure he would have rather seen me dead than give in to his desire. Now I knew why.
"He would have, and will, should he ever find out," Rae confirmed.
"So what's the plan then?" I asked curiously, even though we had more pressing things to discuss than other people's love lives.
"It's not a very complicated plan. They want to wait until Uthar retires one way or another and then change the laws to allow interracial marriage," Rae said with a twinkle in her eyes.
"And how will the other Vandalls feel about that?" I asked, sure that neither one of them had thought the matter fully through, which she confirmed by blinking rapidly and staring at me openmouthed.
"Uthar is not your only obstacle," I pointed out.Just like the Terran Confederation isn't mine,I added in my head. There were soldiers among us who were as thirsty for blood, war, and battle as the Terran Confederation's representatives here on Thyre. Most, though, were good little soldiers, like I had been, who just blindly followed orders. Those were the ones that would make my job easier if I was wrong and all I had to do was talk to and convince the representatives that the humans on Thyre were not suppressed. If they gave the orders for the soldiers to stand down, they would stand down.
If they didn't and it came to a fight, I was afraid brother would war against brother, sister against sister.
Resolutely, I said, "Besides, we have other things to worry about right now."
"What's the plan, Colonel?" she asked, suddenly all business.
"Kendryx won't like it, but I need to go to our FOB and convince the Terran Confederation to cease all hostilities toward the Thyres. Then they can meet and discuss terms."
She nodded. "A good plan. I'm sure once the Terran Confederation understands that the humans are not mistreated on Thyre, they will cease."
She must have seen my doubtful expression and added, "What? What am I missing?"
I sighed. I might need her help in this, and she was already on the Vandalls' side, so I might as well fill her in on the rest. "I brought this very issue up during a war council meeting."
