Chapter 93
"It has to be some sort of ploy. I can’t see anyone from Uspanx being able to pull something like this off." Gerax huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.
"The ones with nothing to lose always are able to pull off the impossible." Dron replied, his eyes jerking from Gerax then to the direction Tempest had just walked off in.
"That’s true..." Gerax continued to speak but Dron wasn’t paying any attention to him. He had too much on his mind. Too much in the form of a mate he was completely baffled by.
Gerax cleared his throat loudly, and Dron snatched his attention back from wondering what was going on with Tempest.
"I could have just given you the blueprint for world peace and you wouldn’t have any clue what I’d said. Is everything alright? Are you still feeling the affects of the poison?" Gerax wondered.
"No, I’m fine. I apologize for my absentmindedness." Dron shrugged his shoulders and looked down. He knew it was rude to invite someone to his home and then ignore them.
It’s just that Gerax couldn’t pick a worse time to pop up for a visit.
"Then what’s on your mind?" Gerax tilted his head. Dron didn’t know if the man was genuinely concerned or if he was just gathering more information. He was a scientist after all. It was normal for him to want all the data.
"It’s nothing I can’t handle." Dron mumbled and looked away.
"I don’t doubt your ability to handle your own issues Dron. I never have, but if you want to talk something out I can be a non-biased party." Gerax raised his hand as if he were surrendering before waiting for Dron to speak again.
What Dron should’ve done was double down on his remark about being fine. But he was too worked up. Too confused. Too out of his depth.
Dron had never lived with a woman before besides his mother and that wasn’t a typical occurence. This was his first marriage. He didn’t know if what he was experiencing was normal or not.
He was smart enough to know that he needed help.
"I don’t know what I’m doing." Dron groaned and dropped his head.
"In what regard?" Gerax gestured for the two of them to sit down.
"She’s pulling away from me and I’m not sure why. I don’t what is going on. Before her heat we were much closer than we are not."
"Her heat? I should’ve known that was what was going on when I saw her vitals all over the place and you didn’t reach out to me."
Dron was slightly embarassed. He had recieved several missed calls from Gerax but he was too busy attending Tempest’s needs to call him back. "Yeah, we were a bit preoccupied."
"Did the mating not go as planned?" Gerax asked.
"We didn’t mate in the traditional sense. She is still pure and wanted to stay that way. She didn’t want her first time to be because of her heat."
"Pure? Wow, that is special." Gerax shrugged his shoulders. "I’m assuming other methods were used to bring her through her heat?"
"Yes." Dron didn’t want to get into the specifics of it.
"Then something else must’ve happened. She did seem a little withdrawn when she was in the room. Maybe something more is on her mind."
"So this isn’t normal? I must’ve done something?"
"No, it’s not normal. And not necessarily. Omega’s are complicated creatures. She may be going through something personal. Maybe she’s feeling self-conscious about how she was acting during her heat. It can be a number of different things. Unless of course you can recall something you might have done that she wouldn’t have liked. Were you forceful with her?"
"No, never."
"Did she request that you stop at any point?"
"No, if anything she wanted me to keep going."
"Then I don’t see what you could’ve done. What happened before her heat? Did she learn something new? Something that might be weighing on her mind now?" Gerax questioned.
Dron frowned and leaned back into his chair. At first he intended to dismiss the question entirely. Tempest had trusted him with information that wasn’t meant for anyone else. The last thing he should’ve been doing was discussing it with another person. Unfortunately, the more he thought about it the harder it became to keep everything bottled up inside. There were too many moving pieces. Too many people who wanted something from Tempest. Too many questions that neither of them had answers for.
"She learned a lot." Dron rubbed the back of his neck. "Far more than I ever intended for her to know."
Gerax nodded for him to continue.
"She learned more about the High Council. About why they brought her here in the first place. About some of the groups that have taken an interest in her." Dron hesitated. The next words should’ve stayed inside his head. Instead they slipped out before he could stop them. "She also learned that there may be other humans living on Ustea."
The room went completely silent.
Dron knew the exact moment the words registered because Gerax’s entire body went rigid.
"What?" Gerax asked slowly.
Dron immediately looked away.
Stars.
He’d done exactly what he was trying not to do.
"There may be other humans living on Ustea." Gerax repeated. "What exactly does that mean?"
Dron groaned and dropped his head into his hands. There was no taking it back now. The words were already out in the open. No amount of pretending otherwise was going to change that.
"Dron."
The scientist’s voice had changed completely.
"What do you know?"
"Not enough."
"That isn’t what I asked."
Dron sighed heavily. "Supposedly there’s a settlement somewhere in the Forbidden Lands."
Gerax shot to his feet so quickly that his chair nearly tipped over.
"No."
"That was my reaction too."
"No." Gerax repeated, shaking his head. "That’s impossible. Humans wouldn’t survive in the Forbidden Lands. Most citizens from the major cities wouldn’t survive in the Forbidden Lands."
"I know."
"The terrain alone would kill them."
"I know."
"The predators would kill them."
"I know."
"Then how is this even being discussed as a possibility?"
Dron spread his hands helplessly. "Because the information didn’t come from random rumors. It came from people who seem convinced it’s true."
Gerax slowly sat back down. His expression wasn’t just shocked anymore. It was angry.
"Who?"
"The uprising."
The scientist stared at him.
"The uprising?" he repeated.
Dron nodded. Since he’d already said too much there didn’t seem to be much point in holding back anymore. "Tempest learned about several factions before her heat. The resistance movement. Different groups operating outside of Council authority. Some of them believe she’s important."
"Important how?"
"She represents proof."
"Proof of what?"
"That the Council has been lying."
Gerax didn’t immediately respond.
Dron could practically see the scientist working through the implications.
"Humans aren’t supposed to be able to procreate with the lower classes." Dron continued. "At least that’s what most citizens believe. Then Tempest arrives and suddenly the High Council is hiding her from the public while trying to control every aspect of her life. People started asking questions. On top of that she chose me. The lowest of them all."
"And they think she can answer them."
"Yes."
Gerax cursed under his breath.
"The resistance wants her?"
"Yes."
"The Council wants her?"
"Yes."
"And now you’re telling me there might be human settlements in the Forbidden Lands that want her too?"
Dron nodded.
The more he said it aloud, the worse the situation sounded.
It was one thing to carry the burden alone. It was another thing entirely to hear someone else repeat it back to him.
"Stars." Gerax leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "No wonder she’s struggling."
That wasn’t the response Dron expected.
"What?"
"No wonder she’s pulling away." Gerax lowered his gaze back to Dron. "Put yourself in her position for a moment. She was taken from her home. Brought to an alien world. Forced to adapt to an entirely different society. Then she learns she may not actually be the only human here."
Dron’s chest tightened.
He hadn’t considered it from that angle.
Not really.
To him, the rumors represented another threat.
Another group that might try to take Tempest away.
Another enemy.
To Tempest it probably represented something else entirely.
Hope.
The possibility that she wasn’t alone.
The possibility that somewhere out there were people who spoke her language and understood what she’d lost.
"She talks about Earth less now." Dron admitted quietly.
"Because she’s thinking about those humans."
"Probably."
Gerax nodded slowly. "I’d be thinking about them too."
Silence settled between them for several moments.
Eventually Dron rubbed his face and sighed. "I shouldn’t have told you any of this."
"No. You probably shouldn’t have."
Dron glared at him.
Gerax huffed.
"But since you already did, I suppose we’re past that point."
"You’re taking this rather calmly."
"No. I’m not." Gerax shook his head. "I’m furious."
That surprised Dron.
"At who?"
"Everyone." Gerax spread his hands. "The Council. The resistance. Whoever created the poison that nearly killed you. Anyone who thinks Tempest is some sort of prize to be won."
Dron blinked.
For a moment he wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly.
Gerax leaned forward.
"Listen to me carefully. Whatever is happening, it’s getting worse. The poison alone proves that. Somebody wanted you dead. That’s not speculation anymore."
Dron couldn’t argue with that.
"If there really are factions moving behind the scenes then we need answers."
"We?"
"Yes, we."
Dron stared at him.
Gerax rolled his eyes. "Did you really think I was going to walk away after hearing all of this?"
"You have your own life."
"And you’re my friend."
The answer came so quickly that Dron didn’t know what to say.
Gerax shrugged his shoulders. "I’m going to study the poison further. Figure out exactly where it came from on Uspanx. If I can find any information on these supposed human settlements, I’ll do that too. I’ll help however I can."
For the first time in what felt like forever, some of the pressure eased from Dron’s shoulders.
He wasn’t foolish enough to believe all their problems were solved.
The Council was still watching.
The resistance was still moving.
Tempest was still pulling away from him.
But at least he wasn’t facing it all alone anymore.
"Thank you." Dron finally said.
Gerax smirked. "Don’t thank me yet. If I discover you’ve been keeping even bigger secrets from me, I’m going to be extremely offended."