Page 76 of I Married A Syllen

“Fair point,” Maeve replied. “I’ll make sure to check it as well tonight.”

We spent the next little while coordinating our action plan for the night before splitting up. I felt guilty requesting that the Syllens authorize us to use drones to scan the collapsed area. Once again, as time was of the essence, Athusa granted his permission. We needed to get a better visual of the extent of the damage that we could send to the engineering team so that they could prepare the proper equipment for tomorrow morning.

Lily and I spent the rest of the evening going through the various materials that could be used not only to support the ground but also fill the gaping hole left by the savage excavation. Taelen and Athusa joined us. Discussing the matter with them directly made a huge difference. They could address their concerns with everything we suggested, highlight their needs, and expose potential side effects we hadn’t thought of.

To say that my nerdy brain was having an orgasm would be a huge understatement. Lily was also having a blast, despite the weariness that was settling in. More importantly, having our partners so thoroughly involved and making sure they vetted each of our decisions went a long way into appeasing them.

Establishing a strong basis of trust after this mess was essential. This way, Taelen and Athusa could go back to their people, explain the choices we made together, and be confident everyone would approve. The tribes placed a timid trust in us over the fact the ‘Goddess’ had chosen us as soulmates for two important people from their tribes. But that would only carry Lily and I so far and for so long. They needed to see concrete actions from us—and especially from the UPO—to start mending the damage caused both by the Settlers and whoever was behind this latest affront.

We only paused long enough for dinner, during which Maeve sent us the semi-good message that they had not found any explosive inside the excavation sites below the Galnir Tribe’s territory or in Taelen’s tribal lands. Why had they targeted Ungaro but not the others?

It seemed all the more confusing that Ungaro was the only one of the three where the mining had been completely rushed. Like in the Tekere Valley where the Drossara Tribe lived, the cave in the Galnir Tribe’s territory had been correctly handled. Appropriately placed support beams and metal plates prevented the ground above it from collapsing.

Further analysis indicated that Galnir had been the first region to be strip-mined. The excavation started there around seventy-six years ago, more than sixteen years before it began in Tekere. They completed the work in Galnir twenty years ago. In fact, the entrance of their cave had been buried so deeply under overgrowth and surrounding vegetation that Maeve had a hard time accessing it.

Ungaro, on the other hand, only started getting strip-mined approximately five years ago. This explained why the culprits botched the work so much. They had been in a race against the clock to appropriate as much of the resources as possible. Thanks to Cedros’ amazing powers, Maeve brought additional pillars to support the areas of the Ungaro cave that had not yet collapsed.

We ended up calling it a night way past my usual bedtime. My head barely even touched the pillow before sleep claimed me. The sound of voices outside woke me after what barely felt like seconds since I’d laid down. To my dismay, Taelen had already left our bed.

A bag on the console in the room contained a few more changes of clothes and basic necessities similar to the one I’d left in Drossara, Taelen’s village. I silently thanked Maeve for being so fucking awesome while also being stunned I’d slept so soundly I hadn’t heard Taelen get up or bringing the bag in. A glance at the time indicated 8:36 AM. I flinched as the UPO crew had been scheduled for 7:30 AM.

Being late or people who were never on time ranked pretty high in my list of pet peeves. So that I overshot this badly shamed me to no end, especially considering the importance of our task. But even as I silently berated Taelen for not waking me up, the memory of how nonchalant his people were about time popped back in my head. Still, under the circumstances, I figured he would have made sure I was up and ready.

After splashing some water on my face and swiftly getting dressed, I raced outside to be greeted by the mesmerizing sight of countless Kalrins flying around. They were no longer coming from or going to the healing temple. Every one of them was gorging on vegetation that would qualify as weeds. They would pause feeding to secrete even bigger melia nuts than the ones they fed the queens in the temple last night. Once the nuts reached what they deemed a big enough size, which was comparable to a big lime, they bury them either directly into the ground, or around the base of a tree.

A couple of Syllens I hadn’t met before were taking food from the ‘table’ next to the pit, then covering the rest with opaque domes that reminded me of polished giant seashells. As I couldn’t see any bugs swirling around it from where I stood, I assumed they were covering it to protect the food from having sand blown into it.

A few people were running around, attending to whatever business called them. Sadly, I didn’t see my mate among them. I was heading towards the table to grab breakfast when a melodious voice rose behind me.

“Greetings, Sister,” the feminine voice called out.

I spun around to find myself face to face with Kaya. My stomach dropped, and an irrational wave of panic surged within me. My reaction made no sense to the extent that nothing in her demeanor expressed even the slightest form of hostility. She was truly beautiful, with her skin a slightly paler shade of bronze than her brother’s, her eyes the most striking shade of bluish-green, and a skirt to match. She was slightly taller than me, maybe 5’11 or 6’ to my 5’10.

“Hello,” I said with a nervous smile.

“I am Kaya, Taelen’s sister,” she said while closing the distance between us.

“I figured as much last night. You share some clear family traits. My name is Mirella, and I’m Taelen’s soulmate,” I said, hating how slightly defensive I sounded in that last sentence.

To my surprise, she continued advancing until she invaded my personal space. Kaya grabbed my face with both hands before drawing it towards hers. For one horrible second, I thought she was going to kiss me on the lips. But she pressed her forehead to mine. And from the corner of my eyes, I saw her leinis hook around a few strands of my hair.

My throat constricted upon realizing she was giving me the intimate greeting one usually reserved to close friends or loved ones. Had I been one of theirs, our head tentacles and veris would have briefly connected.

I hope the day will come when I can do this.

Kaya released me within seconds then held me by the shoulders as she studied my features before giving me a slow once over. My tongue had turned to lead, words failing me as she took in my appearance. She released both my shoulders only to sink her hands in my hair. Spreading her hands sideways, she let the locks glide through her fingers with an air of wonder as I stood there stoically.

“Now I see why they call you Shevraya,” Kaya mused aloud. “You truly have captured the sun in your hair.”

And it couldn’t be truer right this instance. The warm rays of the early morning sun were striking my hair at just the right angle to almost give it a pale glow.

“Athusa mostly calls me Vakelia,” I said, scrunching my face with fake despair.

Kaya burst out laughing. “So I hear! Please do not be offended. Such names are a sign of affection and acceptance, except if they are meant as an insult. And in that case, there’s no question that they are meant to be offensive.”

“Like Doopeluk Moniuk,” I said with a chuckle.

“Exactly!” Kaya said with a laugh.