Page 20 of Princess

I actually heard King inhale sharply.

“Shadow Warriors value children,” he said, his voice laced with restraint.“We do not make war on them.Too many have died.Too many parents have died.We live in harmony with the humans on this island.We protect them, and in return, they fight alongside us and help in all aspects of our care.When the war with the Federation is settled, we will return the island to its people.We’ll move to the mainland and find a home there.”

“Is there an islander we could speak with?”Mason asked.

I was surprised King didn’t lose his temper.

I quickly scribbled a name on my paper and handed it to Nokita.He left the room, and a moment later, I heard the door open again.

King’s voice followed a moment later.“Fetch Beatriz.”

A beat of silence.

“The woman in charge of the staff will be here shortly,” King continued.“I am trying to hold onto my temper and accommodate you.I understand that you fear us.I still don’t understand why.”

The woman spoke again.

“We were fed lies,” she admitted.“And no matter how stupid those lies are, and believe me, most of them don’t even make sense, but once you’ve heard them enough times, they become hard to ignore.I worked for the Federation’s development division,” she added.“So did Dave.We escaped when I was ordered to report to the military as a red stripe.”

Her voice dropped slightly.“Until then, we thought we were fighting you.The Federation made you out to be uncontrollable animals.We stayed away from the outposts that worked with you, but some of our people have relatives among them, and they noticed things were not what we thought.”

The door creaked open.

“Yes, Señor?”Beatriz’s voice came, a little shaky.

King didn’t hesitate.“Take my seat.”

A chair scraped against the floor as he stood.

“These people have questions for you,” he said.“Answer honestly, even if you think it’s something I might not want to hear.”

I knew he had moved toward the wall by the vent because a second later, I heard two small knocks to let me know he was close.

“Please, ask your questions,” Beatriz said, her voice stronger now.

A new voice spoke.A man’s.It had to be Kevin, since I didn’t recognize it.

“What’s the worst thing you can think of to say about the Shadow Warriors?”he asked.

“They eat too much,” she said without missing a beat.I could hear the smile in her reply.“They go through too many shoes, and we are forever trying to find more.It’s hard when their feet are so big.”She stopped speaking.

“That’s it?”Kevin asked with obvious skepticism, after about ten seconds.

Beatriz let out a soft chuckle.“What do you want me to say?”She didn’t wait for a response.“When they first came to the island, we were afraid, like you,” she continued.“We attacked them, and they tried very hard to stop us without killing anyone.When we realized we could not win, we accepted our fate.And you know what?It ended up being good.We are safe.Our children are safe.And the only thing they demand is that everyone works for the good of the island.If we choose to fight, they train us.If we choose to work on the island, they find something we enjoy.They ask for our opinions.They respect our wishes.”

She paused for a brief second before adding flatly, “You are stupid for not accepting their help.”

Silence.

“Are there more questions?”she asked, unimpressed.

This was why Beatriz ran the citadel.

A different voice, Mason’s this time, broke the silence.

“We heard there is a female Shadow Warrior?”

“There is.”

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