Page 70 of The Mentor
When I nodded, he pulled me to the side and lowered his voice. “Did Christina say anything to you?
From a position in the kitchen, my eyes flew to Christina who already sat in the dining room, calmly talking with Pearl, Khan, and Archer.
“About what?” I asked.
“Something’s wrong and I don’t know what it is. She’s grumpy and she’s become really distant lately.” A ghost of pain flashed over his face. “I thought maybe you would know if something was bothering her.”
“She hasn’t mentioned anything,” I assured him.
Boulder shot a longing glance in his wife’s direction. “I think she’s getting tired of me.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing for you to worry about.” I deflected the subject and signaled that we’d better get back to the board meeting that was about to start.
“Magni is joining us from the East Coast,” Khan said and made a small nod to the hologram of his brother.
“Oh, hey.” I waved my hand at Magni and he raised his chin in reply.
“How are you doing, Kya? Is Finn taking his job seriously?”
“I’m safe and sound,” I told him with a smile. “How about you, are you doing a lot oftalking?”
Magni gave an open-mouthed yawn. “It’s going to take a while to calm these fuckers down. Some of our countrymen believe we should have forced Pearl to follow our traditions. They feel cheated that they didn’t get a chance to win her in a tournament.”
“And now you’re giving them a chance to fight you instead?” I asked. “And how is that helping? Maybe what they need is for someone to educate them and make them understand that–”
Khan cut me off. “Why don’t we focus on the school business for tonight? I don’t remember asking you for advice on how to run my country.”
“Maybe you should,” Pearl said softly and gave her husband a smile.
“I want to know what the situation is with William,” Khan said, ignoring his wife’s provocation. “Will he be scarred from his burn wound?”
“There will be some scarring, but he has healed really well and even gained popularity because of all the sympathy from the kids and also because the fish skin on his hand made him look like a mutant,” Archer said.
“That’s good, and what about the division? Is it still boys against girls? Any more pranks?”
“We got it under control,” Archer declared.
“The thing that worries us the most,” I said, “is that the Nboys still look down on the children from the Motherlands. It’s like they lack fundamental respect, and I don’t know how to explain it except that they seem to think that male is better than female.”
Quiet glances were exchanged between the men in the room, and if I had been braver I would’ve called them out on it. Luckily, I didn’t have to; Pearl did it for me.
“That’s because boys here are raised to believe they are superior to women, isn’t that right?” she said in a calm voice. “Women don’t work, they don’t own property or have money, they aren’t asked for their opinions, and they certainly don’t hold any positions of power in this country.”
“I don’t need to ask you for your opinion,” Khan told her. “You give it to me freely all the time.” Even from my side of the table I could feel the playful energy between them.
“Anyway, as you all know by now, Christina and I thought it would be a good idea to bring all the children on a field trip to the Motherlands,” I said. “That way the boys can see how advanced we Motlanders are and hopefully gain some new perspective and respect.
“The Council has approved our plans and all we need to do now is come up with the exact dates and agree on the details.”
“This is fucking fantastic,” Magni exclaimed. “Maybe I can find Laura then.”
“Unfortunately, the Council’s invitation doesn’t include you,” Pearl said and bit her lip. “They still haven’t forgotten that you kidnapped Athena.”
“And even if they had, you still have to stay here and focus on the rebels. The situation is too volatile for you to leave now,” Khan added.
“I’m surprised the Council will allow this,” Boulder pondered out loud.
Pearl leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table. “It helps that my mother is the chairwoman and has been here to see the school and meet you men for herself, not to mention that Councilwoman Sheana Rene recognized an opportunity to see her daughters Rochelle and Shelly again.”
