Page 134 of The Pacifist
With a satisfied grunt, Magni released his grip on Jonah and walked off to join Khan again.
“Come on.” I reached out my hand to Jonah. “Let’s get the dogs inside and check up on Loki.”
We walked in silence, keeping our distance from the frightened men sitting on the ground.
“My parents kept saying this could happen. That’s why they had my siblings stay in the Motherlands with Athena and Finn.”
“I know.”
“It’s ironic that the same day my siblings return home, an attack happens.”
Jonah sighed and rubbed his face. “I’m still in shock, but everyone is safe now. That’s all that matters.”
“Not Loki.” My eyes teared up again. “He might die.”
“Milove.” Looking lost for words, Jonah pulled me in for a tight hug.
I could have stayed in the comfort of his arms forever, but with a steadying breath I pulled back. “Will you go with me to find Finn and Loki?”
“Of course, you don’t even have to ask. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
“Yes, you proved that,” I whispered and felt Holger push at my hip. “And so did you.” I scratched him behind his ear before looking back up at Jonah. “Thank you!”
CHAPTER 31
Tournament
Jonah
I’m married to Mila.
The thought kept popping up at the weirdest times and each time it released a warm tingling in my body.
With Mila, time flew by so fast that it felt like my life was on fast forward. After the attack it was like we had been given a second chance at life and we couldn’t waste a second. In the week between our wedding and the tournament, we had found quiet corners at the Manor that were perfect for quickies, and most nights we talked until she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. Sometimes, I would watch her sleep while trying to wrap my head around how much I loved her and how lucky I was that she loved me back.
Mean-spirited tongues whispered that the attack on our wedding night had been staged by Khan to gain sympathy. Pearl assured me that it was nonsense and I believed her.
From the interrogations of the attackers the incident was categorized as an impulsive act concocted out of envy and a deep lust for power.
Magni called the attackers stupid amateurs for thinking they could overrun him and Khan with only a dozen men. He also took time for some long walks with me and probed about how I felt about the killing.
I had always been the one trying to make him reflect on things, so it was an interesting change between us. When Solo and Zasquash came to talk about their experience with killing, it felt like an intervention but I didn’t stop them because I knew Magni had sent them and that they were trying to help. Besides, with the scars on their souls, I figured that they needed to talk about it as much as I did.
The irony of the men’s failed attempt was that their attempt to overrun Khan only made him more popular as it served as a reminder to the nation of how unpredictable and fragile life used to be in the Northlands.
Before the Aurelius family came to power and secured peace for the last forty-two years, there had been a slew of self-appointed men ruling the Northlands until they were killed by the next ambitious man in line. No one wanted to return to those days, and it only made Khan’s popularity soar to new heights.
On the first day of the tournament, the third episode of theMen of the Northseries aired in the evening. By now, the whole country was hooked on the show. Mila and I were no exception. It was her birthday but she declined a party. All she wanted to do was to watch the show with the rest of us.
The media kept the hype going by giving away more details from the original story behind the series. That part only had Magni groaning when headlines surfaced from the time Laura had left him. The articles brought back painful memories and came with unflattering pictures of him in drunken bar fights.
Men of the NorthTours popped up, promising to take visitors to the sights where the series had been filmed, and when the tournament finally began, a huge booth sold out onMen of the Northmerchandise in only two days.
Instead of the normal two to three days that a bridal tournament lasted, the festivities were now spread out over a whole week. With thousands of participants, there were constant fights in the three large arenas that each held up to ten fighting rings. For the Nmen it was a giant feast of violence. For the rest of us there were street musicians, a comedy tent, a marketplace selling craft works, and of course plenty of beer tents and food stands for the hungry.
The number of visitors surpassed all predictions, in large part because of the dating area, which attracted Nmen from all over the country who were hoping that one of the Motlander women from the Couples Matching Program would pick them. It was a short cut through a selection process that could normally take years since each Motlander was only presented with ten suitors at a time. The meetings in the dating area didn’t rely on algorithms or compatibility in terms of answers on a questionnaire. Instead it was up to the people to chat and figure out if there was a connection.
This was the first time Nmen and Motlander women were meeting without knowing anything about each other.
