Page 16 of Dark Island: Rescue
Areana clicked the television on and raised the volume to muffle their voices. Thankfully, all the harem guards were human, with human-restricted hearing.
Tears welled in Tula's eyes. "I knew it. I knew it was hopeless. We're never getting off this island."
"That's not what I said." Areana took Tula's hand. "I said it would be difficult, not impossible. Annani has resources, clever people who've managed extraordinary feats before. But we cannot complicate it further by trying to rescue everyone. Even if the clan were to agree to such a massive operation, which they won't, the logistics would be insurmountable."
"Would they refuse on principle? What if they can come up with something believable? Like aliens landing on the harem grounds and abducting all the beautiful ladies?"
Areana chuckled. "Yeah, I can see how that's believable. But seriously, the clan is not powerful enough to directly confront the Brotherhood. What you're suggesting would require an actual raid on the island, which would lead to a war with massive casualties on both sides. The clan won't risk that. I won't risk it."
Tula pulled her hand away, wrapping her arms around herself. "I hate leaving them behind. It feels like a betrayal."
"You're choosing your child," Areana said. "There's no betrayal in that. And since Tony is the father, he needs to go with you. Tamira and Elias risked everything tooffer you a chance, so it's only fair to include them as well."
Tula nodded. "You are being so generous, and I'm repaying you with additional requests and complaints."
Areana patted her knee. "You are trying to save everyone, but life doesn't work like that. You always have to choose, and sometimes there are no good choices, just slightly less bad ones."
They sat in silence for a moment, sipping their tea. The cheese and fruit remained largely untouched between them.
"What about you?" Tula asked.
"What about me?"
"Don't you want to leave? Don't you want freedom?" Tula's eyes searched hers. "You could come with us. Annani is your sister. She'd move mountains to rescue you. The clan would risk everything for their leader's sister."
Areana had asked herself the same question countless times over the millennia. Every time Navuh's cruelty became too much for her to bear, every time she watched him make decisions that horrified her, every time she had to stand by while innocents suffered, she questioned her devotion to him. But the flip side of the coin was that she provided balance to Navuh and kept him sane. Without her, he would have been much worse. Over the years, her presence next to him had probably saved the lives of millions.
"My place is here." She rose and walked to the double doors that overlooked the interior courtyard. "Many more people would have suffered anddied if I weren't here for Navuh. My love for him is what keeps him sane and prevents him from destroying the world."
"How can you love someone who does the things he does?"
Areana turned back to face her. "Because I see all of him, not just the monster everyone else sees. Yes, he's capable of terrible cruelty. But he's also capable of tenderness and a love so deep it consumes him. We're truelove mates, Tula. The Fates bound us together for a reason."
"The Fates made a mistake."
"No, they didn't. Without me, Navuh would be so much worse. I'm not his prisoner, Tula. I'm his conscience, his anchor to whatever humanity remains in him. When I moderate his harsh decisions, when I convince him to show mercy, when I soften his cruelty even slightly, that's the Fates working through me." She returned to the couch, sitting close enough that their knees touched. "I've learned to work within the constraints of my reality, to find whatever good I can, to nurture and protect it."
"Your sons didn't accept those constraints. They left."
The mention of Kalugal and Lokan sent a spike of pain through Areana's chest. "Their freedom is one of my greatest joys, even though their absence is one of my greatest sorrows."
"Then come with us and reunite with your children," Tula pleaded. "Don't you want to see little Darius? To hold him in your arms?"
Areana groaned. "Twist the knife in my heart, why don't you?"
"I'm sorry." Tula lowered her head. "That was a low blow."
Areana cupped Tula's face. "My love, my dear one who is like a daughter to me, I would do anything to spare you pain. But my path and yours diverge here. You must go, for your child and for yourself. And I must stay, for all the reasons I listed."
Fresh tears spilled down Tula's cheeks. "It will destroy him when he finds out you helped us, and I'm afraid of what he will do to you."
Navuh's rage would be terrible, his sense of betrayal absolute. Their relationship might never recover from this deception. But looking at Tula's desperate face, at the protective way she held her slightly rounded belly, Areana knew she had no choice.
"Let me worry about Navuh," she said. "You focus on maintaining your façade until the rescue comes. Can you do that?"
Tula nodded, wiping her tears with the back of her hands. "I have no choice."
"You need to be more careful. No more hypothetical scenarios about escape. No more meaningful looks with Tamira or whispered conversations with Tony. Give the guards nothing to report to Navuh."
