“Clearlynotimpossible,” Tikanna said, an oddly amused grin creasing her wrinkled face with cheerful mirth.
Rohanna shook her head, but more out of confusion than disagreement. “It should not be possible. We all know Dohrags do not bond. They never have. Not even those with mixed blood.”
Tikanna shrugged, nodding toward the couple standing silently waiting to find what would become of them. “And yet here we are. There’s no denying it. They have Infala bonded.”
“There is a first for everything, it seems. And we must therefore act accordingly.” Rohanna turned to face Shalia and her mate. “You two understand you are walking an unmarked path. None have come before you in this sort of thing.”
“Trailblazing, we call it on Earth,” Shalia replied. “And yeah, I didn’t realize what a big deal this was, but that’s all abundantly clear now.”
“Trailblazing? An apt name for it as you two are leaving thesmoldering wreckage of all we held as fact in your wake. What has happened between you two is more than, as you put it, abig deal.”
“I mean, I understand it’s something new, but did we really?—”
Tikanna interjected, cutting her off. “Oh, my dear, it changeseverything. There are long-standing lines drawn in the sand. Conflicts that have spanned centuries, built upon death and carnage. But somehow you have bonded with a Dohrag, and that changes how he must be treated, not only by us, but by any within the Dotharian Conglomerate. It is the law.”
“Well, I think I know thehowof what happened,” Shalia replied, tapping her collarbone. “He gave me this when I was captured.”
“Yes, we’ve seen this already when you were rescued,” Rohanna noted.
“Yeah, you did. But what I didn’t mention was that I kind of attacked him when he did.”
The two older women looked at one another with surprise, both sizing up the enormous man standing quietly in front of them.
“Youattackedhim?” Tikanna asked, almost beside herself with amusement at the thought. “Look at the size of him!”
“Not exactly my brightest moment, I’ll admit. But I just reacted, and though I obviously didn’t hurt him, I did scratch him in the process. Anyway, long story short, I rubbed the fresh tattoo, and when I did?—”
“Oh, I see,” Tikanna blurted. “It makes sense now. Intermingled Dohrag blood, of course. And I see the pigments did not erase the Dohrag marking but rather incorporated it into your own designs. How unlikely. “
“And yet here we are,” the human replied. “So, what happens now?”
Rohanna stepped closer, stopping right in front of the former commander. She looked up at him, unafraid, her demeanor even easing up slightly. “What you did in the past? Those acts wouldnormally be held against you regardless of your upbringing. Whatever your brethren required of you to make your way is not our concern, only your actions. And those have consequences.”
“I understand. And I am willing to face?—”
“I’m not done. This is clearly not a black-and-white issue, and while the law is the law with regard to those who have committed crimes against our people, there is another law. One law, the only one that supersedes all others. The Dotharian Conglomerate dictates that to achieve one’s Infala bond is a momentous and life-altering event. And as such?—”
“You’re going to set me free?” he blurted, shock clear on his face.
Shalia squeezed his arm, looking at him intently. “Wait. What? What’s going on?”
“It is Dotharian law. Of course, I know it. All living under their rule do. But it is an obscurity to Dohrags as it has simply never applied to our kind. Newly bonded mates are free by law, their slates wiped clean, their union giving them a new lease on life. A second chance.”
Rohanna nodded, assessing the man anew as his situation and what that entailed sank in. “You know the law well, Dohrag. And yes, you are free. Your sins of the past are erased, but know that they are not forgotten.”
“I understand.”
“I hope you do. Be mindful of your actions. Whatever wrongs you may commit from this point on will not be so easily erased.”
“I swear it on my life, my sole purpose is to be with my mate. To keep her safe and happy, whatever that might require of me.”
Rohanna flashed a look at Tikanna, one brow slightly raised in a questioning way. Tikanna gave the slightest nod. “You will do whatever is required to keep her safe?”
“I will.”
“Even if that means becoming a protector of the Oraku people? If it means fighting against your own kind?”
“Without hesitation,” he replied, his chest puffed out andproud. “They are my people no more. Shalia is my home. My life. Where she is, I will stand by her side and keep her safe, whatever it takes. And I hope to even make amends in the process.”
