Chapter 39

Keiara and Rone entered a tent near the middle of camp. The sun was just starting to rise over the horizon. The orange purple glow was beautiful and left Keiara feeling a unique sort of hope. If there was still beauty like that in the world, then maybe things weren't as bad as she feared.

"How are you doing?" Keiara asked as she walked up to a cot near the front of the tent. The person occupying the cot rose onto his elbows so he could look at them without lying all the way down.

Keiara took a look around, feeling a sense of sadness. The tent was a large one and housed the warriors that had been injured in combat. There were dozens of them in cots lined up in neat, orderly rows.

"All things considered, it could be worse. My neck hurts but Heari says the wound there is healing and responding to the treatments," Niku told her. There was a small smile on his face but he looked haggard and worn out. He'd been stuck in the healers' tent for a day and a half and it was driving him crazy. He felt useless.

"How are you uh...doing with the other thing?" Rone asked, awkwardly. Having a Terra half-brother was still new to him.

"It's been...difficult. And hard to adjust. But I'm managing. How about you? I know we didn't get off to the greatest start." Niku laughed quietly as he remembered the time Rone knocked him out cold after they got into it. Looking back o it now, he realized how stupid and childish he'd been. He deserved what he got for saying such harsh things to Keiara.

"Fortunately, I've always wanted a brother. I guess you'll do," Rone joked. "Has your mom...our mom...been in?"

"She left to get me something to eat. I told her I wasn't hungry but she insisted. You know..." Niku stopped himself before he could finish. He was going to say you know how she is but he realized too late that Rone wouldn't know. Their mother abandoned him. "I'm...uh...sorry."

"Don't be," Rone said.

"You're looking better," Keiara told him. "I can't imagine what you've been through but I'm glad you're back." She reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

Rone saw a weird look come over Niku's face when Keiara touched his hand. It was a longing, almost desperate, look and Rone realized suddenly what it was.

Love.

Niku was in love with Keiara.

He felt like a fool for not seeing it earlier. He knew Niku had grown up hating Rooks and Rone realized that a Rook stealing the girl he loved would've only made his half-brother's hatred that much stronger. He observed Keiara's interaction with Niku carefully, a little bit of jealously flaring up inside him. It died down quickly when he saw that Keiara only saw Niku as a friend and nothing more.

"I'll be a lot better once I'm out of here and can fight again. Blak is extremely powerful but I'm going to do whatever it takes to bring that thing down. After what he did to me, he deserves nothing less." There was a look of anger on Niku's exhausted face.

"Maybe we should let you get some more rest. You've been through a lot," Rone said, getting up. He noticed that Keiara was still holding Niku's hand.

"No. I think I've had enough rest, at least for now," Niku replied. "What we need to do is plan. We need to figure out how to take Blak down for good. We're the Sentinels, you guys. It's up to us."

"I know but you can't fight in your current condition. Rone is right. You should rest," Keiara said, sounding very motherly.

"We'll be back in a few hours and then we can try to figure out what to do next," Rone said. He got up and Keiara followed after giving Niku a hug.

"We can win. Now that the three of us are together, we can win this fight," Rone reassured them. "We'll be back in a few hours. Eat something too. Get your strength back up."

Niku wanted to protest but decided to give in instead. They were right. He wasn't at a hundred percent and that would be stupid to rush into a battle not at full strength.

He gave them a nod and laid back down.

"All right. I'll rest up. Get me if Blak goes on the move again." His eye lids fluttered closed and he was asleep within seconds. Apparently, he was more exhausted than he thought.

They left Niku and walked over to another cot. This one had Heari lying on it. She was motionless and her face was practically skeletal. Her body looked so frail, as if the slightest touch could kill her.

Rone hoped she would wake from her coma but even if she did, he wondered if she would have the strength to even get out of her bed.

She had collapsed after raising the field of thorns. Several other Callers had also and two of them simply turned to dust. It was a blow they couldn't afford but their efforts had helped get Niku back.

"You ready?" he asked Keiara.

She was crying a little as she held Heari's hand. She bent down and kissed the old woman on the forehead and stood back up. She nodded to Rone and the two of them left.

They walked out of the tent and almost bumped into Gwen. She was carrying a tray of food and just about dropped it. Her quick reflexes saved it when she swerved out of the way at the last second.

"Sorry," Rone said awkwardly. That was all he said to his mother. He went to move past her but she set the tray down and grabbed his wrist.

"Rone, please," Gwen said. Her eyes were bloodshot and there was crusted blood around her nostrils. She looked terrible and Rone knew it was from the massive effort to control the enormous amount of nanos she'd controlled yesterday. The same thing happened to him. The negative side effects he went through, however, had already faded away.

"Gwen, this is probably not the time for this," Keiara implored.

"He is my son. You have no right to interfere," Gwen responded. There was a bit of a snobby tone to her voice that hinted at her past as a queen.

"That's where you're wrong, mother," Rone replied. "She has more right than you. Keiara has been there for me ever since she saved my life in the desert. She never wavered. Even though she was ostracized for it. Even though people hated her for it. She didn't care. She's shown me more love and kindness in the short time we've known each other than you ever have. So the one that has no right to interfere with me isn't her, it's you."

Gwen started crying but she nodded.

"Of course, Rone," she said. She turned to Keiara. "I apologize for my tone. And if I haven't said it before, I shall say it now. Thank you for saving my son's life."

She grabbed the tray of food and went into the healers' tent. She was out of view a few seconds later.

Rone and Keiara walked away.

"Forgive her," Keiara said. "She does love you, Rone. Anyone can see that. She made her choices but that doesn't mean you have to let those choices effect you. You can move past them."

"You're a much better person than me, Keiara," he replied, kissing her gently. He pulled away from her and smiled somewhat sadly. "It's too late for sorry. It's too late for forgiveness but I will try to be more...amicable with her. For you."

"Ok," she replied.

"Rone! Keiara!"

They turned at the sound of their names and saw a Terra warrior running toward them. Rone wasn't familiar with her but Keiara recognized the woman.

"Vom. What is it?" she asked.

"Your father needs you both. Something is happening."