The Girl Who Fell From The Sky - Rebecca Royce Page 0,23
was like an angry hiss, illuminating the fact that none of these people were talking. They were all moving swiftly, efficiently, serious.
Almost all of them were women or very aged folks.
“What’s going on?” I asked before I could stop myself.
Astor grabbed my hand and threaded us through the throng. The flow of people was moving deeper into the underground warrens, but we went against the tide, headed toward Astor’s rooms.
“Mattis would have told Dreama what he read on the lists,” Astor said in a low voice. “She has ordered everyone underground, where we are better fortified, just in case.”
In case? In case of what? I voiced that question, and he winced.
“You have heard what Reamers do to people, yes? You’ve met Cannon. Women have even more cause for concern, so the panic is not unwarranted. Look, I understand the instinct and their fear, but I don’t hide in times like these.”
He led us through the crowd, grabbing things from baskets as he did. I tried to keep up. So far, I’d been moving faster on this planet than I ever had anywhere else. Other than the rare times I was allowed to exercise, I was basically forced to stroll.
“Why not?” I raised my voice above the sound of so many people moving.
“If the Reamers overrun us, I’d rather they kill me fast. And do not worry, I won’t let them have you.”
Well…that was dark.
I couldn’t even process it before Dreama stood in his way, blocking his exit. “Brother, where do you think you’re going?”
He came to an abrupt stop, a scowl covering his face. “Sister. Move.”
“Everyone is going to the hiding tunnels.” She lifted a brow. “Including you.”
Astor laughed. “You know I will do no such thing.”
“If you wish to play cards with your life, then so be it. But you are responsible for Torrin’s woman. You can’t endanger her.”
He looked over at me and squeezed my hand. “Dreama, she will be perfectly safe with me. If anything, I will be better able to get her away should the Reamers arrive.”
“It isn’t just the Reamers and you know it.” They looked each other eye-to-eye. She was the tallest woman I’d seen here. While most of the women around wore long skirts and kept their heads down, Dreama was definitely treated differently. Was it her rank or just Dreama? “Any number of other groups could make a play for us with Torrin missing and half our troops with him. We could be attacked by the Corchrins. The Dowals. The Marching Men.”
Astor nodded. “They could. Or nothing could happen at all. I am taking our brother’s woman to eat something. When it is over, I will consider bringing her down below with the others. It isn’t possible that any of them, not a single other City-State or raging barbarian tribe could overrun our borders and hurt Bianca in the amount of time that will take. Even you, alarmist that you are, can’t deny that.”
Her face fell. “Astor, why must you defy me every time something like this happens?”
If I hadn’t been holding his hand, I’d not have felt how his body vibrated when she asked that question of him. “It isn’t just you, Dreama. Ask Torrin sometime how well I follow his directions. I am a problem. Even to myself. Thank you for…trying.”
Dreama looked at me a long second. “Take care of my brother, Bianca. I still can’t make sense of you. But I’d like to, seeing as one way or another, we are soon to be family.”
I opened my mouth. “Thank you, I’ll…try.” I didn’t know how I would do that, exactly, considering I was the most lost person on this planet. How many groups were there on this planet or this region? And…raging barbarians? Sweat broke out on the back of my neck. Were they all as bad as the Reamers? And had all of these people descended from prisoners who crashed here?
I couldn’t even remember who had been on those ships. Murderers. Rapists. Political prisoners. Had they all been together? I should have paid better attention in history class.
But I didn’t voice any of these other questions, just followed Astor to his rooms. I did notice the people in the tunnels didn’t brush past me or bump into me. They didn’t touch me at all, and definitely didn’t look at me. It was as if I were invisible, or else they were so interested they had to look away so they wouldn’t stare.