The Final Strife

“Sacrifice,” Yona said after a brief silence. “Our ancestors traded their sacrifice for prosperity.”

The skin around Anoor’s collarbone prickled, and she shivered.

“What do you mean, Grandmother?”

Yona’s eyes flashed.

“Did you know that I was expecting two children in my womb when I was pregnant? It runs in our family. I myself was a twin once.”

Anoor did not know either of those facts.

“The boy when he was born…he was sickly.” Yona looked through Anoor to a memory. “And Uka was strong, as strong as an eru.” Yona smiled then, her teeth shining.

“Did he die?”

The door opened, interrupting their conversation. Uka stood in the doorway, and Yona’s gaze shifted to her daughter’s and back to Anoor’s.

“With sacrifice comes prosperity.”

Uka frowned but didn’t comment, as she swept into the room.

“Daughter.” Yona stood to greet Uka with a peck on either cheek. She would never refer to her as “Warden,” despite decorum dictating it.

“Warden,” Anoor said quietly, though she didn’t lean in for a kiss. There was no point; her mother wouldn’t touch her. Not with affection anyway; a slap or a kick was perfectly fine, but not in front of others.

Uka was wearing a white robe, a more fitted version of the swathes of white fabric the Abosom wore. It was the one time of the year Uka did not wear gray. Despite the lightness of her attire, it was as if darkness swelled in Anoor’s mind when she arrived.

“Shall we begin lunch? The Abosom is in the dining hall ready to bless the meal.”

They all moved out of the lounge, Anoor, the forgotten puppy trailing behind, her mother and Yona in conversation.

“Anoor, why are you dragging your feet so?” Yona paused in the hallway, looking back at her.

Anoor started, then hurried along the hallway toward her mother and grandmother.

“We were just discussing the merits of the blood scour that Uka introduced during her first term as warden. It is good to keep an eye on the inhabitants of the empire, don’t you think?”

Yona was inviting her into the conversation. Her. Anoor. She spoke before the conversation passed her by.

“I think it raises a lot of questions around freedom of movement.”

Uka’s eyes snapped toward Anoor with the sound of a whip, though she knew it was only in her mind.

“Freedom of movement?”

“Yes.” Damn her curls quivering away. “Blood scours turn identities into permits. Closing off areas of the empire, like the Keep, exacerbates differences between the citizens. It allows for fragmentation within a unified state.” The words rushed out of her.

“Interesting,” Yona said before Uka could cut in. “Uka, you always told me Anoor was somewhat simple, but I’m beginning to think more and more that she is not. You might consider her viewpoint as it may help quench the dissent among the Nowerks.”

Anoor winced at the word, hearing the insult within it for the first time.

“There is no dissent among the Nowerks,” Uka snapped.

“Indeed? I hear that the peace I brokered with the crime lord has…fractured and he is taking…liberties.”

Uka inhaled sharply.

“And didn’t I hear that a group of Ghostings were caught fleeing the city? With babies they refused to give to the abattoir?” Yona spoke as if commenting on the weather.