That left Unnati herself. The Chief Hunter may not have been an elected representative, but her word carried substantial weight among the civil as well as military leadership.

What was her angle, here? She’d never been easy to read, and that continued to be so.

Ruban knew which side she’d been on, originally. But was that still the case? As the Chief Hunter, she’d long been looking forward to the rollout of the reinforced sifblades. She was an ambitious woman. And the reinforced sifblades were projected to boost the efficacy of the Hunter Corps; minimize casualties and increase their hit-rate.

After months in public disfavor – thanks to the clash with the feather mafia at Reivaa’s castle – the Hunter Corps was all set to rise from the ashes. Reclaim its former glory.

He couldn’t blame Unnati for craving that win. Or for resisting an alliance that could jeopardize her attempt to reclaim lost ground.

But those concerns were no longer relevant.

Ruban’s (very public) victory over Prince Shwaan had cemented the reputation of the Hunter Corps. In the minds of the Vandran public, it’d proven beyond a doubt which side held real power in this partnership.

And they were right. While that fight may not have been totally unorchestrated, it was true that Vaan lacked the numbers to pose a real threat to Vandram. Safaa herself had acknowledged it.

It didn’t matter whether or not any individual human could subdue an Aeriel. So long as there were two thousand humans in Vandram for every Aeriel in Vaan, there could be no contest between them.

Plus, if the alliance came to pass, it’d have to be spearheaded by the Hunter Corps. Per necessity. Which would, in turn, amplify the importance of Unnati’s role as Chief Hunter.

And she was too sharp not to have taken any of that into consideration.

It didn’t take long for Unnati to bring up the salient – albeit uncomfortable – point. “His reservations are not entirely unfounded, you know? And his point about the tracking chips…it deserves consideration. Doesn’t have to be for a hundred years, of course. Even a decade would suffice. It’ll help quell some of the mistrust and apprehension the public is bound to have, the first few years. I don’t see the harm in exploring the idea, at the very least.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Don’t you?” Ruban raised his eyebrows. “Really? They’re being lynched left and right, as it is. You don’t think being tracked and monitored round the clock will make them easier targets?”

Unnati barely suppressed her eye-roll. “We won’t be sharing the tracking details with the cults, Kinoh. You can be sure of that.”

“I’d hope not,” Ruban deadpanned. “But how sure can you be that there are no HAVA members – or at least HAVA sympathizers – within the IAW? Or the Hunter Corps? After everything that happened with Atbin Siyal, do you expect the leadership of Vaan to even consider such a proposal?”

“I suppose not.” She exhaled sharply. “Oh well, it was worth a shot. Believe it or not, I do think we need to move forward with the alliance. It’s too late to turn back now, even if we wanted to. Kanbar and Zaini are snapping at our heels. Whatever façade of solidarity there currently is between the nations, it’ll crumble as soon as the pressure starts mounting. To fall back on a cliché, we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place.”

“And whether or not the alliance is a good idea in its own right,” Simani concluded. “It’s the best in the array of bad options before us.”

Unnati nodded grimly. “But what I think won’t matter unless we can get Rifaq to switch sides. Or at least tone down his rhetoric. He has always been popular among his constituency. But this last week, he's become almost a messiah among those who oppose the alliance. And that’s a significant chunk of the population, even now.”

Ruban murmured his assent. The defence minister had always been conservative in his approach. Inflexible, in some ways. That was part of his appeal. His rigid, almost black-and-white morality didn’t leave much room for political finagling. He wasn’t easy to beguile or manipulate. And he certainly wasn’t the type to hide or alter his beliefs, in the name of political expediency.

Ruban understood why the recent discourse on the alliance had set alarm bells ringing in his mind. Two years ago, Ruban himself would’ve had the exact same reaction.

He’d known that changing Rifaq’s opinion wouldn’t be easy. Because his opinion wasn’t based on any practical considerations. He wasn’t concerned with the revenue generated by Aeriel feathers, the stock prices of refineries, or the geopolitical machinations of their neighboring countries.

He genuinely believed that an alliance with Vaan would be detrimental to humanity as a whole. That the new queen of Vaan wanted simply to pick up where her mother had left off. And that the alliance was just another attempt to subjugate humans and rule over earth.

“But why now?” Ruban asked, meeting Unnati’s eyes. “That’s the part I don’t understand. Rifaq was never open to the idea of the alliance. I get that. But why’s he taking to the streets now? Why not when it was first announced, months ago? What’s happened now to make him think that Ashwin is lying about his captivity? About the branding?”