"You defended your brother very well."

I bowed my head to the cave floor until soot marked my nose. "Yes, Physician. Do I have your gratitude?"

The Tritan scoffed. "What makes you think I have any vested interest in your brother--"

I looked up and locked onto his gaze. I let him see what I knew.

"Ahh. So you were spying that night."

Quickly, I returned to my prostration. Unhappy to recall the night of Xelan's conception.

He crossed his arms and stood over me as if contemplating the situation. "I found your mother difficult to resist."

I winced at his musings.

Slowly, he paced a circle around me. "Beautiful, graceful, and kind. A rare jewel."

Unbidden, my hands balled into fists. Still, I said nothing.

He stopped with a sigh. "If only I met Elden's daughter before all this. I would have stolen her away for myself--"

"Umbra poisons her." I failed in my silence, but perhaps I could seek an advantage. "Will you protect her?"

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For a long time, the Tritan turned into a statue.

Please help us. Please.

After a strained silence, he answered in a booming voice, "Boy, be certain or be silent!" The volume and depth of his words reverberated throughout the chamber, dislodging gravel along the walls.

I nodded, scraping my head on the rock. I was too frightened to speak.

He punched the cave wall behind him and formed an entirely new tunnel. Do you understand what I'm saying? So great was his might and ability that he punched clear through to the heart of the cave system. The cavern shuddered around us.

I gaped until I couldn't help myself. "Surely you can challenge him and save her?!"

He sounded so forlorn as he spoke with his back to me, "She is his property as agreed. He may do with her as he wishes."

I went to him then and stood at his knee. Looking up at his great height hurt my neck. "No. A person cannot be owned."

Tears glistened in the Physician's voids. "Boy... how you will disappoint yourself one day." He squeezed his eyes shut and when they reopened, they hardened into glass. "She will fight her own battle against your father. Forget your concern in this matter."

He stepped away from me to resume his pacing. "Even if I chose to eliminate Umbra, the mantle must fall to another." He pointed a long, slender finger at me. "Are you--a child--up to the task?" Shaking his head, the Tritan clasped his hands behind his back. "No rain. No vegetation. Keep the planet on the verge of extinction to subdue the population for our armies. The Icari are to fight our many enemies. If you are no longer hungry and desperate, then how will we maintain control?"

At this age, I began to understand the diplomacy and politics involved with our negotiations into the Vast Collective. I didn't understand Umbra's place in the grander scale. However, I agreed with the Physician on one thing: I was not ready to rule. But for my people's sake, I was ready to learn.

"Tell me what I must do."