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The suspicion that radiated from the black mare’s every muscle beneath her skin was not lost on the red mare. Her inquisitive nature was perhaps threatening Wasp’s authority, and she can feel the lack of patience for such curiosity between the lines of her curt question. Nekharat stiffened, and then relaxed in an effort not to threaten the mare further. Truly, she did not wish to make an enemy out of the Vulcan, but she was no fool to notice her defensiveness. She shifted her stance, changing her tone to match Wasp’s own—direct.

“I want to know who our enemies are,” she stated, thinking of Solomon of the Cove. “I have come across those who slander our good intentions, and if I am to represent the Vulcans rightly, I would like to know what it is we truly fight for.”

Nekharat’s own intentions are another matter. She believed in freedom and equality, and she had assumed that such values were common across the women of this Peak. When Amduat had come to her aid, many months ago, she placed the freedom of choice back in her court, and Nekharat had been thankful. And in her travels to both the Dunes and the Cove, done only in an effort to understand the origins of such oppression, she had found no others who seemed to stand for similar.

Wasp pressed her further, prodding at her curiosity and questioning her own goals. Nekharat obliged, not wishing to challenge Wasp any more than she had already perceived.

“I want this world to be better. One can still lay claim to another without the privilege of choice. I have experienced it firsthand, and I have continued to see such oppression handed down under the guise of righteousness.”

She paused a moment to gauge Wasp’s reaction—did she want the same thing?

NEKHARAT