Sarhita's hands trembled as she began speaking, describing the attack in detail.
The arrival of the flying machine. The initial demands. The casual murders of warriors who'd tried to resist. The explosive device they'd threatened to use if full cooperation wasn't provided.
"We evaluated our options," Sarhita said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Fight and likely die, everyone in all three settlements, or surrender two individuals to save hundreds. The facts were clear. Two lives versus hundreds."
"The facts ignored that those two lives were my members," Jorghan said.
"That protecting them was a matter of honor, not arithmetic."
"We had no obligation to die for alien creatures!"
Sarhita protested, some defiance finally entering her tone. She wasn't the obedient woman whom he tamed and shared a bed with.
"Grace and Scarlett were humans, not elves. They came from another world, another culture, another species entirely. Why should we sacrifice our people for them?"
