Old Enemy, New Ally

Ava stood with a cup of coffee in her hand, watching Gina run a drill with their guards. They hadn’t needed to fight since she’d created the safe space, they now call home. And since she’d found peace with herself and her life. She knew that Sam still saw her as a threat, and she kept that illusion going, it kept her people safe. When she’d decided to create Beta, and take people who’d been treated unfairly, she’d thought that one day she’d take her army and take out Sam. But as the time passed and she and Gina settled, her need for revenge had diminished. Now all she cared about was keeping her people safe and happy. She wondered, not for the first time, how long they’d be able to keep their home a secret. With the new market that sold herbs that they grew on their land, word about them would spread. Especially under the witches and shamans who flocked to their markets. She’d been to a few. And she’d witnessed how much wha