Free TirzahsAllure by Gabriella Bradley

civilization.”
    Her heart somersaulted in her chest. Never see her parents again? Her siblings? Would the elders force her to choose?
    “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I can see you’re hurting. I don’t have the right to ask you to leave your people.”
    “You are my mate. I will follow you. But yes, my heart will be sad to leave my family.”
    “Maybe your sentence will be light. If they haven’t had a trial in all these years, I doubt they’ll go heavy on you.”
    Tirzah toyed with her food. She wasn’t really hungry so she only drank her juice. The tribunal would reconvene soon, and she’d be sentenced. Banishment? She’d rather leave with Cain now. The temptation was great, but neither did she want to abandon her people just like that.
    “It is time. They call me to return.”
    “I didn’t hear anything.”
    “They speak here.” Tirzah pointed to her head.
    “Oh. Be strong, babe. I’ll be there, just remember that.”
    Tirzah took her place in the center of the small arena and faced the tribunal of elders. Her heart was heavy, its beat a drumroll within her chest.
    “Tirzah, daughter of Calira and Henke. You will share your experiences with us now.”
    It took her by surprise. Instead of receiving punishment, they wanted her to talk? She hadn’t expected to share her story during her trial. It didn’t matter. The adrenaline set her body afire. Her mind churned to recall every little detail as she started talking. She didn’t omit a thing from the moment she left the compound to when she arrived in the city and met Cain. When she finally finished, there was a long silence. During the telling of her journey, she’d heard restlessness among the people on the bleachers. She was sure they were shocked at her findings, astounded there was a civilized species on this planet.
    “This tribunal is adjourned. We will resume in two hours.”
    Her heart filled with hope. They had listened to her, and now they were aware of what was out there. Maybe her punishment wouldn’t be that harsh. Then again, she didn’t know of anyone who had ever been judged by a tribunal or punished. They were probably going by the old laws on the home planet, laws she knew nothing about.
    Instead of joining Cain, she ran to her mother. “Mother, what is the worst punishment they can give me? You know the old laws of Alishur.”
    “Sweetie, everything was different then. The worst punishment was to be banished to the badlands. And that was only if the crime was really bad. It happened a few times that I recall. Since there were no black cats left on Alishur, no one was ever called before the elders for consorting with the enemy—if you can even call that a crime now. We can’t even be sure your Cain is a descendant from the forbidden tribe. If he is, by what you’ve told me, he is not aware of it. Anyway, that war happened so long ago, before even my grandparents were born and their parents. It was a stupid feud. They wanted to be the rulers of Alishur and so did our people. The wars were terrible. Many died before our people were victorious. The black cats decided there wasn’t enough room for both species, so they left the planet to settle elsewhere and peace returned to Alishur.”
    “It all sounds barbaric, violent.”
    “Perhaps we were then. We evolved.”
    “Apparently not enough or I wouldn’t have been called before the elders and accused of mating with one of the forbidden tribe. My only crime should have been the one of disobedience.”
    “You’re right. Those laws are hundreds of years old. I think it was the shock of seeing the black cat enter our village, then change into the black man he is. I must admit, it shocked me, too. I had learned about black men and black cats in history at school, but that’s it.”
    “Cain says there are many black people on this world, but they are not cats. I told you, I saw people of many skin colors in the city.”
    “There is your Cain. He is looking for you.”
    Tirzah