The Mate I Never Chose
"You don't control it. You accept it. And if that doesn't work, we burn their equipment until there’s nothing left but slag."
"You sound like you’ve done this before," Rangga noted, his heart sinking.
"I have," Arung replied, his voice chillingly flat. "It never ends well for the people who think they can own the earth."
They moved through the jungle at a breakneck pace, the terrain becoming increasingly treacherous as they ascended the foothills. The flora here was different—ancient, twisted, and pulsing with an unnatural, bioluminescent fungus that seemed to mirror the markings on Rangga’s body. Every step Rangga took felt like he was walking on the nerves of a living creature.