by Eva Brandt
“Will this be a problem for you?” Knox asked after a small pause. “With your father, I mean?”
I thought about the last conversation I’d had with my father and grimaced. “When it comes to my relationship with my family, Selene isn’t in the top five reasons why we don’t get along. It’s fine. If my father gets any ideas, he won’t bother to come to the academy and I’ll come up with some excuse. He’s prone to thinking the worst of me anyway.”
If I hadn’t been the sole heir of the Chimera line, my father would’ve disinherited me long ago. He knew very well that I disagreed with the traditional rules that had been enforced for generations. But how could I not, when I’d watched my mother wither away into a shadow while carrying the burden of the world’s disdain and expectations? As a child, I’d been unable to do anything to help her, but I’d sworn that when I finally took the throne, I’d change things.
It was just taking a little longer than I’d hoped. If things kept going in this direction, I might have to resort to a method I’d tried to avoid so far. Not that I wasn’t prepared to try my hand at patricide, regicide and assassination, but that was a slippery slope, and if I failed or news of it came out, it would be a disaster. I had to wait for a while longer.
On the training field, Scylla sneakily tried to shove Sphinx and Charybdis out of the way. She was marginally successful, her tentacles slowing down the faster chimeras just enough to allow her to take the lead. But August and Selene didn’t give up. The tachyon emissions around Sphinx intensified, and the light grew so bright it hurt my eyes. Meanwhile, Charybdis slithered out of Scylla’s grip, far more graceful than a gigantic snake-like machine should’ve been.
I watched them and in the motions of each mecha, I could see my three companions engaged in a lethal dance. “You can have this for real,” Typhon reminded me. “You don’t have to throw your needs away.”
“Whose side are you on, Typhon? I thought you agreed with me. You yourself said that Selene needs to go, that she’s in danger here.”
“And I still believe that, but my priority is not Selene Renard’s well-being, but yours. If you want to truly add her to your brood, no matter how dangerous it might be, go ahead. There’s nothing more painful than discarding your own instincts and betraying your heart.”
I shook my head, frustrated with his cryptic statements. “You’ve been spending too much time with Sphinx, haven’t you? You used to be a little more straightforward.”
“I’m being perfectly straightforward. You’re just not listening.”
Grumbling under my breath, I decided I’d stayed out of the training field long enough. I could monitor Selene’s flight path from my chimera. I’d already determined the extent of her talent and needed to get my own hours in to make sure I received full credit.
As I headed to my chimera, Knox mimicked me. Cerberus’s cockpit opened up to let him in and he disappeared inside, swallowed by the metal beast that both protected him and often seemed very close to destroying him.
The same could be said about all of us, including me, but it was a burden I’d accepted, one I knew I had to live with so I could achieve my goal. Selene still had a chance to be free of this mess, a chance to leave it all behind. Typhon might claim I wanted her to be my broodmate, and he might be right. But I wanted her to be safe more.
Maybe one day, her descendants would come back to Chimera Academy and inherit the power of the Sphinx. On that day, no one would turn them away because they were Terran. No one would care about their gender. I’d make sure of it. No matter what I had to do, I’d build a world where every human being was safe, not just the ones The Grand Judiciary decided to choose using their arbitrary standards.
My fellow Chimera Warriors would have to sacrifice their futures on the altar of my dream, but that was our shared vow and our promise. For the sake of her sanity and her life, Selene couldn’t be a part of it.
“It will be as you wish it then,” Typhon hissed. For a few seconds, I could’ve sworn I heard a hint of uncharacteristic sadness in his voice. It disappeared into the icy fire of Typhon’s poisonous magic.
As my mind connected to Typhon’s, the weakness in my human body melted away, leaving behind only the determination and perpetual strength of the immortal beast. My plan would work. Selene was emotionally vulnerable because of what she was going through. It wouldn’t be very difficult for the four of us to seduce her. Knox had said that she’d seemed to respond to him when they’d been on the shuttle, but thinking back, he suspected she didn’t have a lot of experience with men. She’d be an easy target.
The Sphinx would undoubtedly try to warn her, but she couldn’t be there all the time and couldn’t keep us away from Selene.
After all, Selene was a woman and we were men. We’d been built to fall into bed with one another, to take pleasure in each other’s bodies. If nothing else, I certainly looked forward to that. I was sure her pussy would be as perfect as her flying.
Fraternization
Selene
After my flight practice, I felt far better and more energized. We hadn’t done much and in the end, I hadn’t been the one to win the race. Knox had, the cheater. Even so, after spending time with Sphinx, my fears seemed unwarranted. No matter what anyone else said, I belonged here. This flight session proved it.
But that didn’t change the fact that the academy was unsafe for me. Brendan realized this very well, because after the lesson, he pulled me aside, behind his chimera.
There was something strikingly intimate and clandestine about the gesture, even if the others were still in the hangars and Typhon was right there, next to us. Brendan’s eyes glinted in the dim light, their bright green reminding me a little of the verdant pastures of Earth. He blinked and a shadow swept over his face. No, nothing like a fertile field, I decided. A flawlessly cut emerald, with sides so sharp they could slice into one’s soul.
“I wanted to entrust you with a gift, Selene,” he said. “It’s a bit presumptuous of me, but realistically, I know we can’t be by your side during every single lesson. The gap between our education and yours is too large.”
He wasn’t saying it to be insulting, but even if I’d felt hurt over his blunt assessment, I would’ve changed my mind when he produced the gift in question. He brushed his fingers over the edge of his chimera’s foot. One of the snake-like heads detached and slithered to the ground.
The metal scales twisted and reformed, creating a smaller snake that easily wound around Brendan’s body. Brendan petted the black head of the creature and explained, “Typhon can detach some of his smaller heads, to send them as scouts and such. I want you to have this head as a guardian. He’s far more portable than your chimera and his sheer presence will act as a deterrent for anyone who might get the wrong idea.”
I gasped, the enormity of what he was entrusting me with rendering me mute in every other way. Sphinx was already so important to me and I’d only known her a week. The relationship between Typhon and Brendan was undoubtedly even closer. And yet, he was giving me a part of his chimera.
“Does the idea not appeal?” Brendan asked when I didn’t immediately speak.
I finally recovered my voice. “It’s not that. I’m just shocked. I didn’t expect such a generous offer.” I extended my hand, chastising myself when I saw I was shaking. Brendan’s snake left his comfortable spot and took me up on my offer. He crawled up my arm, winding himself around my neck and shoulders.
“Thank you,” I told Brendan. “I will keep him safe.”
“You’re missing the point of this, Ms. Renard,” Tiny Typhon said. “This works the other way around. I’m the one who’s supposed to guard you.”
“Such things work both ways,” I shot back. “Besides, you might be a strong chimera, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help you if you need it.”
“True.” Big Typhon hissed in a mix of amusement and approval. “You’re an interesting one, Ms. Renard, I’ll give you that. I’ll be very happy to watch your back
while you’re here at the academy.”
The class ended shortly after that and I was forced to rush to my next one. It was Astronomy, and it was taught by a portly man wearing radiation goggles. His white hair contrasted sharply with his black skin. Easily four times my age, he introduced himself as Dr. Achebe and he smiled at me warmly, showing none of the disregard the other students and teachers had displayed toward me. “Astronomy is a subject all Chimera pilots need to be instructed in,” he told us. “Some of you might find it boring, but without it, you’ll be unable to complete missions in deep space and you’ll make mistakes that could endanger the lives of your team mates.”
He was right, but even so, the first lesson was far more boring than what I’d learned so far at the academy. I wasn’t a complete newbie at this, since my mother had taught me about it. Some of the terms our teacher used were different, though, so I’d been placed in a lower year than I should’ve been. I had to fight the urge to fall asleep. Dr. Achebe seemed nice, but I wasn’t crazy about wasting time going over things I’d learned three years back.
I ended up tuning most of the lecture out, petting my new snake and talking to Sphinx. She found Brendan’s plan an excellent idea, although she still cautioned me to be careful. “It’s a generous gesture. It could be that Prince Brendan is indeed as worried about you as he claims, but at the same time, he might have a hidden agenda.”
“That’s nothing new, though,” I replied. “Besides, if he wanted me gone that badly, he could’ve just abandoned me instead of helping me like this.”
Sphinx hummed, but didn’t sound convinced. “Nothing is ever what it seems. Prince Brendan grew up in the Chimera royal family. He was studying political manipulation when you were still learning how to crawl. That kind of person can’t be trusted, no matter what.”
Maybe she had a point, but if I started from the premise that my fellow Chimera Warriors didn’t mean well, I might miss out on something beautiful. So far, we’d butted heads on all kinds of things, but even so, they’d helped me from the very beginning. Knox was part of the reason why I was here in the first place, because without him, I never would’ve figured out a way to summon Sphinx on my own. We might disagree on my position, on everything that was right and accepted here at Tartarus Base, but it couldn’t hurt to give them a chance, could it?
The rest of the day went well and was pretty uneventful. I had lunch with the others, then another theoretical lesson, this time of Ancient History. Professor Cletus Moore ignored me, but I found his lecture interesting, since the approach was different from my mother’s. It wasn’t a challenge, though, and I suspected I’d get bored of it pretty quickly.
Before long, the day was over and we were returning to the dorms. I’d carried the metal snake with me all day, and although on occasion, he’d slithered off me, my shoulders still ached. Between that and the morning spent piloting, I felt exhausted and desperately wanted a shower.
It was only as I entered our room that I remembered what August and Pollux had told me on my first day here. Showers were usually taken by several units together. If I wanted to go clean up, I’d have to do it in front of the members of my unit and the Harpy tamers.
Fuck it. I couldn’t avoid taking a shower forever. How could I face an apsid in battle if I was afraid of a little thing like displaying nudity?
If anyone had an unpleasant reaction, I’d ignore it, just like I had with the other things the students had said so far. Besides, I might not want to rely on Knox, Brendan, August, and Pollux, but I was realistic enough to acknowledge that their presence would keep everyone from doing anything too offensive or harmful.
With that in mind, I grabbed my washing solution, a towel, fresh underwear and a clean uniform. The others noticed what I was doing and stopped in the middle of their own preparations. “You’re coming with us?” Pollux asked in visible surprise.
I nodded and didn’t let his reaction deter me. “That’s the rule here at the academy, right? Of course I have to comply. I can’t ask for special privileges, just because I’m a woman. It’s not something I want anyway. I want to be treated like everyone else and the showers are a part of it.”
Knox clenched his jaw, but said nothing. Brendan squeezed his hip without looking at him. His gaze settled on me, as fierce and determined as it had been in the hangars. “All right. We’ll try to make it at least a little easier for you.”
I couldn’t help a small chuckle. “Don’t worry so much. No one will dare to attack me while you’re there and that’s what counts. Sticks and stones, you know?”
“We don’t have a lot of sticks and stones at Chimera Academy, Selene,” August drawled. “Here it’s all about the metal and that can break more than bones.”
His words reminded me a little of Sphinx’s comment from earlier, her suggestion that I needed a ‘soul of steel’. Like her, August didn’t elaborate. Instead, he grabbed his things and left the room first. The rest of us followed him, heading toward the baths.
By the time we got to our destination, most of the members of Harpy Squad had already arrived. When they saw me, they gaped, as if my decision to take a shower was as remarkable and life-changing as the day I’d become a chimera tamer.
Brendan and the others greeted them with silent nods and I did the same. I hadn’t been introduced to most of them, but this wasn’t the best moment. I’d keep my distance for now, get clean, and then collapse in a bed to rest my exhausted body.
The bathroom doors slid open and we were allowed inside. My fellow Chimera Warriors led me to a locker room I hadn’t seen the first time I’d been here. I wordlessly started to take my clothes off, ignoring every single man around me who was doing the same thing.
My determination faltered when I heard Knox release a choked noise. I’d have ignored it, but a screech of protesting metal followed. I dared to steal a look at him, but nothing seemed amiss. Had I imagined it?
Shaking myself, I placed my uniform and underwear in the dispenser prepared for the dirty clothing. When everything was in order, I turned away from the locker, only to realize that three-quarters of the people in the room were staring at me.
My temper exploded. Seriously, this was ridiculous. “What?” I snapped at them. “Have you never seen a naked woman before?”
I was pretty enough, but if my trip to the settlement had proven anything, it was that the men at Tartarus Base had easy sex at their disposal. The nature of it might disgust me, but the fact remained that no one here was deprived of sexual satisfaction. There was nothing that special about me that warranted this reaction.
“Of course we have,” one of them replied, “but that doesn’t change how attracted we are to a Terran slut—”
“Enough!” Brendan barked, interrupting the exchange before it could get truly unpleasant. “You will not refer to Selene using any insulting terms. Consider this your sole warning. If anyone has an issue with this arrangement, step out now. We’re mature adults and we’ll handle this accordingly.”
“That’s nice of you to say, Your Highness, but you’re not doing any better than we are,” a second member of the Harpy Squad answered.
I glanced at Brendan and instantly regretted it upon realizing what the Harpy tamer had meant. Brendan’s voice sounded as cool and calm as always, but he had an erection, and the body didn’t lie.
In fact, all of them did, and no matter how hard—no pun intended—I tried to ignore them, drawing so much sexual attention wasn’t something I was used to.
Okay, maybe I’d miscalculated a bit. It was all right. I was here now and I couldn’t run just because I felt uncomfortable.
I straightened my back and suppressed a flinch when the motion just drew their eyes to my breasts.
Whatever. I refused to be embarrassed by my body because they liked to look at it. Like Brendan had said, we were all mature adults. I’d decided I’d get used to this and I would.
Flanked by my companions, but studiously not looking at them, I made my way to th
e showers. The others all followed in silence. Brendan’s words must’ve made a difference, at least a little, because they didn’t make any other unfortunate comments.
The door of the shower room slid closed and I forced myself to not think about the fact that I was naked in an enclosed space with a dozen nude, aroused men. I didn’t think I’d ever been in a more awkward situation in my life. The opinions of the Harpy tamers didn’t matter that much, but with the other members of my unit, it was different.
By necessity, they stood very close to me, and even if I was doing my best to ignore their nakedness, the heat they emanated flowed over me like a physical caress. My nipples pebbled in response and my knees started shaking. Fire pooled in my belly and I bit the inside of my cheek to suppress a moan.
This was stupid. How could I possibly find anything about this sexy, when so many strangers were staring at me like I was their own personal slut? They considered me a hole to fuck, a piece of meat and not of person.
But Brendan, Knox, August, and Pollux weren’t like that. They might still have their reservations about my place in their unit, but they were doing their best to include me anyway.
It had been easier to listen to Sphinx’s advice and keep my distance from them before they’d decided to be so helpful.
Before I could completely embarrass myself, a beep reminded me why I was here in the first place. “Water flow beginning in five seconds. Three minutes duration. Begin bathing in four, three, two, one…”
The warning of the robotic voice snapped me out of my trance. Three minutes was not a lot of time to wash my whole body. Maybe for the others, it was simpler, but I had my hair to worry about, and it tended to be stubborn when not properly cleaned.
The necessity of speed distracted me from my previous concerns. The water fell with breaks, presumably to give us time to soap up our bodies. I wasn’t prepared for it, so I had to quickly adjust to keep myself from ending my famous shower with soap in my hair.
