by Theresa Kay
We carry our plates back to the chairs by the window and sit down. I nibble at the food. It’s not bad, just different, though the weird protein blocks or meat substitute or whatever are kind of chalky. Trel practically inhales her food, then leans back in the chair with her hands clasped over her stomach.
She gives me a sheepish grin. “It was my stomach that woke me. I am hungry all the time these days.” A wistful look passes over her face. “It is all happening so quickly. I wish Kov could be here.”
“Kov is the father?” I want to smack myself in the forehead for that one. I’m probably not supposed to ask things like that.
She nods, her eyes fixed firmly on the window. “I assume you ask because of the length of a typical human gestation period, but our pregnancies are slightly longer than a human’s—by about thirty of your days.” She swallows noisily. “He was killed soon after I found out.”
Yeah. By Jace. Something I doubt she wants to think about any more than I do. Time for a subject change.
“Do you know if you’re having a boy or a girl?” I fidget in the chair. That’s a question people ask pregnant ladies, right? I haven’t been around any except for Bree, and I barely know her.
“A girl,” says Trel with a soft smile. “She should be here any day now.”
“That’s… good?”
A laugh bursts from her mouth. “It is good. I am anxious to know her colors, and also anxious to no longer be a lumbering hunfili.” She pauses, her head tilted to the side. “I am not certain of the Earth equivalent. A horse, maybe?”
“I get the idea.” I tilt my head to the side. “Don’t you already know her colors? Won’t she be gold and… whatever colors Kov had?”
“It is different.” She thinks for a moment before continuing. “Kov was adopted by the Vestras, but he was not… of the same standing. The odds are that the Linaud gold will overcome the lesser color.”
“Kind of like dominant versus recessive genes?”
“Something like that,” she replies. “The stronger a family line is, the higher the chance that line’s color will show up in its descendants.”
“What about the enhancements? Do those work the same way?”
“The enhancements… it is hard to explain. The ones we have now are not entirely natural, and we have not always had them. Yes, they are passed down within the family lines that have them, but I am uncertain how that works exactly—beyond them being tied to our kitus as well as our family lines.”
“The lines that have them? Not all of you have enhancements?”
She shakes her head. “Besides the askari, only those of us in the more prominent lines have been enhanced. At one time what we now call enhancements developed naturally, but they were unpredictable, and the Council decided it was best to alter the genes they come from and place restrictions on who was allowed to have them. There are now more of us without enhancements than with them.”
Interesting. I guess I wasn’t so wrong in my royals versus peasants comparison. But it unsettles me how matter-of-fact Trel is about all this. The E’rikon government altered genes in order to classify the E’rikon into upper and lower and shove them into their little boxes. Doesn’t that bother her? Does it bother Lir? It sure as hell bothers me.
And what does that mean for Ethan? He clearly has an enhancement, I’m assuming passed down from his E’rikon mother. That means Ethan’s mother must have been “prominent” somehow. How did she come to be living outside the city if she was from one of the “more prominent” lines? Lir mentioned before that some factions broke off after their arrival and never lived in the city. But wouldn’t the E’rikon want to keep track of those who were enhanced after going through all that trouble to police the enhancements? Especially considering she ended up with a hybrid child, something the E’rikon had tried desperately to create.
Something isn’t right about this, but I can’t quite figure out what. I need to talk to Ethan again and find out more about his mother. And I’ll have to ask my dad about this aspect of things as well. It seems the longer I put off that conversation, the more questions I end up having for him.
My thoughts are interrupted by Rym striding into the room. He’s back in E’rikon clothes, a dark, form-fitting uniform-type thing, and he looks well rested. As his eyes pass over me and his sister, they widen slightly—and then he breaks into a smile. “Good morning. Are you guys ready for a fun-filled day with the Council?”
Trel and I both roll our eyes at him, and I laugh.
“I do not believe the Council knows what fun is,” says Trel in a droll voice.
“I believe I have to agree with your sister’s assessment,” Lir says as he joins us in the living room. Unlike his cousins, he’s bleary-eyed, and his hair is sticking up everywhere.
I shoot him a warm grin and walk over to him. He pulls me into a hug and rests his face against my neck. How long have you been up?
I shrug. An hour or so?
He releases me from the hug but leaves an arm around my waist, tucking me into his side. “What is the plan for today?”
“Go to the Council,” Rym says. “Get them on our side. Go kick Jastren’s ass maybe.” He has a mischievous glint in his eye.
Lir chuckles. “Sounds good to me.”
“Me too,” says Trel, rising awkwardly to her feet. “But first we need food and showers and…” Her gaze goes to Lir and then to me. “Some proper clothing.”
FRESHLY SHOWERED AND DRESSED IN one of those charcoal-colored uniforms, I still don’t feel ready for this meeting. My apprehension has grown with each passing second, and now that I’m looking at myself in the mirror it’s even worse. The last time I wore an E’rikon uniform was the first time I faced the Council, and to say that meeting went badly would definitely be an understatement. At least Vitrad is on our side this time. Right?
I tilt my head to one side as I study my reflection. “What’s with the gray? And all the white, for that matter?”
“What do you mean?” Lir steps up behind me and places his hands on my waist.
“All your clothes and rooms and… everything, it’s all gray or white or black.”
“It has always been that way. Tradition maybe?” He shrugs. “Lineage is important, so our colors are important. I suppose neutral colors show them off better.”
“Ah, so it’s a vanity thing.” I turn around in his arms and stare up at him.
My favorite eyebrow twitches upward, and he smirks. Smiling, I move closer and rest my head against his chest. Lir’s arms tighten around me in a silent show of support. Nothing needs to be said right now. We’re both nervous and apprehensive, probably about different aspects of what’s to come, but we’re still alike in our emotions.
“I’m a little confused about the Council thing. I thought the explosion killed most of them.”
Lir releases a slow breath. “It did. Most of these Council members will be new. And if my uncle had much say in the matter, more than a few of them will probably be askari.”
“Askari? But I thought those were the family guards or whatever.”
“They are,” he says. “Well, some of them are. Almost any E’rikon can opt to be enhanced and become askari, but only a select few ever become part of the Linaud family’s personal guard and add the family prefix to their title.”
“Why only the Linaud family?”
He shrugs. “My family could have been assigned some as well, but my father didn’t like the idea of intermingling my uncle’s role with his any more than it already was. It would have been an even bigger conflict of interest.”
I puzzle over this for a second. “So why is it such a big deal if some of these askari are on the Council? You don’t sound too enthused about that idea.”
He sighs. “I’m not. The askari are our fighters, our military if you will, and my uncle is their leader—similar to General Carter’s position, except that the askari answer to my uncle first and foremost, no matter what. The Council are the lawmakers, the judges,
the… management? The Council is supposed to represent everyone’s interests, but they are unable to do that if some of the Council members cannot go against my uncle’s interests. Askari should have no place on the Council, but you saw my uncle’s speech that day after the attack. Even if he didn’t fill Council seats with askari, he certainly handpicked his most loyal followers for the empty seats. I don’t know how that will affect the Council’s position on the current situation—or how it will affect their position on you…” He closes his eyes and tenses his jaw. I will not let anything happen to you.
He’s worried about me? I pull back. “Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to me either.” The smile he gives me is strained, and he nods almost absentmindedly. I grab hold of the front of his shirt and pull him down so we’re eye to eye. “I am capable of taking care of myself.”
“Okay,” he whispers. He tugs me in closer again.
We stand there in silence for a moment, basking in the warmth between us and gaining strength from our connection. It doesn’t make my anxiety go away—or his—but it helps me find the feeling of love and life I need to hold on to to carry me through this. Instinct takes over and I close my eyes, letting my mind dance along the glowing green thread of the bond. His consciousness entwines with mine. The thread grows brighter and brighter until our minds separate again and I drift back into my own head.
I open my eyes. That was… new. “What was that?”
Lir’s brow furrows for a second, then realization washes over his face. “It is a benefit of the bond, similar to the shared dream sequences. I suppose you could call it a recharge?”
“Is it supposed to be exclusive to the bond? I did a similar sort of energy transfer with Jace when I rescued him from the holding cells in the research building.” I shake my head. “But that left me drained and unsteady. Not like now.”
“That should not be possible.” He pauses, thinking. “He must have taken energy from you instead of the two of you exchanging it. I imagine it has something to do with the fact that you are a hybrid and Jace is your twin, but still…” He shakes his head.
Great, something else I can do that no one else can. I move out of his arms. “We should get going,” I say, avoiding his eyes.
“Hey.” He grabs my arm and tips my face up with two fingers. “It is not a bad thing to be different. I apologize if I made it seem that way.”
“No. You didn’t. I’m just getting damn tired of being a freak of nature. Sometimes I simply want to be normal.”
He raises an eyebrow. “You’re you. That’s all you need to be.”
My cheeks heat, and a smile tugs at my lips. “Thanks.”
He wraps an arm around my waist and kisses my neck. “You’re welcome. Now, we should probably get out there.”
We walk out to the living room, where Rym and Trel are both waiting for us—along with Vitrad. Lir’s hand on my lower back twitches at the sight of his uncle, but he gives no other outward sign of the tension suddenly flooding into him.
Vitrad doesn’t look a whole hell of a lot better than yesterday. He’s still pale and gaunt, but at least he’s standing on his own two feet. He’s dressed in what appears to be a more formal version of the standard uniform, with gold stitching at the cuffs and collar. The expression on his face betrays nothing of his feelings, and that unnerves me more than anything else. For all we know, this whole meeting is a setup.
His mouth curls into a smile that doesn’t quite make it up to his eyes as he inclines his head toward me and then Lir. “Greetings, nephew. I hope you slept well.”
“Yes,” says Lir, the single word sharp enough to cut off any further attempts at conversation. The hand on my back twitches again, and he curls his fingers into the fabric of my top.
Rym shuffles his feet and smiles uneasily, glancing back and forth between his father and Lir. “Time to go?”
“Yes.” Trel gives everyone a tight smile.
I swallow down the nervousness trying to crawl up my throat and plaster a smile on my face. “Well then, let’s get moving.”
Vitrad holds my gaze for a moment, his eyes hard and assessing, then turns to his daughter, links arms with her, and leads her to the door. He pauses there, waiting for the rest of us to follow. Rym moves behind him, and Lir links arms with me and brings us forward to fall in line behind Rym.
As we exit, six Vi’askari fall into a circular formation around our group, with Kai and Miri in front. They escort us out of the building and onto the sidewalk. I brace myself in case the voices start coming again now that we’re outside, but there’s nothing. I let out a slow breath of relief. I don’t remember where the Council meets or how far away it is, but it would not be fun if I had to be subjected to all those voices again for any length of time.
This trip through the city is very different from my first. For one thing, Lir is walking beside me instead of in front of me—a fact I’m extremely grateful for, as it helps cut back on the sense of impending doom. Somewhat. And then there’s the reaction of the other E’rikon we pass. Before, they mostly looked at me with open curiosity, but now they’re much too busy lowering their chins in subtle deference to Vitrad. Some of them give an outright bow at the waist. They barely glance at me, or anyone else besides Trel at her father’s side.
This is not how they reacted to Lir’s father. Is this new behavior, or is Vitrad’s position that much different from what Stellan’s was?
What’s with the bowing? They didn’t do this when your family walked through the city.
My uncle has always been one for tradition. Lir glances at me from the corner of his eye. My father was different. Not as… arrogant. He thought Earth should be a fresh start for us, free of the things that had divided us on Rikonos.
I nod slowly, considering his words.
My father was a bit of an idealist. Much had happened to poison him against humans by the time you met him, but in the beginning he hoped for peace between our two species. When we arrived and encountered the violent nature of humanity, my uncle was vehemently against any sort of alliance; he wanted to destroy the humans. After much debate, my father agreed we should stay separate from the humans until some sort of diplomatic relations could be set up. Melancholy leaks into his voice, along with a wistful longing. Nothing happened for years after that. But eventually my father convinced the Council to send out a group of emissaries to the humans. I was supposed to be one of those emissaries, but despite the fact my father did this as a way to find a peaceful solution to Vitrad’s goals for expansion, my uncle refused to allow any askari to accompany the mission—as was his right. I would like to think he would have changed his mind had he known his daughter’s bondmate was going in my place, but perhaps not. He was willing to sacrifice whatever E’rikon went on that mission just so he could prove his point. And he did. More, he gained an important asset, a blind follower who did not see the truth of things until it was too late. Me.
My heart aches for the boy beside me, an unwilling pawn in his uncle’s machinations for power. For that he’s lost his family, his home, and his place with his own people. It’s not just me who has a foot in both worlds, it’s Lir, too. And right now he’s almost closer to human than I am. Without his kitu, he’ll never link to another E’rikon again.
His hand moves to cover mine, and he squeezes gently. Do not worry for me. My place now is wherever you are.
No.
No?
I won’t accept that for you. I’ll find a way to get your kitu fixed, build you a new one… whatever it takes. Besides the fact that I can’t be your everything, just like you can’t be mine, I know you don’t want to spend the rest of your life as an outcast from your own people. I’ll talk to my dad. I’m sure he can do something for you.
Warmth floods across the bond, followed by a hint of amusement. You will not speak to your father for yourself, but you are willing to speak to him for me?
Yes.
His hand squeezes mine again, and I can feel that he’
s itching to tease me about something, but all he says is, Thank you.
I slam into Rym’s back and have to take a step backward to avoid falling over. Oops. “Sorry,” I mutter.
Lir’s shoulders shake with soft laughter, and I shoot him a glare. He could’ve warned me we’d stopped.
Rym smirks at me over his shoulder, and I move my dirty look to him. It isn’t that funny.
A harsh E’rikon word breaks the moment of levity between the three of us. Rym’s head snaps forward. Lir tenses. And I finally glance around to see where we are.
We’re in front of one of the three towers, one of the rebuilt ones if my memory is correct, and Kai is arguing in hushed tones with an E’rikon by the door while Vitrad looks on with an irritated expression. Trel shuffles her feet as she watches the exchange. What’s going on? Why aren’t they letting us in?
Rym moves back a couple of steps to stand beside me. “As I suspected, my father has not been in regular attendance at Council meetings. They did not know we were coming.”
He has got to be kidding me. What does it matter if we’re on the schedule or whatever? The threat Jastren poses takes precedence over any petty arguments they might be having in there. I join in on Vitrad’s irritated glare at the E’rikon arguing with Kai and Lir shuffles from foot to foot, his anxiety ramping up again.
Finally, the door opens and another E’rikon steps into view. He looks oddly familiar, but I’m having trouble placing him. Silver hair with a subtle hint of gold… Where have I seen him before? Is he on the Council?
Lir stiffens beside me, the muscles in his arm going tense.
Vitrad’s mouth turns up in a predatory smile that’s mirrored by the silver-haired E’rikon in the doorway. Interesting. The two stare at each other in a silent exchange for a few long seconds before the silver-haired E’rikon inclines his head and gestures for us to enter. He steps to the side as we file in, his hard gaze and narrowed eyes moving from Vitrad to… Lir?
