by Chele Cooke
“Where the hell have you been?” Keiran shouted as he came running to meet them. The unbruised part of his face was pale, and a long scar sliced through the mottled purple and fading yellow down his cheek and jaw.
Tucking the gun into the back of her trousers, Georgianna glanced at Dhiren. He didn’t return the look.
“Back from what you were doing, then?” he said.
“I came back and you were both gone,” said Keiran. “No message, nothing. No one knew where you were.”
He placed his hand on the small of Georgianna’s back, urging her towards the house.
“Where the hell were you?” he asked. “I’ve been going out of my mind.”
Through the doorway and into the front room, Dhiren rubbed his hand through his hair and shook off the water. He glanced at Georgianna and quickly looked away through the window.
“Well?”
“We went to scout in the Oprust district,” Georgianna said, turning away from Dhiren and back to Keiran. She gave him a placid smile. “We were trying to work out where the shield should fall. Dhiren and I aren’t as good with these maps. We needed a proper look.”
Keiran took a step away, wringing his hands together.
“I was worried about you. I thought maybe they’d sent troops in.”
“Oh, suns, no. I’m sorry. We didn’t know when you’d be back and we figured this couldn’t wait. The sooner we have a plan and all that.”
“That was really dangerous,” he said, rounding on Dhiren. “You were heading into their territory. Was this your idea?”
Dhiren blinked with an innocent ignorance and spun his knife in his hand before tossing it down beside the maps. He brushed off Keiran’s question as casually as he brushed the rain from his hair.
“The Oprust district is too close to the target,” he said. “We’ll never be able to destroy every Adveni building in the area unless we want a high number of Veniche casualties. It looks pretty deserted down there but you never know who’s still around.”
Returning to the maps, he shifted the stones they had placed in a circle and moved them further into the centre.
“If we try to evacuate, we’ll give the Adveni the jump on what we plan to do. So, George and I were thinking that the best option is to use the Mykahnol to destroy a smaller area. It would only take out a portion of the land we wanted, but it removes the threat of the Adveni using it later.”
When he glanced up, he stared right at Keiran as if Georgianna wasn’t even in the room. She had to admit, she was glad for it. If he drew attention to her she wasn’t sure she would be able to hold up the lie as well as he did. It was so convincing she wanted to ask if that had been his plan all along. He’d known Edtroka for a long time and she was starting to think that maybe he had learned far more from the Adveni than she’d realised. Or perhaps Edtroka had learned his secrecy from Dhiren; she’d never know.
Keiran scratched the back of his shoulder where his shirt hid the mark Alec had carved into him. He glanced between them and pursed his lips, finally nodding.
“That is helpful,” he said. “But you should have told someone you were going.”
“Next time,” Dhiren replied, thumping his fist against his chest in a crude show of the Adveni salute.
“You could have asked Alec or Wrench, you didn’t need to take…”
Keiran fell silent and glanced at Georgianna. He looked away but not quick enough to hide his meaning: Dhiren didn’t need to take her with him, because she, like always, was to be left out of it and protected.
Moving to Keiran’s side, Georgianna shook off a trembling anger and settled her hand against his chest. Leaning close, she kissed a healing patch of bruising on his cheek. Her pulse throbbed painfully from her injured wrists, and her shoulder and side seared in pain as she stretched up to reach him. She kept on smiling.
“I’m fine, Keiran. See. You should stop worrying. I can help.”
When he looked down at her, his expression softened. He gave a small nod and closed the gap, kissing her with tentative passion.
“I know you can,” he murmured. “I’m sorry.”
Even as he walked away, taking a seat next to Dhiren and the maps, Georgianna loved him, but she didn’t believe him.
Georgianna hadn’t seen the little house so full of people for a long time. Alec had brought Wrench and the Cahlven technician, Tohma, back with him. Though there were only six of them, the constant flow of discussion and interruption made for a lively room. The four walls were filled with life and yet Georgianna felt alone without her father in the corner. She could imagine him sitting quietly, listening to the conversation before interjecting some thoughtful comment.
Dhiren had remained silent, only speaking when addressed, and Georgianna knew his worry. They’d agreed that they would need to bring a Cahlven in to manage the technology, yet it was clear that Dhiren was as disillusioned with the Cahlven and their methods of war as she was. Keiran was more dynamic, which surprised Georgianna, with Alec in attendance. Instead of being sullen and resentful, he was mission-minded, responding to Alec’s questions and asking some of his own.
They were forced to lie to Tohma, telling him that the discussion was hypothetical, to be used if they had to retreat. He nodded and didn’t dispute their reasoning, but his eyes narrowed and he had watched Wrench and Alec for a long time after that with a small smile on his lips. He didn’t ask why they would need a Cahlven technician if the attack was only for a last resort.
“The shields would withstand the blast,” he said, picking up the central stone and lifting it high above the map. “The ship, on the other hand—”
“Any ship would need to be contained within the shield, right?” Wrench asked.
He nodded and rolled the stone around in his fingers.
“Exactly. It is what the shields were designed for. We can expand them to contain an extended area, but you cannot remove the ship from the field. Whichever ship was used, it would be lost in the—”
Tohma lifted his head, turning to look at the window. Keiran raised an eyebrow and leaned forwards, watching him intently.
“In the what?”
“Shh!”
Keiran blinked, his lips parting. Georgianna shuffled closer to the map, but the sound of shouting and heavy boots cut her short.
“I hear it, too,” she murmured.
Clambering to her feet, she hurried to the window and peered out, shocked at the sight before her. She grabbed her jacket and slung it around her shoulders, shoving her arms into the sleeves as she half-ran to the door.
“What’s going on?”
Georgianna didn’t turn back to see who had spoken. A flurry of shuffling and breathy curses followed her outside.
A long red braid slashed through the air as Olless stopped and turned on her heel, propping her hands on her hips. Her pale skin was flushed a deep mottled pink. At full height, she was still shorter than Beck. He was red, too, his top lip curled into a sneer.
“I told you already, I have no power to make those decisions,” Olless said.
“You were the one who named me Leader of the Veniche,” he snarled. “So you have the power to elevate people to these positions, but not to make sure their roles are met with any semblance of decency?”
Olless looked around, suddenly realising how many people had stopped to listen. She stepped closer to Beck.
“Can we talk about this in private?”
Beck snorted, glaring down at her.
“So you can promise things you can later deny?” he asked. “Do you think I don’t know how the Cahlven work?”
Olless shrank away. She took another look around, her gaze raking through the crowd. A small group of Cahlven soldiers had gathered just down the path, doing a bad job of pretending they weren’t paying attention. She signalled to one of them and made a scratch-like gesture just in front of her ear, before drawing her thumb down the centre of her chest. The man nodded and pulled something from his pocket, turning a
way from his friends.
“Just like the Adveni,” Beck added.
The slap of flesh on flesh cracked through the close air. Beck shook his head and lifted his hand to his cheek. Despite the red mark darkening his skin, he laughed.
“Don’t get what you want with lies and promises, so you use force,” he sneered. “If you were trying to prove yourself different, Olless, you failed.”
“How dare you?” she screeched. “We have helped you, we came here to—”
“You came here to take control! You promised that we would be involved, that we would govern ourselves alongside you and look at what has happened.”
“What is it you want?” Olless demanded. “I’ve already told you I do not have the right to—”
“Exactly!” Beck flung his arms out to his sides. “That’s exactly what you don’t have. You don’t have the right to tell me, or anyone here, what to do. You have no rights here.”
“What do you mean?”
“You left. You left us here on Os-Veruh and gave up your claim, just like the Adveni. If you want to stay here, if you want to work peacefully alongside us, you have to defer to the Veniche. It is our rights that matter here.”
Georgianna jumped as an elbow drove into her side. She looked at Alec and followed his gaze as he nodded down the path.
The man approaching them didn’t look like anyone special, and yet the group of Cahlven soldiers jumped to attention and backed away. Georgianna was reminded of the Adveni soldiers making space for the Volsonnar as he strode through the square.
He was a short man. His neck-to-ankle suit fit tight across the shoulders, accentuated by the blue lines that ran from neck to wrist. His black hair had been oiled down, gathered in a short, neat ponytail. Heavy lines were worn into his forehead but he carried them well.
“Mr. Casey,” he said, looking up at Beck as he stopped to stand by Olless. “Please take a moment to gather yourself. We can discuss this privately once you have had time to reconsider.”
Beck shifted his stance and folded his arms, glaring down at the man.
“I don’t need time to reconsider, Aomel. I’ve made my position quite clear. Either the Cahlven defer to the Veniche, or they leave.”
Aomel smiled, blinking as he looked Beck up and down. Georgianna stepped closer to Keiran. She recognised that smile. It was the same look her father had given her whenever she asked for something ridiculous or impossible. Keiran wrapped his arm around her waist and tangled his fingers in her jacket, drawing her to his side.
“That’s the Second Colvohan,” he murmured in her ear.
“Surely you must realise that your demands here are not sensible,” Aomel said after a long pause. “The Cahlven are more technologically advanced, we have better numbers, and our men are trained. A war has begun, Mr. Casey. If we were to remove ourselves from Os-Veruh, do you believe you would stand any chance in winning against a superior force such as the Adveni?”
“That doesn’t matter,” Beck said with a snarl, stretching himself up to full height. He looked impressive, glaring down at the Colvohan, but even Georgianna couldn’t follow his logic.
“It doesn’t? Wasn’t the whole point to drive the Adveni back from this planet?”
“It wouldn’t matter because there is no point in winning a war against the Adveni if we were only to take up the same position beneath the Cahlven. If you’re making decisions, we should be involved. We should be equal.”
Aomel took a long moment to share a look with Olless. He turned full circle and peered at each person who stood to listen to the argument. Georgianna cringed away from his gaze. He gave her the same feeling Maarqyn did when he stared at her, waiting for the breaking point.
“I have another meeting scheduled with the Volsonnar,” he said. “If it will placate you long enough to listen to our intentions, I will take you along.”
Beck paused just a moment but, instead of looking at anyone else, he simply stared at the Colvohan, his expression steely.
“Fine.”
“Good. Then I will send Olless with information of the time we leave,” Aomel said briskly. “Come, Olless.”
He swept past Beck without another word, heading back in the direction he had come from. Beck watched him over his shoulder. Turning away from the other Cahlven, Beck strode over, clapped Keiran on the shoulder, and marched away, further from the main camp.
“What - was - that?” Dhiren asked.
Keiran grinned, clapped Dhiren on the shoulder in the exact way Beck had just done to him, and went to the doorway.
“Nothing,” he said. “We should continue working.”
“Working on a hypothetical attack?” Tohma asked, smirking.
“Exactly.”
Georgianna stared after Beck. He swung his arms as he walked and—wasn’t that a faint whistle on the air, a bounce in his step?
Someone had just been played for a fool and, for the first time in a while, Georgianna didn’t think it was the Veniche.
No matter how Georgianna stretched, she couldn’t reach the centre of the Nsiloq that Maarqyn had applied to her skin. She stretched her arm over her shoulder, smoothing the hyliha paste over the top of the mark. If she brought her arm up behind her back, she could just about brush the bottom of the design with the tips of her finger. But no matter how she twisted and turned, she couldn’t get to the middle and soothe the constant burning ache.
Sitting on the edge of the ripped mattress in her brother’s room, Georgianna smeared the last of the paste on her fingers over her arm, kneading it into her skin. Beck had left for the meeting with the Colvohan and the Volsonnar hours earlier, and all there had been to do was wait. Keiran and Dhiren had tried to stay busy, but even their efforts had ground to a halt, leaving them staring at the walls.
“Maybe you should ask one of the Cahlven if they have something for that.”
Georgianna lifted her head just long enough to see Alec standing in the doorway. He rested his shoulder against the frame and stared at the wall behind her head. Picking up her shirt, she covered the front of her body and hunched down over her legs.
“It’s not so bad,” she said.
Alec snorted. He walked further into the room and took a seat next to her on the bed. Holding his hand out, he waited until Georgianna picked up the small clay bowl. He smeared paste onto three fingers, swept the hair away from her shoulder, and paused before smearing the paste over her skin. Georgianna hissed and jerked under the pressure.
“Everything’s ready?” she asked.
Blades of pain followed his fingers as he covered the mark. He scooped up a little more from the bowl and held her shoulder to keep her steady.
“Just waiting on Beck,” he said. “If he comes back with what we need, we’re ready to go.”
“And we’ll go straight away?”
“Yes. Better to get the element of surprise.”
Georgianna nodded and fell back into silence until Alec squeezed her shoulder and began scraping the remnants of hyliha paste off his fingers and back into the bowl. Keeping herself low over her knees, she pulled on her shirt, adjusting it when it stuck to her shoulder.
“Alec?” she breathed.
“What?”
“How did you deal with it? You know, when your family… How did you deal with losing them?”
He took the bowl from her and placed it on the floor between his feet.
“Distraction,” he said, looking at her. She twisted the bottom of her shirt in her fingers.
“Oh,” she said. “So that’s what I was to you back then. Just a distraction? I mean, I guess I knew but—”
“No, Georgie. You weren’t just a distraction.”
She moved back onto the mattress, drawing her knees in tight to her chest. She didn’t have the heart to admonish him for the use of a nickname he knew she hated. She stared at the floor, resting her chin on her knee.
“I grew up with you,” he said. “You’re Halden’s little sister and I cared abou
t you. But that only made it worse, I guess.”
Gulping, Georgianna gritted her teeth and sniffed.
“Worse?”
“I felt guilty every time. Like perhaps I was betraying her, or even you. I shouldn’t have used you the way I did, not when I couldn’t move on from what happened.”
“Is that why you told Beck to let people think you’d died? So you could move on?”
His nod was slow and steady.
“I did care about you, George,” he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. “But I didn’t… I never should have been with you like that, letting you think that—”
“That what?” Georgianna asked, her voice cracking.
“That I loved you, or that maybe I would someday. I didn’t, not like that, and I wouldn’t have, not the way…”
She sat up straight and turned towards him, crossing her legs.
“Not what way?”
After staring at the floor for a few seconds, Alec finally lifted his head and faced her. His eyes were wide and he brushed his dark hair back from his face.
“Not the way he does.”
Her mouth dropped open and she wasn’t quick to close it again. Alec had been so virulent in his dislike of Keiran that she couldn’t hide her surprise that he’d comment on him in that way. It had been Alec who had said Keiran was using her. He told her she was naive and would go along with the lies Keiran told her. He’d been sure that Keiran wouldn’t care, that he wouldn’t love her, not the way she wanted or needed. Now it seemed he had changed his mind, but she couldn’t work out why. Had it been the moment Keiran had walked out to join her in front of Ehnisque instead of saving himself?
“Have you forgiven him?”
Alec’s grimace was thoughtful and he stared past her.
“I don’t think forgiveness is the right word. I understand what he did but I don’t think I will ever forgive him for it.”
