by SM Blooding
I closed my eyes and looked down. “I need answers, baba. I need direction.”
“Then listen to the priestess.”
I glanced up, shaking my head.
“Or don’t, but, Synn, you have to listen to someone.” The priestess turned her attention back to the cards. “You’re running out of time. You will have to act. Soon.”
“Father.”
The priestess paused, her jet-black gaze settling on mine. “Yes, Synn-ji.”
That name settled around me like an old blanket, and I basked in it for a short moment. “Can I trust her? Aiyanna? She’s been inside my head. She could be pretending right now.”
The priestess’ lips didn’t move for a long time, and then she spoke, her voice still full. “Synn, you have to trust someone, and she is more trustworthy than you will ever know.” Her gaze dropped to the cards.
When she looked up again, her eyes were brown again. She smiled. “Are you ready to begin?” she asked, her voice soft.
I blinked and pulled back, my heart racing and twisted. Had that really been the voice of my father? Could I trust the priestess?
I had a hard time trusting anyone who was female. What were her motives?
And how did she intend to use me?
CHAPTER 34
THE MESSAGE
I stared at Aiyanna for a long moment.
She shifted, uncomfortable. “Did something happen?”
“Does ‘something’ happen often?”
She shrugged. “Only when a message needs to come through. Did someone speak to you through me?”
I didn’t answer.
“What did I say?”
I needed to know what game she was playing. Yes, I felt I could trust her, but that was probably because she’d been in my head. Who knew what she’d done in there besides give me more control over the bond with Nix?
She glanced down at the table, her eyebrows high. “Whoever was speaking needed to get a very significant message to you.”
“Why do you say that?”
“There is a lot of major arcana in this layout.” She met my gaze. “Who was it, Synn?”
“You seriously don’t remember?”
She met my gaze and shook her head.
I swallowed. Then listen to the priestess. Or don’t, but, Synn, you have to listen to someone.
Her hands reached out, touching each of the cards in random order, as she kept her silence.
I licked my lips. “My father. I think I was talking to my father.”
Surprise washed over her expression before she blinked it away. “Oh, well, you were close to him, right?”
“Yes.”
“I suppose that would make sense.” She looked down at the cards. “You are extremely conflicted and need guidance from someone you trust.”
“He mentioned I should trust you.”
She winced. “And because the words came from my mouth, you didn’t believe them.”
I nodded.
She touched two of the cards. “You’ve been played by too many women in the recent past.” Her expression opened. “They are very good at playing people.”
I stared at her.
She smiled with a dry chuckle. “Your mother? I saw that play as soon as we stepped foot on Ino City.”
“What play?”
Her eyes widened and she dipped her head. “She’s upset with you because you abdicated control of the league to others, isn’t she?”
I kept my expression stoic.
“And she’s unhappy with your decision to maintain peace after what happened today.”
“What do you know of what happened?”
“Only that it was bad and not nearly as major as it was meant to appear.”
I took in a shallow breath and held it for a moment. “How do you know?”
She leaned back on her pillow, one hand on the floor behind her. “Sometimes visions, sometimes whispers, other times, just feelings.”
I closed my eyes and moved to lean against the dark wall that jutted out. A small table tucked into the corner of the outcropping stabbed my shoulder. I shifted away from it.
“I have ears.”
I propped my arm on my bent knee. “But what side are those ears on?”
She thought about that for a long moment, her eyes downcast. “The side of the people. The Hands have been corrupted by power.”
I gestured to the cards. “You still believe.”
“In Tarot?” She nodded. “I feel the connection, to the cards, to the spirits beyond. But my connection is not with the queens.”
I rolled my jaw. “When you were in the trance, you said something.” I clucked my tongue. “About my bond with Nix.”
She sucked in her lips and bit.
“Am I still really bound to her?”
Aiyanna nodded. “You are. I’m still working on it. You were controlling it, and well, but I’ve provided some additional shielding. That should help, but . . . ” She let that thought trail off.
“I could still relapse if those shields or whatever fall?”
“Yes.”
“What would make them fall?”
“Yours?” Aiyanna’s face screwed up. “You could be overly tired, forget to eat for a few days, be infected with an illness, someone you love could be killed. There are many things.”
“And your shields?”
Aiyanna took in a deep breath. “Death. I think.”
“So you believe that the only way your shields would fail me is if you are dead.”
Her gaze met mine. “I believe so, yes. But I could be wrong.”
“Is this a ploy to keep you alive, close to me or both?”
“No.” She let out a dry chuckle and looked away. “No.”
I needed more than that.
“I don’t know what I’m doing here, Synn.” She rested her head against her shoulder. “I don’t think I fit in. I’m scared. I don’t know the rules, and wonder if I will survive this world you live in.”
“Then why are you here? Because of a card? The Tower or whatever?”
“Partially, I guess. I just . . . ” She cleared her throat. “I just feel as though my place is here. But I don’t know what good I’m going to be if I can’t get you to trust me.”
I didn’t either. “Are you happy with the Hands?”
“No.” She flinched and swallowed.
I didn’t know what to say, but I felt something in my heart shift. Perhaps I could give her a chance to earn my trust. She might be worthy of it.
She glanced up at me.
The silence had become uncomfortable. “What does the rest of the reading say?”
She looked down at her cards. “Only that great change is on the horizon and that you are at the center of it.”
I glanced around her room. “You didn’t need cards for that. You saw the past events.”
“You’re right. But do the past events prepare you for the Fool?”
I raised my eyebrows. “I’m not taking that insult lightly.”
She waved me off as she sat up. “The Fool leaps without thought of consequence. He simply believes that his actions are right, that things will work themselves out.”
I stared at her. Everything I’d done to this point had been done in that manner.
“You see the potential in those around you because you are open to it. You are capable of original, fresh ideas, and you’re able to get others to follow you because of your high ideals. Even those who don’t want to follow you do so because you force them to see what is right. You are a bit of a rebel and a natural trickster.”
I chortled in surprise. “A trickster. Me?”
Aiyanna ducked her head. “How else were you able to get Ino Nami to agree to be pushed out of the council, for her voice to be silenced?”
I closed my eyes. I was already feeling the recoil of those actions.
“The Chariot. You are the bringer of great change, and we have yet to see the full potential of it. Your actions of yes
terday have a ripple effect that is only growing.”
“Yesterday?” I frowned at her. “I didn’t do anything yesterday.”
She rolled her eyes. “Your past actions. You are such a man.”
I smiled at that insult. “Does it say what kind of change is coming?”
“Only that it comes from your personal vision, that you are the only one who can see the change you are bringing; good, bad, indifferent, you are in charge of the evolution.”
I glanced at the table. I didn’t want to hear what the next card said. I was pretty sure I already knew. “The Knight of Wands?”
She shook her head, meeting my gaze. “Is figurative, and only literal if you decide to make it so.”
I narrowed my eyes, my heart beating so quiet, it was almost still.
“The Knight of Wands is passionate, swift of action and nobly strong. People respect this knight more than the others because he acts so courageously and so fiercely. His moral standing is strong and he doesn’t appear to lack in confidence.”
I didn’t feel confident.
She lowered her voice. “But the cards know better. The confidence is just an act. This knight, more than the others, seeks something only he thinks he lacks. He’s actually driven by determination and a fierce sense of morality. It is up to those around him to help him see he already has what he thinks he lacks.”
“And what do your cards say that is?”
She glanced at them, but probably couldn’t see them because she was leaning on them. “This reading does not say. Your actions will tell those around you.”
Except that I’d managed to keep everyone pretty distant lately.
“You act on will and passion. Those two things have lead you this far. Why are you hesitating?”
I took in a deep breath and looked into the room. “Because I’m afraid they will lead me in the wrong direction.”
“And why are you afraid of that now?”
That was the real question and the answer sent a thrill of sheer terror through me. “Because . . . where I go, people will follow.”
She said nothing for a long, quiet moment.
I swallowed into the silence. I couldn’t be the only one to realize I might be the wrong bet for this world. Others had to know this too.
She pulled back just far enough to pick up the last card. She grabbed my attention and handed it to me.
“Justice.”
She tapped the card with her short nail. “This is the key. As long as your natural instinct is fair, responsible, and does not involve wavering extremes, it is most likely right.”
The card shook slightly in my hand. I gave it back to her. “And how will I know this?”
Her eyes remained steady on mine, not searching, not demanding, simply offering. “You will just know.”
I licked my lips and looked away, letting my head fall against the wall behind me. That wasn’t very reassuring, but at the same time it was.
“And the knighthood?”
The priestess sat back. “Honestly, Synn, since you are so conflicted over this one thing, I say it’s the wrong choice for you. Your will says not to accept. Your passion tells you to forge a path of your own making. Your morality is cautioning that this is the wrong decision.”
I met her gaze. How was she able to see right through me like that?
“Then I say don’t do it. Be a knight, the knight of this card, but do not enter the ranks of the Hands. Let your heart be your guide. It hasn’t led you astray yet.”
Except it was the thing that got everything started in the first place. I couldn’t ignore the enormous feeling of relief as the priestess’ words sank into my brain.
I was not a Hand. I would never be a knight. And I would never allow myself to be Nix’s puppet.
I was not a Primus. I was El’Asim.
The El’Asim. It was time to show that to the world.
CHAPTER 35
A COUNCIL OF CAUTION
I walked out of Aiyanna’s rooms and headed to Ino’s command center. “Where is Ino Oki?” I demanded as soon as my feet touched the floor.
The technicians glanced up at me in surprise.
“She is out in the arena,” someone stuttered.
Was it just me, or were there more tools and tech?
“Find her, Eosif Novokshorov, Neira Vashkelran, Ryo El’Asim, Umira Haji Nuru, Yvette Leblanc, and Keeley and Joshua Bahrain. Tell them I want to meet them up here at their earliest convenience.”
People scrambled.
I went to the large table on the other side of the room and studied the map, my mind going in a dozen different directions.
Everyone straggled in, one and two at a time.
“What in the ruddy hell have I been summoned for?” Joshua roared as soon as he stepped off the elevator platform.
I turned my gaze to my good friend. Eosif trailed behind him, his blonde brows raised over a smirk.
“I am in the middle of a bloody breakthrough and I get summoned by who? Oh, that’s right. His royal pain in the assness, Synn bloody rutting El’Asim. Have you decided to save the dirt humping day again? I thought you retired the hero-ship to someone else.”
I shook my head and ignored him. I had pulled him away from something he was working on, something that was frustrating him. I knew him well enough to realize that he was upset because he was nowhere close to figuring out how to fix whatever he was working on.
I waited until everyone was there.
The technicians in the command room tried hard to ignore us.
My friends talked quietly with one another.
I let them as we waited.
“So, brother,” Ryo said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against one of the few square columns. “Would you like to tell us why we’ve been gathered? Or is this some sort of surprise?”
I unfurled a hand from my arms to wave him off. “We’re just waiting on Oki. This is her command center.”
“I think you might be getting ahead of yourself, Synn,” Oki said as she cleared the elevator. “This all still belongs to Mother.”
I watched her as she approached the table. Finally, I released my arms and came to stand beside the table. “We will need privacy.”
Oki looked over her shoulders, grabbed the attention of one of the technicians and made a gesture with one hand, rotating it in a circle.
Walls of lethara skin were pulled around the square columns, blocking out the sounds of the technicians as they talked.
My friends looked between one another as we waited.
Once the walls were in place, I put my hands on the table. “I need your advice and your input. I have several pieces of information. I need anything additional you might have so that a firm decision can be made.”
Eosif perched on the edge of the round table and raised his chin at me. “You do realize I am the leader of the league.”
“The league that has yet to officially form?” I nodded. “That’s one thing we need to move on. I think we have trouble brewing on the horizon and we need to put a lid on it. Fast.”
Joshua straightened and reeled back a step or two. “Oh heavenly dirt! The man figured this ou’ on his own.”
I smiled through my glare.
He grew serious, his freckles nearly disappearing in the darkening light. “What information do ya have?”
I paused in thought before speaking. “I believe that Nix has orchestrated . . . something. I’m pretty confident she at the very least coordinated with Iszak Tokarz to destroy her own refueling station, but—”
“What?” Joshua demanded, setting his hip to the table. “Wha’ happened? I haven’t heard of this.”
“I was checking out Asim Station. Nix refueled the station and brought in a shipment of planes. Then, while she was there, the station she’d used to refuel us was destroyed. Came raining down on top of us.”
“Vas there any damage to your station?”
“Minimal. But that’s not the issue. She used Iszak
Tokarz. He somehow destroyed her station.”
“How?” Joshua asked.
Ryo shook his head. “We did not see. Though I will say it happened fast. Impossibly fast.”
“Are they still flying?” Haji asked, his voice laced lightly with concern.
I nodded.
He raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Then they probably wanted you to attack.”
“I’m almost positive of it.”
My oldest friend raised a hand, his faced folded in a frown. “Why didn’t you attack them? Did you feel it was unjustified?”
“No. I’m sure that it would have been. After the attack on the first air games—”
“Synn,” Keeley interrupted. “Have you heard what they’ve been saying about that?”
Yvette scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Propaganda.”
I looked at the two of them. “What?”
Ryo shared a glance with Keeley.
“What?” I demanded.
Ryo pulled something out of his pocket and pushed it over the table toward me.
I stared out of the page. In big bold letters said, “The El’Asim Trying To Buy An Army Of His Own.”
I looked up. “What is this?”
Yvette flopped a hand at it, and raked her black hair off of her face with the other. “Arik Dekklar is calling it news.”
I didn’t know what that meant.
“Every day since the games opened,” Ryo said, “he’s been writing stories and printing them on papers, handing them out to everyone.”
“This could be good,” I said, my heart leaping. “Getting the information to the people. This is brilliant.”
“Indeed,” Joshua said, grabbing the paper, “if it weren’t propaganda against signing into the League of Cities. He’s trying to get everyone to believe you’re building an even bigger army.”
I looked at Eosif. “But you’re the leader of the league.”
His lips were flat. “And yet, you are the one who summoned us. So vhat does that mean?”
Dirt. I rubbed my head. “You two are the leaders of the league. I’m just . . . ” I shrugged. “The El’Asim.”
Joshua rolled his eyes and fell against the column again.
Ryo stood tall, his eyes studying me.
Yvette narrowed her violet eyes.
