A shimmer in Kage’s peripheral vision drew his attention to his left. He turned his head and found Arton striding along the riverbank. The harbinger’s long silver-blonde braid was draped over his shoulder and across his chest. He wore a dark blue tunic and matching pants. Intricate silver embroidery decorated the tunic’s hem and edged the long sleeves making him appear elegant and out of place in this rustic setting.
“How was your tour?” Arton asked as he reached Kage.
“As always, Eddon worked miracles. He seemed an unlikely Outcast when he joined, but we’re damn lucky to have him.” Eddon was the structural engineer who designed and implemented the Wheel. His expertise was building and redesigning ships, but he’d agreed to take on the barracks with a strong assist from two Outcasts with backgrounds in construction. “The layout maximizes the space while managing the continual flow of movement. We planned for the barracks to operate at fifty percent capacity and fill up gradually as more of us claim our mates. Unfortunately, the Sarronti had other ideas. As of this morning, we’re fifteen percent overcapacity. This will barely keep our heads above water.” Kage glanced into the distance where the downed ship was visible above the treetops. “Is any of the Relentless useable?”
Arton shook his head. “It’s official. Every system on the ship is fried. Much of it is still structurally sound, but there’s no hope of repairing any of the technology.”
Kage wasn’t surprised by the conclusion, but he was extremely disappointed. “What in creation’s name was that weapon? It was like an EMP on zap.” The popular stimulant enhanced the user’s strength and stamina, but the crash the user endured once the drug wore off was seldom worth the high.
“Maybe your mate can explain it to you.” Arton punctuated the comment with a good-natured smirk, amusement gleaming in his silver-ringed blue gaze. “Your rebel elf was in my dreams again last night.”
Kage whipped his head around and glared at Arton. “Doing what?”
“She was preparing for her joining ceremony.”
When Arton said nothing more, Kage prompted, “Did you happen to see her intended mate?”
“I might have.” He looked at Kage and arched his brow. “Do I really need to tell you what you already know?”
He didn’t. Kage had felt it the first time he touched Eza, and his attraction to her had grown steadily stronger ever since. It was pointless to deny what he knew without a doubt. Eza, his precious rebel elf, was his mate. It didn’t make sense. He hadn’t even been sure his mutated DNA would be compatible with anyone. “Keep this up, and I’ll pass the matchmaking mantel on to you.” Kage allowed himself to relax as Eza’s image formed in his mind. He couldn’t wait to see her again, to touch her face and kiss her lips.
“Has she contacted you since returning to the underground?”
Kage shook his head and pivoted toward the river, not yet willing to reveal the depths of his emotions with anyone. It would be too damn humiliating if Eza rejected him. “I didn’t expect that she would.” The current was sluggish tonight, providing a smooth surface that reflected the teal sky. The surrounding trees appeared more green than blue as the fading light gradually robbed everything of its color. “The funeral—they call it a sendoff—finally ended. Rather than individual services for each casualty, they held one big ceremony for the eleven they lost. The festivities lasted three days.”
“Festivities?”
The displeasure in Arton’s tone made Kage look at him, but his friend was now staring out across the water.
Arton crossed his arms, pushing his hands up inside his loose sleeves. “The Sarronti celebrate death?”
“They don’t see death as an end, but a transition. It wasn’t exactly a celebration, but there was no crying or gloominess. Cagor’s eldest son presided over the affair like a petty tyrant. He’s even more obnoxious than his father, and I didn’t think that was possible.”
Arton turned his head and narrowed his gaze. “I thought Lady Eza hadn’t contacted you.”
“She hasn’t.” Kage chuckled. “Did you forget about the nano-bots I implanted in Farlo before he was released? They are working perfectly.”
“Actually, I had forgotten,” Arton admitted. “Has the cowardly whelp revealed anything useful?”
“There hasn’t really been anything to reveal. The world below, at least Eza’s village, has been completely focused on the sendoff. The next event is the advancement challenge. That will determine the next general.”
“How does that work?”
Kage quickly explained what Eza had told him about promotions within the Sarronti military. “Eza was relatively sure there will only be two possibilities for this challenge. They are both war chiefs, but one is Ayrontu, the other Jintta.”
“The Jintta is the better choice, I take it?”
“She claims she can work with either, but I suspect the Jintta challenger will be much more beneficial to us. His name is Malik, or Malnik, something like that.”
“I’ll meditate on the name and see if I can see the outcome.”
“Farlo spoke with him briefly yesterday.” Kage passed the image to Arton.
“He looks rather brutal for an elf,” Arton decided.
“Unlike Isolaund and even Eza, Malik worked for everything he’s ever achieved.” Another reason Kage hoped that Malik would emerge the winner.
“When is the challenge?”
“I’m not sure. In the next day or two. Everything is in a sort of holding pattern until the challenges are complete.” It was unlikely he’d see Eza until the tournament took place, so he hoped it happened as soon as possible.
“Challenges?” Arton shifted his weight from foot to foot, his restlessness becoming palpable. “You said there were only two competitors.”
“Once the new general is named, a new war chief will need to be chosen.”
Arton nodded, his gaze searching Kage’s. The silver phitons encircling Arton’s pupils shimmered for a moment before he looked away. “I’m not sure you can trust her,” he finally said.
Now that was more like the harbinger. Arton never bothered with subtleties. Brutal honesty had always been his style. Kage appreciated the directness and generally shared Arton’s disdain for shallow pleasantries. “I presume you mean Eza. Why the lingering doubt?”
“The vision was long and jumbled, but I still sense duplicity. She’s not being completely honest with you. Keep your emotions guarded until you learn whatever it is she’s hiding.”
Kage nodded, acknowledging the warning, but his emotions were already fully engaged. He wanted Eza as he had never wanted any female before. The pull, mating fever, bonding heat, or love at first sight, it didn’t seem to matter what anyone called it, Kage had it bad.
When Arton continued to stare at him expectantly, Kage said, “I’ll be careful.”
“Don’t have sex with her until she—”
“Why do you presume we haven’t had sex already?” He knew Arton meant well, but this conversation was starting to irritate.
Arton chuckled. “She’s your mate. It’s your nature to protect her, even from yourself.”
“It’s also my job to protect this settlement,” he reminded emphatically. “I will do nothing in pursuit of my personal happiness that will endanger my people.” When Arton only nodded, Kage told him, “Eza allowed me to scan her mind. I know everything I need to know about my mate. She is not merely sympathetic to the rebellion. She’s an active participant.”
This clearly surprised Arton, but he didn’t back down completely. “Then why is she still lying to you?”
“Has she lied to me or neglected to reveal everything there is to reveal?”
“I don’t see the difference,” Arton objected.
“Lying is intentional deception, omission is being cautious. Eza has valid reasons to be cautious. Others are endangered if she trusts the wrong person. Like me, she will not indulge her own happiness at the cost of her people’s freedom.”
“You know h
er much better than I.” Arton unfolded his arms and tossed back his long, silver braid. “I’ve said what I came to say. Do what you want with the warning.”
Releasing a heavy sigh, Kage watched his best friend walk away. Arton only meddled when he thought, and sensed, that remaining silent would be detrimental to the outcome. At times Arton misinterpreted the images his visions revealed, but the images themselves were always accurate.
Kage needed a few minutes in the peaceful forest to contemplate his choices, so he walked rather than teleporting directly to his cabin. He ran one of his hands through his hair as he headed back toward the Wheel.
The path led him past the newly-enlarged karron habitat. The adult felines came and went as they pleased so they could protect their territory and provide food for their offspring. The cubs, however, remained inside the fence until they had completed training. It had already been decided that the cats would no longer be used in battle, but no one was sure what to do with a pride of genetically modified ex-battle cats.
Like everyone else tonight, the karrons seemed restless. Luppa, the friendliest of the rapidly growing cubs, called out to Kage telepathically. He sent a quick response but didn’t stop to chat. His emotions were conflicted right now, and karrons were particularly sensitive to anxiety.
Leafy trees blocked out the moonlight, so Kage increased the sensitivity of his eyes. He could adjust all of his senses, but he the most control over vision and hearing. As he strode along, Eza appeared on the path a few paces ahead of him. He automatically smiled, but she looked troubled, eyes tear-bright, lips pressed into a grim line.
“What’s the matter?” He rushed forward and placed his hands on her shoulders. Had her nephew harmed her? He quickly swept her with his gaze, but the dimness concealed the details.
“I just couldn’t do it anymore.” Her voice broke, and she moved closer, wrapping her arms around his waist. “I hate the world below.” She rested her forehead against his chest, her voice soft and tremulous. “My peers are cruel and selfish. My family is even worse. The suffering is horrendous, but no one seems to care. The past few days have been one endless festival celebrating the life of one of the most amoral Sarronti to ever draw breath. And that monster was my brother.” She added the last in a harsh whisper.
Kage wrapped his arms around her, tucking her head under his chin. “That’s what the rebellion is trying to change. You’re one of the few people in a position of power that gives a damn.”
She was quiet for a long time, just clinging to him. “I couldn’t breathe down there. I couldn’t fake another smile.”
“Can I take you to my cabin or would you rather—” He gasped as a power he didn’t control swept him through the fabric of space. Teleporting and being teleported were two very different sensations. “Wow.” He smiled softly as he eased her back so he could see her face. “No wonder people complain when I do that to them.” They stood in the middle of the main living space inside his cabin, the lights activating automatically.
She didn’t smile, just looked up at him with wide, troubled silver eyes. Her amazing hair had been styled into an elaborate upsweep of intertwining braids that accented the iridescent strands. The silver material of her gown, which was supported by thin shoulder straps, flowed over her curves from upper chest to ankles. Though the style was rather simple, intricate beading made the skirt shimmer each time she moved. Kage had never seen her like this. She wasn’t just beautiful, she was breathtaking.
Noticing his reaction, she grew more agitated. “I’ve lived like this my entire life,” she motioned to her gown, “but it feels like a costume now. I don’t want to be this person anymore. I can’t stand the people I used to call friends and—” She made an exasperated sound and threw her hands up. “I don’t even know who I am anymore, much less where I belong.”
He’d lived through this crisis when he was seventeen, so he knew no one could resolve these issues but Eza. Forging the future often meant releasing one’s hold on the past, and that was always frightening. “As long as I’m on this planet, you will have a place in the world above. But you must decide if living among aliens is what you want.”
“I want meaningful change for all the Sarronti, but I’m not sure they’re ready for this fight.” She heaved a sigh and pressed her hand against her throat. “Regardless of the outcome of the rebellion, I cannot live like that anymore.”
Her emotions kept surging into his mind, which meant she was even more upset than she appeared. She was frustrated and angry, but he also felt fear. And it wasn’t just uncertainty about the future. Eza felt threatened by someone or something. He was about to ask her about it when she rushed to him and pressed her body against his.
“I need to feel something real, something honest.” She rocked to the balls of her feet but still couldn’t reach his mouth. “I know you want me.” She was pleading now, and it broke his heart and made him furious with whatever upset her. “Will you please—”
He interrupted her frantic plea with a reassuring kiss, then eased back and framed her face with his hands. Her cheeks were flushed, and her gaze kept darting away. “Your emotions are broadcasting, sweetness. Why are you so afraid?”
“It’s all falling apart, and I don’t know how to stop it,” she cried as she twisted out of his light embrace.
“What’s falling apart? Is this about your family?”
“No.” She began unbinding her hair, tossing the fasteners onto a nearby table. He wasn’t sure if the confinement was bothering her or if she just needed something to do. “This is about his family, Lorton’s family.”
“Your mate?” This was not at all the answer he’d expected. “What happened?”
“Lorton’s brother, Tajon, found out I’m one of the rebels and is threatening to expose me to the Guiding Council.”
Her fear was obviously real, but he didn’t understand why she felt so threatened. “The council might not realize how involved you are, but they already know you’re sympathetic to the rebellion. Your voting record is all the evidence they need.”
“This is different. The rebels are led by a secret council called the Shadow Circle. I’m not sure how, but the Guiding Council found out about it and offered a sizable bounty for definitive proof regarding the identity of any of the members.”
All right, it was starting to make sense now. So was Arton’s warning. “I presume you belong to this Shadow Circle.”
“I organized it.”
He chuckled. He couldn’t help it. Eza was the most amazing female he’d ever met, so damn brave and unexpected. “A member of the Guiding Council founded the Shadow Circle. Oh, they are not going to like this.”
“They’ll execute me on the spot,” she cried, her anxiety setting her in motion. “This is no laughing matter.”
“I didn’t mean to laugh. I just appreciate the irony.” He watched her restless pacing, but the room wasn’t that large. She could only go a few paces in one direction before she had to turn and retrace her steps. “Help me think this through, love. How did Tajon find out?”
“He’s in the Shadow Circle too.”
Another surprising answer. “Then how the hells does Tajon expect to expose you without ending up dead as well?”
“Oh, he has it all figured out. His father, a respected village chief, will submit the evidence after Tajon has gone into hiding. They intend to blame it all on me, of course. Tajon was the helpless victim of a manipulative seductress.” She paused and tucked her unbound hair behind her pointed ears, silvery eyes wide and tear-bright. “If this happens, the rebellion is over. The Ayrontu will win. And Tajon isn’t even Ayrontu! He’s doing this to punish me for Lorton’s death.”
“He hasn’t done anything yet. Correct?”
She nodded, then released a shuddering breath. “Tajon showed up at the sendoff with his father. They were both so smug and provoking that I wanted to scream, but as of when I left, they hadn’t told anyone. At least not anyone on the Guiding Council.”
“He wants me off both councils.” Her pacing resumed so suddenly that her hair whipped out behind her. “In other words, he wants to ruin my life, nullify my reputation, and abolish my authority.”
“Both of which are vitally important to the rebellion,” Kage pointed out. “Humans have a saying that’s really appropriate here. He’s cutting off his nose to spite his face. If he really cares about the rebellion, he’ll put his personal grudge aside.”
“I’m not sure he does.” She finally stopped pacing and faced him. “He accused me of being an Ayrontu spy, yet his attitude makes me wonder if he is being controlled by someone with more to lose. He’s Jintta. His situation won't change that much if the reformation passes.”
No longer able to keep from touching her, he placed his hands on her shoulders. “Have you told the other members of the Shadow Circle what he has threatened to do?”
She nodded. “They all claim to be on my side, but I have no way of knowing if they’re sincere or not.”
That was odd. Kage moved one hand to the back of her neck, caressing her cheek with his thumb. “Did you recruit everyone, or did they volunteer?”
“I recruited them because of their abilities. I searched for the most powerful person in each of the six villages, or at least that was my goal. As usual, the Mountain Goats couldn’t be bothered with ‘city drama.’ Anyway, I didn’t want to know anyone’s identity. Many consider what we’re planning treason. I thought it would be safer for everyone this way.” She turned her head slightly, not yet ready to accept his touch. He returned his hand to her shoulder, but couldn’t make himself lower his arms. “Tajon told everyone who I was, so the others made him unmask as well. The others are still anonymous, so it’s hard to judge their loyalties. Last week I would have sworn that every member was completely dedicated to the cause.”
Wrapping his arm around her waist, Kage guided her toward the couch. She finally sat, and he joined her, resting his arm on top of the back cushions rather than her shoulders. “So, let him think he’s won. Resign from the Guiding Council and meet secretly with the other members of the Shadow Circle. They know they can’t trust him. If he’s willing to expose you, he could do the same thing to them.”
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