Destinies of Diamond: A Reverse Harem Sci Fi Bully Romance (Chimera Academy Book 3)

by Eva Brandt

  As promised, Commander Trevor flew us to the power plant that held all our generators. As he landed the shuttle, a feeling of wrongness assaulted me almost instantly. I’d never been here before, but I suspected the sensation had nothing to do with the natural flow of tachyons in the area.

  Commander Trevor lowered the shuttle ramp and together, we headed out. The power plant was still surrounded by staff trying to fix the broken generators. I could see several Harpy units and a memory of Vincent Glass flashed through my mind’s eye. I’d left him wounded on Terra the day before. Was he still there? Commander Trevor hadn’t mentioned any Harpy tamer missing, but he might not have deemed it important.

  “Are all the Harpies here, Commander Trevor?” I asked, surreptitiously trying to find out as much information as possible.

  He nodded, not seeming to find my inquiry odd. “I assigned them duties of overseeing the generator repairs yesterday.”

  Had he? If that was true, why had Vincent been on Terra the day before? Did Commander Trevor simply not know about it? Vincent might have left without letting anyone know while Commander Trevor had been distracted with other things. Maybe I was better off not mentioning it, since if I did, I’d have to explain our argument.

  “Were the rest of my unit given other jobs?” I decided to inquire instead.

  I hadn’t seen them since the day before and I found that odd, since I’d expected them to come see me this morning. Their absence should have relieved me, as it gave me a respite and some time to make sense of my scattered emotions. It didn’t help at all.

  “Right now, the Grand Chimera Unit is watching over the city and the orbit of Tartarus. With communications still shot, we’re open to attack. And since there has been potential activity from the apsids, we have to be on guard all the time.”

  Ah, yes. The famous debacle of The Grand Judiciary’s newest decision. On our way back from Terra, Brendan had mentioned he and Knox had arrived at the Hades Moon Base just in time for an emergency meeting that could have triggered a second attack on the Apsid Quasar. He’d managed to dissuade them, but that could easily change. The Grand Judiciary fiasco aside, it would be for the best to stay vigilant. The generator explosion might not be the work of the Heliads, but it had come from somewhere and we needed to be prepared, just in case it happened again.

  That brought us to the reason of my presence at the power plant. I wasn’t sure I could do what Commander Trevor wanted of me, but I’d detected Heliad flame when on Terra, so maybe I just had to keep an open mind and try.

  “We’ll go a little closer to the generators and then, you can attempt to see if you find anything the others haven’t seen. Any questions?”

  I pursed my lips, considering the task ahead. “Would it be possible to evacuate the area closest to me? My abilities aren’t very stable right now and I don’t want to hurt anyone. Also, I think it would be better to keep at least some distance between me and the generators. For all I know I might break them further.”

  “We need to avoid that at all costs. If you think there’s any chance of destabilizing the area—or your condition, for that matter—you pull back and let me handle this in a different way.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  I fully intended to listen to him, and not just because it was his suggestion. It had become obvious to me that I had to refrain from overdoing it. In truth, I was a little nervous just at having to make the attempt, but suppressing my power wouldn’t help either.

  Besides, I could always rely on Sphinx.

  “I’m here,” she whispered at the back of my mind. “If something happens, I’ll pull you out.”

  “Thank you, Sphinx. I have a feeling I might need your help.”

  She didn’t reply, but I felt her warm power curl around me, almost like a physical embrace. As Commander Trevor coordinated the temporary evacuation of the facility, I focused on that feeling and told myself I was being stupid to dwell on dark visions.

  Maybe those things I’d seen were true or maybe they weren’t, but either way, Sphinx was my friend. She was on my side. She just had to be. She might have lied to me before, but she’d done it for my own good.

  “And how many things will you be willing to forgive and forget, just because someone tells you it was for your own good?” a dark voice whispered at the back of my mind. “In the end, the only person you can trust is yourself.”

  I ignored the thought and joined Commander Trevor. I had time aplenty to dwell on my doubts later. For the moment, I had to prioritize the safety of Tartarus Base.

  I wasn’t the only one in this situation. As I looked up, I caught a glimpse of the entire formation of Harpies, hovering over the power plant. The smaller chimeras were beautiful in their own right, even if not as impressive in size and power output as Grand Chimeras. Distantly, I wished I could have met the Centaur Squad too. I was sure they must have been magnificent.

  The most important thing about the view was that Vincent Glass’s chimera had joined her fellows. That meant he must have returned from Terra at one point the day before. That was one thing I didn’t have to worry about, at least.

  Now reassured, I dropped to my knees on the ground. The barren earth of Tartarus felt cold and empty when I was so accustomed to touching Terran soil. I didn’t let it get to me. Instead, I took a deep breath and reached out.

  I didn’t know what I’d expected. Some kind of epiphany? That wicked voice to scream in my head ‘an evil villain was here’ just as loudly as it pointed out all my other doubts and flaws? Both?

  In any case, nothing happened. Oh, Gaia’s Gift heard me, as did Tartarus’s. The power responded to my call and delved deep into the ground, searching for answers. It just didn’t find any.

  Baffled, I tried to push a little harder, all the while being very careful to monitor my condition. I still didn’t find anything. In fact, there were no signs of any Tartarus emissions at all.

  I might have thought this meant there truly had been no foul play involved, but I knew better. Despite the current state of the generators, this area had been producing energy for our shields ever since Tartarus Base had first come into use. The ground should have been saturated with tachyons. But there was nothing there, not in the generators and not in the very depths of the asteroid.

  Resigned that I wouldn’t find any answers, I slowly withdrew, allowing my power to settle. As I got up once again, Commander Trevor shot me an expectant look. “Well, Acting Pilot Renard? Anything?”

  “There’s no sign of any alien presence, Sir. Nothing except for one thing. This whole place is clear of tachyon radiation.”

  For a few seconds, I dared to entertain the hope this might have been because of the Harpies. They could have cleared the area to make the repairs easier. But then, I took in Commander Trevor’s look of shocked horror. “Are you certain?”

  “As sure as I can possibly be under the current circumstances. Maybe you could try to find a second opinion.”

  After all, the base was full of tachyon manipulation experts far better at this sort of thing than I was. They might be able to detect something I hadn’t noticed. “That would probably be wise,” Commander Trevor mused. “I can’t imagine how my technicians missed something so serious.”

  As he spoke, he looked past me and I realized he was scanning the area using his cyborg technology. I wondered why he hadn’t done that before. I appreciated his decision to include me and hide my pregnancy in this clever way, but his decision to rely on me didn’t make much sense.

  I wanted to ask, but I didn’t get the chance. Commander Trevor pressed his lips together so tightly they went white. “Go into the shuttle, Acting Pilot Renard. This place isn’t safe.”

  I didn’t question it. But just as I turned on my heel, our bodies brushed and a jolt of electricity shot through me.

  I froze. My field of vision shifted and changed. My body began to feel strange and heavy. There was some kind of binding around me, tying me down. I shrugged it off with ease, pushin
g away the person who was attempting to contain me.

  It wasn’t that difficult, but it was a delay that alerted Commander Trevor to the anomaly. He grabbed my arm, his hand strong, steady, and anchoring. “Acting Pilot Renard? Are you unwell?”

  It was so easy to turn toward him and smile. It was so easy to reach out to his heart and squeeze. “Commander Trevor? What is it that you want?”

  He went rigid, as if I’d just physically struck him. I almost felt bad for hurting him like this. He hadn’t done anything to warrant this kind of behavior. But I was confused. Where was my family? Why was this place so barren, so empty of life?

  “I want Selene Renard,” he replied.

  The answer didn’t satisfy me, but I kissed him anyway. He was just so close and he made me feel so safe, as if I could take sanctuary in his arms and never have to fear anything again. It was brief, only a peck, but it was enough to unleash a wildfire inside him. He pulled me into his arms and held me tighter, thrusting his tongue into my mouth, making my head spin with desire.

  He tasted like fire, passion, and metal. His body felt solid and hard in places I’d expected to find flesh. He was as immovable as a chimera, but even so, there was a deep gentleness in his touch, one I took comfort in.

  It was that warmth and kindness that snapped me out of my strange fugue. He pulled away, cupped my cheek, and looked at me with glowing, inhuman eyes. I blinked, and just like that, I became aware of what I’d just done.

  With a gasp, I stumbled away from him. “Gaia help me… I’m so sorry, Sir. I don’t know what came over me.”

  “It’s all right, Selene. It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault.”

  He sounded tired, and I hated myself a little for it. I shouldn’t have kissed him. My hormones might be all over the place, but that was no excuse for assaulting him like I had. I might have my problems with my lovers, but that didn’t mean I could jump in bed with any man who was convenient. Besides, Commander Trevor was my teacher and my military superior. This had been so inappropriate I didn’t know what to say or do next.

  To make matters worse, I got the feeling I’d coerced him into his response. He’d never displayed attraction to me before and it was just too odd that he’d do so now, when my hormones were acting up like crazy.

  It was practically sexual assault and I felt like I was going to be sick.

  My knees went weak and I almost fell to the ground. Distantly, I was aware that I was still in public and someone must have seen us kiss. I’d have been okay with that, since I deserved whatever reprimand I received, but I was terrified that if The Grand Judiciary did look into this incident, they’d find out about my pregnancy.

  Commander Trevor caught me before I could fall and picked me up in his arms. “Don’t be afraid, Selene,” he said. “I have a pretty good idea what’s going through that brilliant mind of yours. You don’t need to worry. No one saw us. The only ones who could have were the Harpies and they’re too far. I made sure we were alone so that we wouldn’t risk exposing any of your secrets to people not in the know.”

  A shiver ran down my spine. The way he said that suggested he knew far more than he was saying.

  I’d asked him what he wanted and he’d said he wanted me. I didn’t think that had been a lie. But I already had a lot of men who wanted me and so far, that hadn’t ended well.

  “Sir, can you please be straightforward with me for once? Why did you bring me here? There’s more to this than an assignment, right?”

  Commander Trevor sighed. “This isn’t an assignment. This has nothing to do with school. This is a war, and you, Acting Pilot Renard, are our best weapon and our clearest target.”

  ****

  Jared

  Meanwhile, Earth

  It had taken me more time than I’d have liked to sneak into Gaia’s Temple. I’d approached it before, but I’d never gone inside, into the inner sanctum. Overall, the Terrans might be easy to fool, but Gaia’s Temple was a special place and the priestesses were protective of it.

  In the end, I resorted to turning into my Heliad form. If I was careful, the light manipulation techniques I’d learned from the Great Mother would allow me to go unseen.

  Fortunately, the method worked as well this time around as it had near Gaia’s Haven. I was able to make my way through the female-only section of New Washington and into the temple.

  It was early in the morning, but the priestesses had already awakened and were out and about. My ability to bend light made them unable to see me, but they could still run into me, and it was tough to advance through the temple. I’d chosen this hour because during the day, it was easier for me to access Helios’s powers from Terra, but I half-wished I’d waited, since this was a little counterproductive too.

  It certainly didn’t help that the temple’s corridors were cramped. I’d already noticed this before about Terran buildings and it made sense, since Terrans didn’t have a lot of room to work with. Still, it made my job even tougher than it had already been.

  But I was determined and I pushed forward. If nothing else, the size of the building kept me from having to search for the proverbial needle in a haystack. Even if I had no real map, it wasn’t that difficult to figure out where the High Priestess’s main quarters and offices were.

  As expected, the area was guarded, but the priestesses didn’t see me. They fidgeted slightly in discomfort as I walked past them. One of them tugged at the collar of her robes. “Is it just me or is it getting hotter?”

  “I hope not,” her companion replied. “Heat is never a good thing. And with what’s been happening lately…”

  Their exchange piqued my interest and I stayed for a little while longer to see what they wanted to talk about. Oblivious to my presence, the first guard sighed. “I know. The High Priestess isn’t saying it, but she’s concerned. This might be in some way related to her daughter.”

  “Sister Yolanda seems to think so, but I’m not convinced. Not everything is about Selene. She’s just one person.”

  “I know that, but ever since she left for Chimera Academy, things have just been going worse and worse. I get the feeling it can’t be a coincidence.”

  Frowning to myself, I left the guards and went deeper into the temple. I knew it wasn’t a coincidence, not exactly, but I wasn’t sure why.

  Tanya Renard had to have the answer. If she had collaborated with The Grand Judiciary on an experiment like I believed, she’d be able to tell us more about Selene’s current condition. But would she agree to do it?

  Probably not, so I had to wriggle the answers out of her through a different method.

  I couldn’t force Tanya’s hand or hurt her. Selene would never forgive me. Tanya was among our few supposed allies and I didn’t have a lot of proof for my claims. She wouldn’t talk to me civilly, since she hated me for what I’d done to her daughter. That left me with a single option, continuing to spy. I had no idea how long that would take, but there was no other way.

  I needn’t have worried, not about this, at least. The sound of a familiar voice drew my attention and I followed it, pleased that I’d had some good fortune today.

  Tanya was talking to another woman, a priestess I recognized as the famous Sister Yolanda. Hidden outside her office, I eavesdropped on their conversation.

  “Are you sure about this, Tanya?” Yolanda asked. “Maybe we should just tell The Grand Judiciary.”

  “Absolutely not. I forbid it. They can’t be trusted, you know that.”

  “They’re the ones who encouraged her conception in the first place.”

  “That doesn’t matter right now. Not anymore.”

  “Tanya, be reasonable. Even if you hate The Grand Judiciary, you have to admit we can no longer control this situation. I know you love Selene, but at this rate…”

  “Selene is my daughter. She can still be saved. I’m sure of it.”

  “She’s carrying the child of a Sun-Blessed and she’s losing her mind! I understand your pain, but our
duty is first and foremost to Gaia.”

  “I thought that too, at first, but I realize now that it’s wrong to look at the problem from that perspective. Gaia is a mother as well. I think she would understand my point of view.”

  “Even if that point of view involves killing your daughter’s baby?”

  The sharp question chased away all the photons in my bloodstream and froze me in my tracks. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I’d expected Tanya to be hiding a messy secret, but this kind of plan? Never.

  Tanya showed no regret or hesitance regarding her decision. “It’s a pregnancy that was forced on her and she’s not well enough to decide to keep it,” she told her friend. “It’s my duty as a mother to make sure that thing she’s carrying doesn’t destroy her life.”

  When she put it that way, I couldn’t exactly disagree. I had forced this pregnancy onto Selene. But on the other hand, I’d never pushed her into keeping it. The Great Mother believed our child would be important, but even so, I couldn’t have brought myself to steal more of Selene’s freedom than I already had.

  I would never be able to convince the High Priestess of that and if I did try, I might make matters worse. No, I’d heard quite enough for now. I needed to warn Selene about what her mother had done, and not just because I wanted to protect my child.

  If I wasn’t mistaken, she’d mentioned her mother had given her something to help her control her powers. The herbs in questions were likely meant to induce a miscarriage. And while Tanya might be powerful on Terra, she had no idea how the biology of a Heliad actually worked.

  The pregnancy would have been taxing on Selene even under normal circumstances. With intervention from outside factors, it could kill her.

  Struggling not to panic, I retraced my steps and made my way out of the temple. Several times, I came very close to being discovered, but my luck held and I escaped without being spotted.