by Vi Voxley
“Where’s Diego?” she asked.
“Entertaining our beloved Senator Eren,” she said, her voice so cold it sent shivers down Isolde’s spine. The Brion woman noticed, frowning. “Do not worry. It is not you. It is him. He makes my skin crawl.”
Isolde found herself led away from the ambassadors who started talking in whispers as soon as she was out of hearing range. Angus stayed behind, hopefully to keep up the pretense of this being a simple feud and not something greater. As they walked, Isolde was grateful for the comforting presence of Deliya and Narath behind her.
“What happened?” she asked the Brion senator. “What does he want?”
She didn’t even fully expect an answer, but Eleya explained, “To gloat. The Elders have not emerged from their meditation yet. Eren is saying Diego and the others are traitors for refusing them, and Diego is saying they are. Until the Elders take a side, there is no truth in either of their words. Everything will be fine if one of two things do not happen.
“One: Eren being stupid or arrogant enough to start a civil war with the generals loyal to him versus us. Hope that does not happen, you would be the first thing they would try to catch in the crossfire. Two: he finds a champion bold enough or insane enough to challenge our generals, mainly Diego and Faren. That did happen, against all likelihood. He pulled that lunatic maniac out of some cell he should have been kept in and now Diego will have to fight him. To the death.”
He has to live. Whatever happens to us, he has to live. I – I don’t think I can live without him.
Briolina glimmered beneath them, a planet that was home to the most ruthless species in the galaxy. And Isolde found no words to describe how she felt about Diego having to fight a warrior the Brions thought should be locked away.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Diego
Sphere was dark and quiet.
Diego wondered distantly what the GU’s ambassadors were making of it all. He hoped Isolde and his upcoming duel with Crane were enough to divert attention from Rhea. If they wrapped this up as quickly as possible and Isolde could finally go to Rhea to meet the new team already assembled, they could still make it work. The thought of being parted from Isolde was nigh unbearable, but in his heart, it felt even worse to be around her.
Her emotions weren’t a mystery to Diego any more, he understood Isolde’s dilemma, her conflicting feelings – a part of him even understood that with all that was going on, it made sense for her to say no to him. But after his talk with Urenya, everything seemed to be double, triple as painful as before. Knowing the binding wasn’t a guarantee, that it was a choice as much as fate – that was what drove Diego half-mad. Isolde wanted him, she felt the bond. She just didn’t choose him, as was her Terran custom.
Maybe it would be good for him to put distance between him and Isolde. It would break his heart, but the pain of longing was so much easier to bear than the pain of disappointment. He would make sure she was protected on Rhea, but it might be better if they didn’t tear each other’s hearts to shreds, knowing they didn’t have to.
On the holoprojector, Eren observed him with a twisted grin. They were in one of the closed vestibules on the station, at least Diego was. Eren was on Briolina’s secure, safe surface, still unwilling to meet him in person. Diego could not blame him. He’d put his spear through Eren’s heart and be done with most of this mess.
“I hope you understand this is not about you, Diego,” Eren was saying. “I have no vendetta against you personally.”
I don’t think anyone would need perception modifications to see through your lie. Disappointing.
“I only want what is best for Briolina.”
Diego took a moment to consider if that could have been the truth. It made sense to a lot of Brion higher officers who knew about the planet. For them it was a simple matter – they didn’t want to part with anything that was theirs. And the Elders said the dark days were over.
“I agree that Rhea is a treasure,” Diego said noncommittally.
“Then stop this whole thing,” Eren said, clearly not believing he actually would. “I might even permit your little human to live.”
Now Diego grinned. “I wonder when exactly our missions switched,” he said. “In the beginning, you wanted Isolde dead and now you no longer care. You wanted to keep Rhea a secret and now I find myself fighting that fight. I have to give it to you, honestly. Leading us all, the other senators on for so long. I do not know how many agreed with you that war is the best future we have, but I am sure about you now.
Pretending to do all you can to keep Rhea secret, killing the research teams, trying to kill Isolde when she escaped that fate… all along you knew it would eventually come out. The Galactic Union would notice. War would come to us and you would be left blameless before the Elders because you seemingly fought for us. All the while, you have been urging on the ones who think we should just keep Rhea and kill everyone that does not agree.
“In fact, right now it is all the best for you if Isolde lives. And talks. You hope Crane kills me and she runs crying to the GU.”
Eren’s smile didn’t falter for a moment, nor his calm.
“I give you less credit than you deserve, general,” he said. “Are you sure you are on the right path? Maybe you should have been a senator as well.”
Diego thought of something ugly then. He’d always found Eren’s calm unnerving, even if he himself treated situations in the same manner. Perhaps that was it. Knowing the blind, black rage that simmered under his surface, maybe it knew a kindred spirit when he saw it. Diego was always meant to be a warrior, but at that moment he wondered if mistakes hadn’t been made with Eren.
His ruthless eyes spoke of a vicious soul, of the Brion battle spirit come down from the dark days, not yet fully lost. A true warmonger. Put in charge of the generals, more dangerous than any of them simply by having the authority to order them around. No. The Elders needed to emerge soon, to see the… the mistake they’d made by trusting Eren.
He also realized how well the whole thing with Isolde being his gesha had worked out for Eren. It being obvious Diego wasn’t about to murder his fated, Eren could be completely sure Diego would fight for her. He had only underestimated Isolde’s willingness to avert war. Now he had to hope that Isolde’s resolve would crumble with Diego’s death at Crane’s hands. That bastard had them all dancing to his tune. He snarled.
Isolde and Eleya arrived at that moment. The hate practically oozed off Eleya, but Eren’s attention immediately went to Isolde. It set Diego’s skin crawling.
“So this is your human,” Eren said. “Is she not a beauty.”
He was baiting him, Diego knew that, but his blood still boiled. Having another man even look at Isolde that way brought his need to kill to the surface.
“Isn’t that the man that tried to kill me,” Isolde shot back.
Eren laughed, a sound so unsettling it made Isolde draw back and Eleya glare, almost shaking with loathing. Diego was thankful for Eren’s ability to inspire so much hate. It boosted his ranks quite a bit.
“She has spirit,” Eren said. “But so do I.”
“You are a traitor to all Brions,” Eleya said coldly. “You have no spirit, no soul, no heart.”
Eren looked at her only then, a flash of something Diego couldn’t exactly name passing his eyes. “You of all should not talk about betraying the Brions,” he said simply.
Eleya said nothing to that. Diego had to wonder what it was costing her to so obviously side with him in this matter. The senators preferred to speak as one, but Eleya had always stood separately from them. He didn’t doubt he was not helping that. On the other hand, he doubted she cared much.
“I see you worry for him,” Eren said, turning back to Isolde.
To her credit, she stared him down, making Diego proud. “He will win,” she said with confidence, even if they all heard the doubt in her voice.
“He is grothan, yes,” Eren agreed, looking Isolde straight in the e
ye. “So is Crane.”
The terror that passed behind Isolde’s eyes was at once exhilarating and terrifying for Diego. To see her fear pained him, but the fact she feared at all showed she did care, in fact, cared a lot. Like a gesha should. Now that Diego thought of it –
“Diego,” Eren said then, his voice suddenly cold and menacing. “There is a reason for me personally welcoming you back home. I was thinking our first human gesha should meet the senators.”
No.
Eren went on, his unforgiving eyes matching the fake smile on his lips. “Send her to Briolina with Eleya. You can trust that we would not want to hurt such a rarity. We merely have many questions to her. She should be prepared to meet the Elders as well, I am sure they will want to hear how all of this feels to her. And you can prepare for your fight in peace.”
So that was what this was all about. If he couldn’t come at him directly, having to trust that to Crane, he’d try hurting Diego another way. He’d be damned if he let Isolde out of his sight, near Eren of all people.
“No,” Isolde protested as well, seemingly unaware she’d even spoken. She backed away from the holoimage.
“Do not worry,” Eren said without any warmth. “I guarantee you will be returned to your gerion after the fight.”
“She stays with me,” Diego said.
Isolde’s eyes filled with relief, but Eren hadn’t finished. “Send her or I will inform the GU’s ambassadors of Rhea right now.”
Silence descended on the room, shock and futile rage rendering all of them speechless for a long moment. Then Diego growled, to his surprise seeing Isolde hesitate before refusing again. “What is to stop you from doing that even if I let her go? Do you really expect me to believe she will be safe with you?”
“As you put it yourself, I like to play it safe,” Eren said, still smiling. “I do not wish to inform them of anything like that in person, or at all if I can help it. The Brions need to stand united, which at the moment we do not. I must wait. But I do not doubt you seek ways to make sure I never say anything at all. Call this… a safety measure.”
Diego was about to say something, protest further, but it was Isolde who spoke up.
“I will go,” she said, looking him straight in the eye. Her voice still shook. “It’s alright. You can win, I believe in you.”
“How lovely,” Eren said. “I am looking forward to meeting you, Isolde.”
The holoimage disappeared and Diego rounded on her.
“He lies,” he said, trying to get her to understand.
“Of course he lies,” Isolde agreed. “But I don’t have a choice. We must try, or all of this will be over just like that. You can send Deliya and Narath with me, can’t you? They’ll protect me. And there are others who are on our side, aren’t there?”
Two guards against whatever Eren has up his sleeve on Briolina, Diego thought, gritting his teeth in rage. It made sense for Eren to want to shield himself behind Isolde. While Diego wasn’t around to protect her himself, he was powerless. Even his allies would hesitate going after Eren, knowing Diego would show them no mercy if they got Isolde killed.
“I cannot let you go,” he said. “If something happens to you…” He couldn’t finish that, the idea alone was unbearable. Sending her to Rhea was different, but sending her to Eren… “I told you, I can only protect you when you are with me.”
“If he tells them, it’ll all be in vain,” Isolde said. She looked so scared, but her determination reminded Diego of Brion stubbornness. It would have made him smile if he hadn’t been out of his mind with worry. “I have to go. We have to try. There is so much at stake.”
She was right – Diego knew that – and braver than he had given her credit. Considering how obvious her terror was, the fact that she’d still want to go was amazing to him. A Brion general could face danger calmly, because they knew they could handle it. Isolde had no such hope. She’d rely entirely on… the guards he’d provided her. Once again, it showed the trust she put in him. Diego hesitated, unable to disappoint her, unable to dash what little hope there was left for him.
Of course they had allies on Briolina. Diego also knew for a fact Eren wouldn’t be stupid enough to simply kill Isolde without reason. He would have to fight hard not to give that reason to the scheming senator. No, Eren would simply hold on to Isolde until the Elders emerged, otherwise there’d be no place for him left in the galaxy for killing an innocent guest to their planet.
Playing it safe. So Diego had to play it risky. He gritted his teeth.
He turned to Eleya, groaning in frustration. “Protect her,” he ordered. The former general nodded, eyes alight. This one wanted a fight to happen, but Diego hoped the only fight would be his.
As they made their way to the shuttle waiting for Eleya, Diego couldn’t help but feel that Isolde was being ripped out of his grasp. It was true, after all. He could not protect her from a distance, but until he could deal with Eren, they needed the senator to keep the secret.
Deliya and Narath would be there too, but they were still so few. A thought crossed Diego’s mind as Isolde’s hand never left his while they walked. Eren hadn’t caught on to their lie. Eren, with all his nigh-psychic skills, hadn’t caught on. Diego had expected the senator to taunt him with that, but he hadn’t said a word.
Isolde’s hand shook in his, her eyes never leaving him, holding on to him as if she could somehow draw in his presence to take with her to Briolina.
The fight was getting near, he had to prepare. He had to find someone to keep an eye on Isolde as well. Someone he trusted, like Faren or Atren. While he fought Crane, Isolde was as good as helpless. He had expected to let go of Isolde when they came to Rhea, but here it was, his hand was forced. Keep her close now and risk everything she was taking such pains to fight for – not to mention he was fighting too, for all Brions – or risk letting her go now and still having a chance they’d both come through it all alive, and without Isolde hating him.
They stopped before the doors of the shuttle. Neither of them seemed to find the words to say. They rose to Diego’s lips, but somehow none seemed enough, or appropriate, none to encompass all he was truly feeling. Isolde stayed speechless as well, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes as she kissed him desperately one more time before stepping away. Diego only thought of one thing – had Eren not caught on because it was no longer a lie?
“Do not die,” he said at last, his voice hoarse. “You are,” – Everything – “my gesha, no matter what comes. Even if we are never one, I am always yours. Yours alone.”
Isolde’s hand slipped from his grip. The shuttle doors slid shut.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Isolde
Had Isolde Fenner been presented with a space travel brochure before taking off to the stars, she imagined it would have described Rhea as one of those secluded, untouched by civilization beach paradises. If gods or fate or whatever had taken her for its amusement ever let her reach her original travel destination, she might even see if all of it was true.
She was thinking umbrellas in a cocktail glass, wild alien nature around her, a glimmering blue sea, mineral-rich mountains ready to help the galaxy behind her. She was also thinking of Diego wearing practically nothing, but that was a whole other thing altogether.
If Isolde Fenner had been presented with a space travel brochure for Briolina… She imagined it would have used very pretty words like “developing society”, “unique and rich culture”, “don’t walk alone after dark” and so on. All the things people working in travel used so as not to exactly say they wouldn’t touch the place themselves if someone paid them, but still make it sound exciting so the tourists would jump on the opportunity of something new and fun.
The shuttle sped through the atmosphere, taking Isolde to her first alien planet. Not the one she was supposed to be on, the one she had bargained for – no umbrellas for her – instead of her team, surrounded by enemies and on her way to more.
It would have b
een unjust to say she felt panicked, but as the Brion home world grew larger on the screens mounted on the shuttle walls, Isolde felt a trepidation she hadn’t felt since she’d seen her transport ship leave without her.
Unwilling to give in to despair, she focused on the positive. There wasn’t much of it, so it was easy. Narath and Deliya had been permitted to come with her, standing protectively at guard, giving her at least some comfort. The only other person in the room Isolde was less certain about.
Senator Eleya stood proudly by one of the screens, hands crossed behind her back, reminding Isolde of Diego. The thought of her general was almost impossible to bear. Isolde longed to be back in his arms, take back everything stupid she had ever said and simply give him all he wanted. What was death compared to dying inside? She might as well be on her way to be murdered in her sleep and she never, ever got to know what it would have felt like to have Diego truly, utterly to herself. Oh, but at least she could be proud she never gave in, right? That would be such a comfort…
Her misery must have been palpable, because the senator turned to her.
“You must be terrified,” she said.
I applaud your pep talk skills.
She nodded, unwilling to let her shaking voice give Eleya any satisfaction. The senator motioned for her to sit and when in leisure, barely looked evil any more. Isolde had to give serious consideration to the idea she might not be a traitor.
“I promised Diego I would keep you safe,” she said, stating it as a fact. “I understand you are scared, but do not consider yourself dead already.”
“A bit hard,” Isolde said, “with a whole planet out to get me.”
Eleya laughed, catching her off guard.
“Do not be ridiculous,” she said, making Isolde frown. “Briolina itself is no threat to you.”
“I thought you… didn’t like outsiders. And the whole Rhea thing. And… I thought you wanted me dead.”
Eleya shot her a look of pure womanly amusement. “Your gerion naturally thinks you are the center of the world, but that is hardly so. Briolina is not… well, we are not great at making friends, as the GU situation shows. We are hilier – Deliya, you speak her language better?”