by Regine Abel
As I described the gestures, my excitement returned. There indeed seemed to have been a pattern in the ways he manipulated the object. I tried all of them, mixing the various sequences but nothing. Frustration began settling in again.
Valena pursed her lips, looking as annoyed as I felt by our failure to figure it out. She opened her mouth to speak but ended up squealing instead when a roughly sculpted ice bowl filled with roasted marshmallows appeared on her lap.
“Rhadames Kirnhan! What did I say about scaring people?” I shouted across the distance, failing to sound as stern as I meant to.
Valena’s flustered expression was actually hilarious. The boys broke down into peals of laughter, completely unremorseful.
Zhara giggled.
“Thank you, Rhad!” she shouted then proceeded to stuff her face with the treats.
Shaking my head at the kids, I apologized to Valena who frowned at the bowl, then at the medallion.
“What is it?” I asked.
“The Oracle didn’t tell Aleina to look at the medallion, or Maheva. She specified you should look at it. Could it be because of your ability?”
I shook my head. “I’ve tried hacking it before. It didn’t do anything.”
“But did you try while doing those gestures?” she insisted.
My eyes widened, and I felt like an idiot for not having thought of it myself. Rolling the medallion over my knuckles, I opened my mind and reached out to the medallion with my senses.
And then I felt it. “Oh Goddess! Valena, you’re a fucking genius!”
“Mama said fucking!” Zhara exclaimed.
I cringed, and Valena snorted.
“You’re not supposed to say words like that!” I said.
“You said it,” she argued.
“And you’re supposed to forget those words when Mama says them by accident.”
She stared at me, her yellow eyes sparkling with mischief.
“I forgot to forget,” she deadpanned.
Valena burst out laughing, and I sighed in discouragement. But I was onto something with the medallion. Chastising my daughter for taking advantage of my own screw ups would have to wait.
Refocusing on the medallion, I made it roll on my knuckles again while pushing my power into it. On the first roll back, I felt something click within, like a lock. Four more such clicks occurred as I kept rolling, then they seemed to reset, locking back up.
“I’ve rolled too long,” I whispered to myself.
Starting over, I rolled the medallion to get the four clicks and stopped. Heart pounding, I threw it in the air before catching it in my open palm and pushed my power into it again. The face of the medallion glowed. Both Valena and I gasped, our eyes locking with the same excitement. Pressing my thumb on the luminous surface, I drew a slow circle clockwise. The glow intensified so I kept going for a second then third revolution. On the fourth one, the glow faded, and the device locked back up.
“Gah!” I groaned.
Despite my annoyance at the reset, it was to be expected. We were getting closer. Repeating the previous steps, I stopped after circling the face of the medallion with my thumb three times before pressing the center. A bright glow blinded me. Valena and Zhara echoed my surprised gasp at the stabbing light. Blinking, we looked up at the holographic projection from the medallion. It was a celestial map with a shiny marker, a set of coordinates, and a series of numbers that resembled a hailing frequency.
“Gotcha.”
* * *
While waiting for Aleina and the boys to arrive, I’d tried various other combinations of the gestures, but the medallion didn’t reveal anything new. Cross-referencing various star charts, I was able to identify the planet Xamora at the northern edge of the Western Quadrant. Inhabited by a primitive species, colonization and trade had been forbidden by the Galactic Council to allow the locals to evolve at their own pace. Based on the limited information I found in the First Division’s database, the coordinates from the medallion would indicate a frozen area in the northernmost pole of Xamora.
Khel, Ghan, Aleina, Kamala, and Sohr finally joined me in the Situation Room of Khel’s military compound on the family estate. I ran them through my findings, which earned me quite a few compliments and proud stares from my mate and my aunts. I couldn’t help puffing my chest and preening.
Ghan gave me his usual barely there smirk, but all I saw was his flawless, Taint-free skin. I still couldn’t believe this miracle, or the way his arm rested on the back of Aunt Aleina’s chair. There was something oddly peaceful about them; an aura of maturity, strength, and wisdom. Two people couldn’t have been more perfect for each other.
“Any idea what could be there?” Aleina asked.
I shook my head. “My guess would be another fortress, but what’s so special about it that Gruuk would leave it on the medallion for me?”
“Could it be your father?” she asked.
My heart skipped a beat and my mouth went dry.
“My father?”
Aleina nodded, her face taking on a faraway expression as she reminisced.
“The last time I saw Eryon, he told me the Fates had warned him that he would remain captive for twenty-six years at which point he would be freed. By my calculation, it would have happened a few months ago. Which means, he’s looking for you.”
Could it be?
My heart pounded against my ribs at the thought of meeting my father at last. Khel reached for my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“If he’s out there, we will find him, my heart.”
I nodded and swallowed past the lump trying to choke me.
“I would advise against using that hailing frequency until we have a better idea who and what is out there,” Ghan said.
Khel nodded. “I agree. No point giving them a heads-up about our imminent arrival.”
“How soon can you head out?” I asked Aleina, still feeling odd, but relieved, about Khel no longer leading the raids.
“First, I need to deal with the Xelixian Council, but hopefully, we can set out tomorrow,” Aleina said, looking a little gloomy. “Then again, maybe I should postpone meeting the Council until we return from Xamora.”
The look Ghan gave my aunt, and the way she averted her eyes told me there was more to this reluctance.
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea to delay,” I intervened.
Aleina’s eyes snapped to mine, the line of her jaw taking on a stubborn edge. It felt oddly like looking in the mirror.
“Lhor told me there’s a lot of grumbling in the Council Hall and from the Tainted population in general. Valena said Zhul confirmed it, too. And it’s gotten louder since the word has begun spreading about Ghan becoming Prime overnight.”
“I’m not Prime,” he mumbled.
“I know, Grumpypants. But that’s a technicality.”
He gave me ‘the look,’ and I couldn’t help grinning. I’d never tire of picking on him.
“The bottom line remains that yet another of the General’s close friends ‘scored’ himself a Veredian while the rest of the population is being denied.”
“Nobody is denying anyone anything,” Aleina snapped.
Not denying, only doing a lot of cock-blocking...
“It’s time, Aunt Aleina. Delaying it by a couple of weeks will not change the inevitable,” I said in a soft voice. “But it will fuel the disgruntled chatter.”
My aunt’s throat worked as she swallowed painfully.
“We’ll be at the other edge of the quadrant,” Aleina said with barely repressed aggression. “We all know the Council will pressure us to get things rolling quickly. How am I supposed to protect the Sisters if I’m not here when the first meet-and-greet occurs?”
“You don’t need to because I will be,” Khel said.
Aleina’s head snapped toward Khel, a slew of conflicting emotions crossing her features.
“It’s not your responsibility,” she argued.
“It is more mine than yours,�
� he countered. “You are their military leader, not their babysitter.”
Aleina’s jawline and gaze hardened. While her body betrayed none of her emotions, they lay bare on her face for all to see. She still struggled to cope with the absence of her helmet.
“Oh? Are you not the military leader of your own people? So now what? You get to appropriate my Sisters? Have you built another little compound for you to trade them off to your buddies?”
Everyone stiffened around the table. Khel’s face shutdown and a slight frown marred Ghan’s crihnin. Aleina winced, realizing she had gone too far.
Oooh shit! Someone is starting her season.
The Sisters onboard the Veredian mothership were all synchronized and would go into heat ten to fifteen days before me. Life on the Tempest would prove quite interesting starting next week.
“I’m sorry,” Aleina said, looking like she’d bitten into something foul. “The safety of my Sisters is a sensitive topic for me.”
“You can’t do everything and be everywhere, Sameha.”
The tender, soft expression on Ghan’s face warmed my heart. I had wanted happiness for my brother, and could never have hoped for a more wonderful match with another person I loved with all my heart.
“You are trying to free your Sisters from the remaining compounds, leading raids that keep taking you halfway across the galaxy, hunting down Varrek, coordinating the defenses and expansion of your new home world, handling diplomatic negotiations with your allies, and now you also want to play matchmaker and chaperon to all your Sisters who want to leave the nest?”
Aleina flinched with each item he added to the list. When you put it that way, it was hard not to see how unrealistic a load this presented.
“Do you trust us, my love?”
She gave him a look like she couldn’t believe he asked that.
“Of course, you know I do.”
“Then delegate,” Ghan said in a tone that brooked no argument, before pointing at Khel with a head jerk. “Even that one knows when to take a step back.”
“Hey!” Khel said.
I chuckled while Ghan gave him a haughty sniff. Kamala pursed her lips to hide her smile while Sohr clenched his teeth to hide his.
“The fact is, Aleina, at trying to embrace too much, you will fail in most,” Khel said in an almost paternal, yet non-patronizing tone. “What started off as you and a handful of Veredians trying to do spot raids to free some of your Sisters has become a powerful empire. Even you have realized you couldn’t also lead your Council and have scaled back your responsibilities there. But the same is true on the field. Stepping down from raids and missions and passing my Council duties on to Lhor has made me a far more effective General than I ever could have imagined.”
Aleina frowned. “Are you telling me to take a desk job?” Aggression crept back into her voice.
Khel smirked. “No, Lee. I’m saying that you have amazing people you personally trained and trust who can take on the additional responsibilities.”
He cast a glance at Kamala who responded with a smug smile.
“I can’t lose Kamala,” Aleina replied with a wary look at her sibling. “She’s my First Officer and my right hand.”
Khel raised an eyebrow at her before casting a meaningful look at Ghan.
Aleina’s ears heated. Sohr and Kamala exchanged a strange look. My eyes narrowed at them. They’d been getting close lately, and I was wondering if something was going on.
“Larissa and Camelia have been asking for more opportunities to spend time with Amalia and the kids,” Kamala said pensively. “They’re well-trained, responsible, and would welcome the challenge.”
I perked up at the thought of spending more time with my half-sisters. Aleina smiled at the hopeful look I leveled her with.
“Fine,” Aleina said before turning toward Khel. “I will expect you to provide them with all the support and mentorship they require in my absence.”
“In your absence and going forward,” Ghan stated.
Aleina gave him an exasperated look.
“Should I list again all of your other duties?” he asked.
She huffed, and I bit the inside of my cheeks not to laugh.
“While we don’t consider Veredians as possessions like the slavers did, we do consider them as our own to protect,” Ghan said. “And not just because they are a possible cure to our Taint. The plight of your people has stirred the collective imagination and for the first time in generations, the Tainted have a common cause to fight for. So Khel is right, this is his responsibility far more than yours because should anything bad happen to the Sisters, he will have a civil war on his hands. There is no other ally planet in this entire galaxy where Veredians will be safer.”
“All right, then. It is settled. Larissa and Camelia will spearhead the meet-and-greets, and we’re off hunting.” A fierce spark glimmered in Aleina’s eyes before fading again. “That is, after all that pleasantness with the Council.”
Ghan chuckled. He, too, had no patience for the Council stuff.
“That’s it?” Khel asked, frowning.
We all turned a confused look toward him.
“That’s it, what?” Aleina asked.
“You agree, just like that? Whatever happened to giving your mate endless grief, making him beg and jump through hoops before reaching an agreement that still gets him to sleep on the couch for a few nights?” Khel asked, casting a mocking glance at me.
I made a face at him while Ghan snorted.
Aleina shrugged. “The arguments were rational. You don’t argue with common sense.”
“Oh Goddess! Amalia, watch and learn!” Khel said.
“Bite me,” I said. “Those two are just too stiff. You’d be bored if I didn’t regularly give you grief.”
“I thought we had the children for that?”
“True,” I conceded. “But the whole point of having an argument is the fun of making up afterwards.” I turned to Aleina and Ghan. “Have you two ever had an argument?”
“Yes,” they both said together.
“How long did it last?”
They exchanged a look.
“Between five and ten minutes,” Ghan said.
We collectively rolled our eyes.
“That’s not an argument, that’s a conversation. And the conflict was resolved?”
“Of course,” Aleina said.
I shook my head, discouraged.
“I will need to teach you the proper ways of arguing with your mate.”
“We’ll pass,” Ghan said.
I mumbled something about stiff people.
“Why do you think everyone believed Tuureans to be machines?” Kamala asked, a teasing glimmer in her eyes. “I do still wonder if she doesn’t have circuits under there.”
“This machine is about to kick your butt,” Aleina said, rising from her chair.
“How is that rational?” Kamala mumbled as we all rose as well to end the meeting.
“Sometimes, you need to test how the other half lives to understand their logic,” Aleina said.
“Or lack thereof,” Ghan added.
We all laughed while Kamala glared good-naturedly at them.
CHAPTER 13
Aleina
Speaking in public had never been a challenge for me. As a confident, organized female, I would walk in, say my piece, then walk out. Yet today, standing in the Xelixian Council Hall under the tense gaze of the Council and the more aggressive ones of the public and media piled up in the balcony, rattled my nerves.
Thank the Goddess for my armor.
The past few weeks since revealing my true identity had made me realize just how much my armor, and especially helmet, had become a crutch. I hated how vulnerable and exposed removing it made me feel. Part of me missed Lee, the badass, self-assured male leader of the Tuureans. He analyzed the situation, weighed pros and cons, set a course, then followed it. He was single-minded: free Veredians and destroy anything that represented a singl
e threat to them. While his decisions could be seen as black-and-white, sometimes even harsh, they had gotten the job done for over a decade. Aleina wanted to please and allowed emotions to come into play. But emotions got you killed.
Things were moving too quickly lately. My life seemed to be spinning out of control. For a control freak like me, it was terrifying. I couldn’t resent that all those changes had brought Ghan into my life. However, standing here, minutes from declaring open season on my Sisters, knowing I wouldn’t be within range to protect them, knotted my stomach. Khel and Ghan’s arguments still rang clear in my mind. I genuinely agreed with them, too. But that didn’t make it any easier. It pained me to admit that my clinging was irrational.
Looking up at the amphitheater-like room, I once more assessed the mood of my observers. The Council area was divided into five sections, one per district each containing five Councilors, except for Xelhon that had only Rhev Jormhon as its sole Councilor.
I made eye contact with Lhor and Zhul, each representing, respectively, the Xelhan and Xelhen districts. Although they couldn’t see my eyes, they could guess I was looking at them from the direction my head faced, and thus nodded at me in encouragement. Knowing they would intervene to defuse any tension if required helped relieve some of my unexplainable stress.
“As announced previously,” President Frebhin said from his chair behind me, “Admiral Lee, military leader of the Tuurean Empire, has requested permission to address this honorable Council and the people of Xelix Prime with news from the Veredian survivors in his care.”
Excited murmurs rose from the balcony while the Councilors, more restrained, leveled intense stares at me.
“The floor is yours, Admiral,” Frebhin said.
I swallowed hard, once more grateful for the helmet hiding the tension on my face. The voice modulator would also help mask any nervous quiver while I spoke.
“Honorable Councilors, good citizens of Xelix Prime, I am here on behalf of the Veredian Council to convey their desire to form even closer bonds with your people.”
More enthusiastic whispers resonated from the balcony.
“The Veredians would like the opportunity to meet Xelixian males in the hope of finding a life mate.”