“Okay, okay,” Jetta said, wiping away her sister’s tears.
Jaeia finally looked at her again, gray eyes puffy and red. “I am so, so sorry, Jetta.”
Stomach knotting, Jetta found that she didn’t have anything to say. Jaeia wanted her forgiveness for what she had done, but Jetta tightened up at the thought. “Who helped you? It felt like the Healer—but she hates me.”
Jaeia tentatively smiled. “It was Triel, and she doesn’t hate you. I asked her to help me during the final battle. She helped me before, on Reht’s ship, when I used my second voice against one of the dog-soldiers, bringing me back before I went too far.”
“What took her so long?”
“She said it was security giving her a hard time, but really, I think she had to get past a few things first. A lot of people have the wrong impression about us. It’s going to be a while before things settle down.”
“If they ever do,” Jetta muttered. “All those people we saved will soon know that ‘Kyron’ is just another name for ‘General Volkor the Slaythe.’”
Jaeia didn’t try to talk her out of that one.
“So,” Jetta said, breaking the long silence. “What now?”
Jaeia sighed and wiped her eyes. “I don’t know exactly. How old are we again?”
Jetta thought about it a moment. “Seven?”
“Well, we should be in second grade, right? Well, I am kind of behind on my barnyard animals.”
“You’re a giant dork,” Jetta said. She grabbed a pillow off the bed and threw it at her, and Jaeia caught it with a smile.
Jetta hung her head. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to accept what happened to Jahx, Jaeia.”
Jaeia hugged the pillow and with her free hand held onto the tips of Jetta’s fingers. “Jetta—you make sacrifices for those you love. Jahx did for you, and you did for Jahx. You’re going to have to accept that. There are those who love you and are willing to make sacrifices, even with your terrible smell.”
“Excuse me?” Jetta exclaimed. Jaeia threw the pillow at her, this time hard enough that it burst. As feathers rained down around them, for the first time in a long time, Jaeia laughed.
In seeing her sister laugh, Jetta realized something. Jahx was gone, but Jaeia was safe, alive, and for the first time since they were very little, she had the chance to think of something beyond their immediate survival. Things could be different now, and the thought frightened her.
I can’t accept your gift, she thought, hoping that somehow Jahx could still hear her. I can’t accept that you cared that much about us, about me, to sacrifice yourself like that. So I will make you a promise. I will look after Jaeia, and I will honor your life.
Jetta looked back at her sister. “I want to go back and help our uncle and aunt. I want to find our mother and father. I want to find our families—both the Drachsis and the Kyrons.”
Jaeia nodded. “Me too. But we can’t just up and leave right now.”
“What’s more important than finding Galm and Lohien?”
Jaeia cocked her head to the side. “You’ve been rattling around in my head too long now. I’ve picked up your street think. We can’t expect just to waltz right out of here and go find them. We’re on leashes, you know. We’re going to need favors to get around now.”
“Okay—so what do you want to do?”
Jaeia smiled with a hint of wickedness and firmed her grip on her sister’s hand.
“Let’s go out there and celebrate. Let’s put a few military chubs and politicians in our corner. But while everybody else is cheering for the Alliance’s victory, you and I can celebrate something else. We can celebrate what Jahx has given us.”
“What exactly is that?”
“A new beginning,” Jaeia said, squeezing her hand.
“I don’t know if I’m ready to celebrate just yet,” Jetta said.
“It’ll give you a chance to scare a few senior delegates in the General Assembly. Intimidating authority figures always makes you feel better.”
“Haha, Jaeia,” Jetta said, folding her arms across her chest. “You think you know me so well. Stop spending so much time in my head—I don’t want to become a softie like you.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll always be a sour grump,” Jaeia said, pinching her side.
As Jetta readied for their appearance before the public and the entire Fleet, they didn’t talk about anything serious. They avoided discussing what Jaeia had rightly observed—that they were on short leashes. Their celebrity status wouldn’t last long, and interfederational trials for their crimes against the former United Starways Coalition would be a likely next step.
But for now, Jetta wouldn’t think about that. Instead, she listened to her sister’s jokes about the designer clothes given to them for their public appearances, her speculation about the gourmet food at the events, and her curiosity about entertainers from worlds they had only dreamed about. As Jaeia remarked on their lack of hairstyle, Jetta realized that they were entering a whole new world together.
She smiled at the thought.
***
Jahx didn’t hurt anymore. Everything was okay. When he opened his eyes, he found himself back in the red and gray apartment, holding the hand of his Pao.
(Uncle Galm,) he whispered. Furry eyebrows lifted, and his Pao wrapped his arms around him and squeezed.
“My son—I love you very, very much. You know that, don’t you?”
He heard two voices, much alike, in a nearby room. He couldn’t see them, but he knew they were there, and safe. A woman’s voice hummed softly in the kitchen, just loud enough to rise above the sound of dishes being scrubbed.
(Heaven.)
He rested his head on his Pao’s chest. He was about to close his eyes when the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and his spine stiffened. Something’s wrong.
Instinctively, he looked toward the entryway. Galm disappeared, as did the other voices. A bare fluorescent bulb flickered overhead, giving hints of the shadowy figure in the doorway. Purple tendrils of smoke rose up to the ceiling from the burning end of a cigarette.
Yahmen—
“Jahx, my boy—I found you. This is only the beginning.”
Jahx screamed.
The journey has only begun...
“Hold on, Jetta,” Jaeia said, inputting the coordinates for their course heading into the jumpdrive. “This isn’t over yet.”
Jetta surprised herself with the speed of her attack as she smacked her sister’s helmet against the crossbeam. Mumbling, Jaeia slumped in her seat.
She couldn’t feel Jaeia anymore. She couldn’t even sense her own feelings anymore, except for the emptiness, the fear, the dark seed taking root in the cavity of her chest.
“I’m afraid it is for me,” Jetta whispered.
—Triorion: Abomination (Book Two)
Now available in stores!
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Acknowledgements
I owe countless thanks to so many people for the success of this book. First and foremost are my family and friends for their love and continued support over the years as I pursued this dream. Special thanks to my aunt, Irene, for going the extra mile to connect me to the literary world, and to my mother and father, without whom I might never have believed in this project.
To my friends, Linzy Wolman and John Glick, who read the very first draft of the book: thank you. Your enthusiasm gave me a much-needed boost during those early years.
Alice W., Pat R., Patrick K. and Ali Parker—thanks for going that extra mile for me during the final stages of this book. You have no idea how much that meant to me.
A special thanks Erin Cochran, the patient and intrepid editor who gave me invaluable advice and criticisms in the early stages of the series. I would also like to thank my current editor, Vivian Trask, for helping me transform this book to be true to the story I’ve always wanted to tell.
Last, but certainly not least, thank you to my deare
st Nicci, who has helped me in so many ways, both with this book and behind the scenes.
L. J. Hachmeister
L. J. Hachmeister is a freelance writer, illustrator, and registered nurse originally from Chicago, Illinois. She currently resides in Denver, Colorado with her family and two rambunctious dogs.
Triorion: Awakening (Book One) Page 47