Shafts of noonday sun broke through the canopy. The loamy scent of the forest after a rain filled the air. Clean, heady, a sweet beginning.
Off to one side, Joss and Dessy talked, sitting on the moss-covered trunk of a fallen tree. Ahead, Armand and Philippe, faithful soldiers that they were, each faced outward, forming a perimeter and standing watch.
The soldier class among his people had been designed to intimidate by size as well as presence. Like his father, Pietas had the slender build and facile mind of the scientist class, but with the height of a warrior and all their strength.
Joss's frank and sensual appraisal popped to mind. "You have the sleek grace of a dancer, Pietas, and all the muscle of a warrior." Best compliment ever. He stifled the smile that recollection brought and focused on Armand and Philippe.
The twins were thick iron bars. He was whipcord blended with carbonized steel. He couldn't subdue them, but he'd make them work to subdue him.
As one, they turned toward him and snapped to attention.
Accustomed to being the tallest person in any room, having to look up left him off guard. He forced himself not to step back. "At ease, men."
Each tucked his hands behind him.
Their submissive position triggered a memory of himself, kneeling, hands bound behind him. With him still fettered, his captors had placed him on his back in a cryopod. Though the shackles could have been released remotely, they had left him bound.
To rot.
While imprisoned, he'd decided his soldiers would never stand with hands behind them again. But he'd deal with that later.
"Armand, Philippe, I owe you each an apology."
Together, they tilted their heads like dogs hearing their master's whistle.
"I was angry at my sister and I took it out on you. It was not an excuse for mistreating you." Pietas inclined his head. "It was unconscionable. Inconsiderate. Cruel. I will never do that again. I give you my word. Armand." Pietas offered his hand. "Will you forgive me?"
The man accepted his hand and clasped both of his around it. "Gladly."
After releasing Armand, Pietas turned to the man's brother and again, offered his hand. "Philippe. Will you forgive me?"
The giant bowed, then accepted his hand and clasped it. Though Philippe did not speak, his eyes shone with gratitude.
"Pietas, you are--" Armand began.
"--our king." Philippe finished.
Together, they bowed.
He bowed in return. Command offered multiple sorrows. How wonderful it also offered a few joys. He counted the love and respect of his soldiers among the greatest.
"Will you come with me as witness?" He led them toward his sister and Joss.
The women stood as one, still holding hands. No fear showed on Dessy's face but Pietas felt its empathic presence.
It mingled with an unspoken plea for mercy from Joss. The depth of her concern speared a twinge of psychic pain through his mind. He had never felt her presence as he did now. Which begged the question, how often had her thought-commands influenced his decisions in the past?
It ceased at once and Joss cast him an apologetic glance.
"Joss." When she looked up at him, he crossed to her and offered his hand.
She stepped out from beside Dessy and accepted it in both of hers. "I know what's in your heart, Pietas. You don't have to say anything."
"Gracious as always. But yes, I do. I rushed you. I didn't listen to you. I discounted your advice. It was rude of me. I won't do that again. I have always treasured your advice and your presence in my life. I'm sorry for the way I treated you."
The whole time he was speaking, Dessy stood with arms folded, staring at him with undisguised contempt.
Joss touched his mind, the whisper of a kiss, sharing her pride at his willingness to make amends.
When he turned toward Dessy, his sister drew back in a warrior's stance.
"Who are you?" If Armand and Philippe had been born to war, Dessy had been born to rule, as had he. Small wonder they clashed every time they met. Her look of suspicion stung. She continued to glare at him. "What are you playing at?"
"I'm not playing. I came to apologize."
Her look of utter surprise satisfied in a way he hadn't expected. She'd anticipated another fight.
"Dessy, I believed the worst of you. I treated you with contempt. I discounted how you felt and refused to accept your word. I disrespected you. I was rude. I laid hands on you instead of asking to speak privately. That was wrong of me. I offer no excuse for my behavior. I am sorry. I will not do it again." He set a hand over his heart and bowed, showing his sincerity by not rising.
When she didn't speak, he lifted his head. Of all the expressions he'd expected to see, fury was not among them. Unsure what to say, he stood straight and remained silent.
"I don't know who you are, but you are not my insufferably rude brother. I have no idea what you expect this show of goodness to do for you, but however much the others fell all over your so-called apology, I'm not buying one minute of it."
"Dess--" He reached for her.
She jerked out of his way. "Don't touch me, you imposter!"
"I am your brother. Ask me something no one else would know."
"You are not my brother!"
"Ask me something. Anything."
She studied him. None of the others spoke. "Not in public." She jerked her chin toward the Ultras.
Public? There were few people dearer to him. But if this was how she wanted it... Pietas walked a distance away and waited beneath a tree for her to join him. When she had, he leaned one hand on the trunk.
She remained out of reach.
"Ask your question, Dessy."
"I have two. When you were three, you were hurt and you cried. What did Father say?"
Over the centuries, the recollection had grown stronger, no matter how hard he suppressed it. He could see himself falling, scraping his hands and knees, as clearly as if he watched it happening now. His hands had bled and he'd cried while showing his father.
"He said if I cried again, he'd beat me until I stopped." How easy it was to say those words to his sister. Words he'd hidden with the deepest shame all his life. Why he should feel inadequate for being threatened as a child he could not fathom, but there it was. He'd been made a victim. Once free from his father, he permitted no such weakness. "Mother said pain was a warrior's ally. I made that my mantra."
He'd never lost a fight. Until Six subdued him. No. Until Six had backed him into a corner. In order to save his mother, Pietas had no choice but to surrender. The act of submission had once again made him a victim.
Turning from such soppy thoughts, he faced Dessy. "Father beat me for many things, but never for crying."
She beheld him in silence before speaking. "I used to blackmail my brother into doing things. I told no one. What was it?"
If not for her blackmail, he'd never have committed the act that had ostracized him from his family. He'd never have been forced into living on the streets, an outcast from his own people. He should hate her. Did hate her betrayal. He might never trust her again, but she was his sister and he owed her proof.
"We were sixteen and wanted to experience a rebirth. I was supposed to kill you without inflicting pain. When you struggled, I panicked and hurt you. You swore I enjoyed it and that you wouldn't forgive me unless I did what you asked." He ran one toe along the bared root of a tree, loathe to admit he'd been afraid of what she'd do. "After that, every time you wanted something and I wouldn't do it, you threatened to tell Father that I"-- Though alone, he lowered his voice --"choked you to death."
"It is you."
"It is." He stood before her. "I'm sorry for the way I treated you, Dess." He bit the inside of his cheek. "I was wrong."
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "You remember our pact as children never to say please or thank you to each other?"
"How could I forget? We had to say please before receiving anything."
A flush cro
ssed her cheeks. "Even punishment."
Pietas brushed a thumb across her cheeks. "And then we had to thank him for teaching us to be good. He drilled politeness into us. I can hear him now. 'You'll need to be polite once you're out among humans. Never give them reason to wonder why you're different. Ultras are not in power. Humans are. Keep your head down and never look them in the eye.' He said it endlessly. How could I forget?"
"Tas, I all but saw that tattooed on the inside of my eyelids at night."
"Same here." She'd been crying, but even this close, he couldn't read her emotions. "Dess, I've missed you. We need to pull together like we did as kids."
"We haven't worked together as adults." The flatness of her voice matched the lack of emotion in her eyes. "Since the day you left, we've been enemies. You hate me. You don't trust me."
"Can you blame me?" Despair descended over his heart anew but he resisted its pain. "I never understood why you lied to Father. I couldn't forgive you for that. I convinced myself it didn't matter. I didn't have anything to prove. If he thought so little of me that he would think I'd lied to him, then why should I allow that to bring me pain?"
She averted her gaze. "I'm sorry."
"Someone is always saying they're sorry in our family." He touched her shoulder. "If we're going to survive here, you and I must put the past behind us."
"I'll work with you because our people need us. You're right about being our king. The military supports you without question. If you'd tried, you could have overthrown the Council. Father knew it. Mother knew it. The humans who exiled us here knew it. You'd have been the most powerful leader our people or theirs ever had."
And yet she'd continually voted counter to him. Even so, her words gratified.
"Dess. You have no idea what that means to me." With the memory of their pact in mind, he bowed to her. "Thank you."
"It's not flattery, Pietas. You're the reason we're here, trapped on Sempervia." She turned and headed toward the others, then slowed, came to a stop, and looked back at him. "You'd be an amazing king, but that has nothing to do with forgiveness. Know this, brother mine. I will work with you for the good of our people, but I will never forgive you. Not for anything. Not for as long as I live."
Chapter Ten
Never forgive him? What?
Pietas stood there, gaping, with Dessy's retreating back his focus. His sister wouldn't forgive him for whatever it was she thought he did, and his big concern?
He would fail Six.
Head back, Pietas tightened his fists, teeth clenched. He strode after her. When he clasped her arm, she whirled on him.
"Don't touch me!"
He backed off, hands raised. When she once more walked away from him, he went after her. "Dess. Dessy! Wait!"
She turned on him again, unshed tears glistening. "Get away!"
"Dess!" He longed to take away her tears. Hug her as he had when they were children. Promise to make it better. "Talk to me. Why won't you forgive me?"
"Forgive you? After what you did to me?"
"You forced me into it by blackmailing me!"
"You big idiot!" The acid in her emotions stung more the words. "I'm not talking about that."
How was it she could talk about one thing and mean another yet expect him to keep up? He tried again. "Then what is it I did?"
"You abandoned me!"
"I aban-- What! When?"
She stuck her hands on her hips. "Don't you dare deny it, Pietas ap Lorectic. You left me." Hearing her say his full name reminded him of their mother.
"Dess, I've never left you. Ever. What are you talking about?"
She jabbed a finger in his chest. "Don't you deny it!" Tears rolled down her cheeks. "You left me to him!"
"Left you to..." The meaning of her words hit him. Pietas staggered. "Dess. Dess, you thought I left you to our father?"
"Yes!" Swearing, she charged toward him.
He stood there without resisting and let her thrash him. She might be small compared to him, but she was all warrior. It hurt, but paled next to the revelation she'd dropped.
"Why won't you fight me?"
How could he?
Dessy collapsed, crying.
He gathered her in his arms. "Shh." He kissed her brow and rocked her side-to-side. "It's all right. I won't let anyone hurt you. I'm sorry, Dessy."
"Why did you leave me?"
"I didn't leave you! Father threw me out. He wouldn't let me say good-bye. Not even to Mother."
Sniffing, she pulled back. Her red eyes revealed the dark outer gray of her irises. Her black lashes stuck together in points. Even in tears, his sister's beauty showed itself.
It served to remind him how their father had enhanced them not only before they were born, but for years after. He'd made them flawless, beautiful, powerful.
Perfect.
They could protect themselves from everyone. Except him.
Mahikos had broken them, used fear to instill weakness, and required them to permit his rule over every waking hour. Made them submissive to his every whim.
No more.
Trying to still his racing heart, Pietas drew his sister close and stroked her hair. "And after I was gone? What did he tell you then?"
"That he'd tried to punish you, and you hit him and ran away." She tightened her arms. "He said you wanted nothing to do with Mother and me. That you were through with family. He said you told him 'family makes people weak.'" She withdrew from him. "That you'd do the same thing again if you got the chance."
While she spoke, his heart continued to race. He coughed, throat dry. He forced down the rage building within and opened his hands from the fists he'd clenched.
"He dared tell you such disgusting lies about me?"
Dessy brushed away tears. "I thought it was true."
"He b--" Pietas stopped himself from speaking. He would tear the man apart with his bare hands. And teeth. He calmed himself as best he could. "Dess, he whipped me, and then he beat me with his fists until I couldn't stand and then he kicked me until I blacked out."
She flinched and covered her mouth with both hands. Tears spilled.
"I never fought back. He dragged me to my room and locked me inside. I overheard him telling Mother what I'd done. Accusing me of--" Jaws tight, he forced away the memory of his parents fighting.
"Did he confess or did you assume?" his mother kept repeating. She'd refused to believe his father. How Pietas adored her for that.
The warmth of his sister's hug drew him to the present.
"Tas, I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"
He held her close, his cheek atop her head.
"I should have known it was a lie." She cuddled with him. "I shouldn't have believed him."
All these years. All these centuries... He could stand here forever, holding his sister. Reconnecting with the dearest person in his life. But to give their father what he deserved, he must let her go.
No. Not yet. Not yet.
He would stay here. He had longed for her presence, for the childhood sister he adored and now he had her. He refused to let her go.
"Dess, I've missed you so much it stabs my heart."
She squeezed him tight enough to hurt. "I'm sorry." She drew back and tossed hair out of her eyes. "I forget my own strength."
He grinned at her. "I've always loved that about you. You're the best sparring partner I know. And the meanest."
With an open hand, she smacked him on the arm.
"Ow!" He rubbed the spot.
"Oh, shut up, you big baby." She rolled her eyes at him and they both laughed.
Pietas sobered. "I'll kill him for what he did to us."
"No, you will not. Mother would never forgive you and you know it. And she's far more important than he is."
"He deserves worse than death."
"Pietas. don't touch him." She touched his arm. "Promise me you won't hurt him."
"I can't do that."
"You will do that and here's why. If you hurt him, you're l
owering yourself to his standard. You're letting him know he hurt you. He controlled you."
"But, Dess--"
"He's still controlling you. Don't you see that?" She took his hand. "Tas, we've been his experiment all our lives. He plays us against each other. Manipulates us. Hasn't he used us enough?"
He growled.
"Tas, if you can't promise me now, at least promise you'll consider it and discuss it with me before you act." She took his arm. "I'm saying 'please' for this."
"Don't. He deserves no mercy. Not from anyone. He's opposed me since the day I left. Done nothing but ridicule and harass me. He questioned every move I made as Chancellor. He must have hated it when I was elected."
"Oh, you are so blind." She shook her head. "Don't you realize it was Father who prompted the Council to elect you?"
"That's preposterous. He--" His father claimed the Council elected him to control him. At the time, Pietas had laughed. They can try, he'd responded. "Why? Why would he do that? He knew I resisted the peace talks. Father knew I hated humans. Knew I'd do everything in my power to disrupt the talks."
"Knowing all that, why would he want you in power instead of him?"
"But he wouldn't. He knew I'd resist. I'd find a way out. He..." His mind refused to wrap around the truth before him. "Dess. He wouldn't. He couldn't." He met her gaze and held it, trying to absorb the truth before him. "He did, didn't he?"
"Yes, Pietas. He did. I've gone over and over this. Father has been happy as a child with new shoes since we got here. The entire Council is ready to hang him. We all suspect the same thing. He wanted us to be exiled."
After grasping Dessy's hand, Pietas set off into the forest with her in tow. Low branches slapped wet leaves in his face. Moisture dripped. Insects buzzed. The stink of wood rot made him sneeze.
"Tas, where are we going?"
"Nowhere. I have to think."
"We need to get back. The others are--"
"Hang the others! I need to think and I want you with me." He darted around slender trees and through breaks in the undergrowth, tugging his sister along behind him. In a small clearing, he slowed and then halted.
Birds fluttered among the branches. The rain-washed forest gave up the scent of spores mixed with flowers and damp wood.
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