Trials of Conviction, page 40
Elena sneered. "You want to know what separates you from the Phoenix? Easy. She fights. She doesn't give in."
Fyr gave her a pitying look as he did something to the side of the bed. "Maybe that's why her friends are dead."
Cords snaked over Elena's arms and legs, snapping tight to hold her immobile.
"You shouldn't have followed me today. Otherwise, your pain free days would have lasted a little longer."
Elena snapped her teeth at him, wishing she could bury them in his throat. "You generals are all cowards."
Fyr straightened. "I know."
"What are you doing?" Kai asked from behind Fyr.
"Just saying my goodbyes," Fyr responded, his expression unchanging as he rested his hands on the bed next to Elena.
"I thought I trained that sort of sentimentality out of you."
Something was slipped into Elena's hand as Fyr faced the Sye. "You did. Just consider this a passing experiment."
Elena felt the oblong shape he'd given her. Holy Tsavitee shit balls. It was a knife. Her knife. The bone pick she'd dropped on the walkway when she'd collapsed.
She stared at the side of his face with confusion. What could have possessed him to give her this?
"Oh look, my dear. We have uninvited guests."
Elena's heart jumped into overdrive at that silken tone, the menace flooding the air. She wasn't the only one to sense the shift. Fyr and Kai folded into deep bows, their gazes directed at the ground as if they were too afraid to look upon the face of the being who had just spoken.
The sound of movement came as the creature that reminded Elena of a golden dart frog glided into view, Elise at his side.
Her egg donor came to an abrupt stop, horror on her face at the sight of Elena in the torture device. A mask slammed down to hide her expression almost immediately.
A second later, Elise resumed walking as if nothing had happened.
The other's head tilted, the movement oddly alien looking as he spotted Elena on the bed. "What do we have here?"
Elena shook under the heavy weight of his gaze. Every sense in her body trying to retreat from the utter feeling of wrongness. As if there was something tainted in him that would corrupt her if she let it get too close.
This was bad. So bad. The kind of bad she didn't need Uncle Jin's sidebars to reinforce.
"A present, my exalted one," Kai declared.
There was fascination in the Osiri's gaze as he drew closer.
"This girl arrived in my crèche a few weeks ago. The one who brought her to me claimed she'd been transferred under your orders. It wasn't long before I noticed something wrong with her," Kai said.
"Yes, I can see that." The Osiri’s golden colored gaze trailed down Elena's body. "Tuann—and something else. Not much power but there is something interesting about her."
Elena quelled her desire to struggle as the Osiri drifted closer.
Patience, she told herself. As Auntie always said, your moment will come. Be ready for it.
"That's not all," Kai offered. "She's connected to Elise. I saw the two speaking a few nights ago."
Delight infused the Osiri's features when it looked at Elena’s egg donor. "Oh, my dear, you've been keeping secrets from me again."
Elise's face was blank. Her eyes that of a dead woman.
In Elise's mind, Elena was already lost, she realized with a sinking heart. There'd be no help coming from that direction.
Guess it was a good thing Elena had hardened herself against having expectations of the other. She'd sure be disappointed right now if she hadn't.
And if there was still a tiny kernel of hurt inside her because of it, no one needed to know that except Elena.
"Tell me pet—who is this child to you?"
The smile that touched Elise's face was bittersweet as she finally looked down at Elena. "I'd hoped for a happy ending, you know. Despite everything, I thought that one day I’d be able to go back to the way things were. I should have known a person like me would never be that lucky."
Elena's eyes widened as she caught her mother giving her the sign of love and devotion.
"I'm sorry to leave you so soon," Elise said, her expression hardening.
There was no warning as Elise palmed a blade, lunging at the Osiri. Her arm punching forward in a perfect strike.
The Osiri glided effortlessly out of the way.
Elena's mother reversed the strike, aiming for his heart.
Yes! Elena cried in her mind.
Her jubilation sank like a stone as the Osiri caught the blade with his bare hand. "I thought you would have learned how futile it was to resist after the last time."
The blade whitened, growing brittle right before Elena's eyes. Elise released it, right as the white reached the hilt. A second later, the blade crumbled into dust.
Elise whipped out a pair of knives, hurling them at him.
Elena flinched as the Osiri smacked them away, sending one of them rocketing at her. She squeaked as it embedded in the bed an inch above her head.
"I'm losing patience with you," the Osiri said.
He made a gesture. Elise flew back, landing in a heap a short distance away.
She was laughing as she rolled onto her side. "You're right. I did learn my lesson last time."
The Osiri's eyes widened. He whirled, a shriek leaving him at the sight of the knife above Elena's head. It was buried to the hilt, an odd energy running up and down it.
He set his hand on the bed, his forehead furrowing.
Elena tried to shrink away as a sense of wrongness invaded the space around her before withdrawing.
"You've killed it," the Osiri snarled at Elise.
"No, you killed it," Elise corrected.
The Osiri yanked the knife out of the bed. "You planned this."
Elise lifted onto one forearm, pain flashing across her face before she controlled it. "I did."
The Osiri stared, his rage saturating the air. Harsh and menacing. Fear pressed down on Elena. Though Elise never flinched, meeting the Osiri's gaze with the stubbornness that must have made her the perfect companion for Aunt Kira and Uncle Jin once upon a time.
The pressure in the atmosphere vanished as the Osiri stalked toward Elise with slow predatory steps. "You haven't saved your child, my pet."
Elise's expression changed.
Fyr lifted his head, shock on his face as his gaze flitted to Elena's
The Osiri's face gentled. "Yes, I'm aware of her connection to you. You have only yourself to blame for me figuring it out. There's only one thing capable of making you act so recklessly. An offspring. Your one weakness. My informant told me there was a possibility. Though that person assured me your daughter was also dead. A pity, really. It’s so much easier to shape them when they’re young. I’m glad to see she survived after all."
Even with Elise's impressive control, there was a trace of fear in her features as the Osiri loomed over her.
"She's half human, isn't she?"
That same feeling of awfulness increased as tendrils of water rose from the pool behind Elise. Her mother's expression turned wary, her body going very still.
"I always suspected we hadn't fully broken you. There was just something about you," the Osiri said conversationally, his expression almost tender. "We'll have to fix that this time."
The tendrils speared Elise in the back. Her spine bowed, her mouth opening wide on a silent scream.
Elena thrashed against the ropes in desperation. "What are you doing? Stop it!"
Her actions successfully attracted the Osiri's attention.
"It's strange," he said, cocking his head. "We've tried human/Tuann combinations before, but never with such success. I wonder what it is about you that makes you so special."
Elena stilled, feeling like prey as he made his way over to her. She licked her lips, her gaze darting to her mother before returning to the Osiri. "Why do you care?"
If she could just keep him talking. Stall for time until Uncle Jin got here.
There was also a part of her that was curious. She'd heard Aunt Kira and Uncle Jin's theories. Now it was a chance to learn the truth from the source. Lucky her.
The Osiri looked like he was considering Elena's question. "You know—no one has ever asked me that before."
"That seems lonely," Elena said.
His gaze shifted to her, pinning her in place. The look in them made her heart grow cold. Merciless. So alien in nature, Elena suspected she and others would never be able to understand the Osiri and their motivations.
"There is no loneliness in purpose. Only beauty and fulfillment."
"What purpose?" Elena asked.
"To make the universe ours and obtain perfection in form and spirit."
"Is that why you're obsessed with the Tuann?"
"They are ours," the Osiri hissed. "To do with as we please. Their rebellion will not be tolerated. They will learn, as all eventually do, who their masters are."
"And the generals?"
The Osiri stared at her with his strange mono-colored eyes. "Our harbingers. Responsible for spreading our plan throughout the universe."
The Osiri were stark, raving mad, Elena decided. How else would you explain the nonsense coming out of his mouth?
She'd heard of narcissists before, but the Osiri took it to the next level. An entire species of megalomaniacs.
"Exalted one, considering the prize you've received today, I was wondering if we could reconsider the offering," Kai interrupted, careful to keep their head lowered.
The Osiri glanced at Kai with a predatory focus.
"It's just—I would hate for my crèche's ranking to fall behind the others."
The Osiri straightened. "That is not my problem. The offering stands."
Kai's expression was stilted as they bowed again. "Very well, my lord."
"You're dismissed," the Osiri instructed.
Kai dipped lower before rising. He held out a hand to stop Fyr from following. "Not you, Fyr. You're staying here."
It was hard not to pity Fyr as shock showed on his face. Elena was betting he hadn’t seen this betrayal coming.
"What's this?" Fyr demanded.
Kai was perfectly composed as they met the general's gaze. "The offering was never supposed to be our lowest ranked. It was always to be taken from our best."
To their credit, there was regret on the Sye's face. Though Elena thought that had more to do with losing a talented seedling than betraying a boy who'd given every appearance of being loyal to the core.
"I'm sorry it has to be this way, but your sacrifice will ensure the advancement of us all," Kai explained.
Fyr's face had gone granite hard, his emotions shut down. "Did Ajix know about this?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't he have?"
Elena winced. That had to hurt.
What a way to sell out your companion. No wonder the generals and the Sye were unable to break away from the Osiri. Trust and loyalty didn't exist among them.
Fyr looked down, his hair sliding forward to shield his expression as Kai gave an impatient sigh.
"I must get back to the rest of the children. Obey your new master. You know the consequences if you don't."
Fyr said nothing as the Sye glided to the stairs, leaving them alone with the Osiri.
"Such a brave little girl," the Osiri crooned, too close to Elena for comfort. "Just like your mother. I wonder if you share in her weaknesses."
Elena's breathing turned ragged as the Osiri left her side, heading back toward Elise. In all those stories from Auntie and Uncle, they'd never gone over what to do in a situation like this.
Fyr hung around the edge of the platform, his expression defeated as he watched the Osiri's approach.
The Osiri ignored him, venturing over to Elise. "Shall we pick up where we left off?"
Elena jerked against her bindings. "No!"
The Osiri glanced at her with a smirk. "As I expected. Just like her."
"Elena, look away," Elise managed to get out. "Close your eyes, little bird."
To Elena's eternal shame, she found herself listening to her mother, squeezing her eyes shut. Unable to face this next part.
Before anything could happen, Ajix interrupted. "My lord."
Elena's eyes popped open to find the general standing on the periphery of the walkway.
"What is it?" the Osiri rumbled in a dangerous voice.
"The Phoenix. She's here."
The Osiri forgot about Elise as he turned fully to the general. "You're sure."
"Our spies verified it."
Unseen by the Osiri, Elise's mouth curled. Satisfaction burning in her eyes as she met Elena's.
"Well, well, looks like you have a reprieve, my dear," the Osiri purred. He knelt in front of Elise. "Don't be too satisfied, though."
Before Elise could do anything, he touched her forehead with a small, oblong device.
Elena's mother went limp, collapsing to the floor.
The Osiri rose. "I can't have you conscious for this reunion. You might try something stupid."
"What did you do to her?" Elena demanded, trying to get a better look at Elise.
"Don't strain so, little bird," the Osiri advised, gliding toward Ajix. "She's simply unconscious. Which is how she'll remain until I decide otherwise."
The Osiri passed Ajix, heading for the stairs. The general remained in place, staring at Fyr with an expressionless face.
"Come along, my general. We have a Phoenix's wings to break."
Kira – Above the planet
"Drop Ship Advantage, we are approaching the coordinates. Prepare to disembark," a voice said over the comms.
"Command, this is Frost. Disengaging docking clamps now," Lieutenant Himoto said.
"Frost?" Devon asked.
"That's my call sign. It was originally Ice Queen, on account of my winning personality. They changed it after I expressed my extreme dissatisfaction over such an unoriginal moniker."
Nova smirked. "She means she beat the other pilots up."
Devon blinked in amazement. And a little confusion.
"Not all of us are as lucky as the Phoenix to be named after something cool." The lieutenant flicked several switches on the console in front of her. There was a thump as the docking clamps released and then a sense of weightlessness as the ship drifted out of the landing bay, its engines still off. "Isn't that right, Tank?"
"What are you talking about? I love my name."
Himoto snorted. "That's not what I heard."
"They gave me my call sign because of the way I plow through everything like a tank," Tank explained to Devon at his questioning look.
"You don't choose them?" the boy asked.
The Tuann were paying close attention to the conversation, their faces creased in interest.
"Lord, no," Tank said with a laugh. "Call signs are given. Never chosen. Often a little insulting and based on something you've done."
"How did you wind up as the Phoenix?" Joule asked Kira.
"That's not the call sign she started with." Tank's mouth quirked. "What was the original one again?"
Kira tried to stare the other man down.
Raider covered his mouth and coughed. "Red."
"Thank you very much, asshole," Kira told him, glaring.
He dropped his hand and grinned. "Just keeping things real, Nixxy."
She rolled her eyes before focusing on the question on Devon and Joule's face. "Okay, fine. Yes, that was what they called me before."
Talon snickered. Even Finn had to fight the smile that threatened to crack his stoic expression.
Graydon didn't bother, looking over at Kira with a smirk.
She huffed at him. "It was that or Mad Dog."
"Because you were a little mad?"
Raider snickered. "Try insane."
"Thanks, Pastor," Kira said sarcastically.
The amusement dropped from Raider's face at the reminder of what he'd almost ended up with. He was lucky they'd changed it to Raider after the incident with the pirates.
"What is my call sign?" the J1N asked.
Odin looked up from where she was working in the corner, her gaze shooting to the drone. "Come over here, Jin. I need your help with something."
The J1N didn't argue, drifting toward the Sye and letting Odin attach a few wires to his internal system.
Himoto's co-pilot leaned over to say something. Himoto listened, nodding a second later.
"Command, this is Advantage. We are away."
"Best of luck, Frost. Give those bastards hell."
"There's no question of that," Himoto said, looking over her shoulder at Kira. "See you on the other side, Reliance."
The comms clicked off.
"We're past the point of no return now," Maverick commented, leaning forward to watch through one of the side windows as the Reliance passed over them. The ship got further away. It and its companion heading for the Tsavitee ships massing in the distance over the planet.
"Our current trajectory is good. It'll carry us right into the planet's gravity well without our engines having to do anything," Himoto announced. "All systems, including life support, have been shut down. For all intents and purposes, we're flying dark. We won't have long once I reactivate things. You'll have to ditch fairly quickly."
"No problems there," Nova said, tapping the helmet next to him. "We have plenty of experience in that realm—don't we, Curs?"
There was an "Ooo-rah" from Maverick and Tank.
Graydon's oshota wore haughty expressions as if they found such an obvious question insulting.
"You ready for this?" Kira asked Finn.
"I won't leave your side."
Talon cracked an eyelid from where he'd been resting. "That’s because you’re more worried about her leaving yours."
Finn punched his friend's arm without breaking eye contact with Kira. "That's not going to be a problem. Right?"
Kira sensed there was only one right answer for that question. "Of course not."
Graydon's shoulders shook with a repressed laugh.
"Why don't your oshota ever threaten you when you wander off?" Kira muttered.
"That's because I'm not like a certain someone."
Kira arched an eyebrow at him. "What was that Mr. Ended Up in a Coma?"
