Cara nodded, but she didn’t recover her earlier cheer. She slouched and traced imaginary patterns on her blanket. “I can tell the clones don’t want me here. Most of them won’t look at me, and the others make this sign when I walk by.” In demonstration, she touched her thumb and pinkie together. “What does it mean?”
“Uh…” He didn’t want to give her the literal translation—fornicate with a h’ava beast and kill yourself with fire. “It’s our version of the middle finger.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.”
“Give it time,” he said. “You’re unfamiliar to the clones and they don’t understand you yet.”
“I know.” She stared at her hands and shrugged. “My Sh’ovah is in a few days. Maybe that’ll help. I hear they’re supposed to think of me as a sister after that.”
Aelyx paused as a pang of guilt settled low in his belly. For a L’eihr, nothing was more sacred than Sh’ovah. Younglings looked forward to that day for well over a decade, until the Elders deemed them worthy. He should be there with Cara to celebrate her union with the Sacred Mother, not here, stuck on Earth, squabbling with politicians. “I’m sorry to miss it. Who’s your sponsor?”
“Elle.”
“Good.” At least it wasn’t that fasher Jaxen. “She’ll take her duties seriously.”
Cara’s door hissed open again, and Elle’s voice called, “Come on. It’s our turn to sanitize the kitchen.”
Aelyx missed a lot of things about home, but cleanup detail wasn’t one of them. “You’d better hurry,” he told her. “If you’re late, they’ll add an extra day.”
Cara didn’t need further convincing. After a wave and a quick “Love you,” she disconnected and disappeared from view.
Aelyx remained kneeling for several seconds, as if to hold on to the warmth of her smile. Only when he heard the echo of voices from the hallway did he relinquish Cara’s ghost and rejoin the others.
Stepha had finished conferring with The Way, and he rested opposite Director-General Kendrick on a plush leather armchair while Colonel Rutter and David sat beside each other on the sofa. Tension clung to the air like mist, each man silent but speaking volumes through his rigid posture. Aelyx dragged a dining room chair near the coffee table and took his seat, then used Silent Speech to ask the ambassador what he’d learned.
Did they approve the alliance? he asked Stepha. Can we return home?
When Stepha replied, a hint of confusion colored his thoughts. No. Human deference isn’t enough. The Way wants the general population on Earth to support the union between our worlds.
But why? Aelyx asked. That doesn’t make sense. The purpose behind the alliance was to recruit human colonists and integrate on L’eihr, infusing fresh DNA into the populace. Already, thousands of healthy young humans had submitted applications, eager to begin life anew on the colony. It was just a matter of screening them for mental wellness and superior IQ, then finding willing matches among the clones. What did it matter whether or not the rest of Earth’s population approved?
It is not our place to question The Way, Stepha told him. Only to follow—
Follow The Way to glorify Mother L’eihr, Aelyx finished. I understand. Though he didn’t understand at all.
“On the first day of spring,” Stepha announced to the group, “as a symbol of rebirth, The Way will join Earth’s leaders here in an alliance ceremony. Our scientists will then provide you with the solution to neutralize the algae blooms burgeoning in your oceans.” He pulled in a deep breath and clarified, “But this is contingent on your control of human violence. Any further attempts on our lives will terminate all relations between us. Your people must support the partnership between our worlds in order for us to move forward.”
So not only was Aelyx trapped here for another three months, but he had to avoid acts of violence, too? It was impossible. Human extremists didn’t support the alliance—they believed L’eihrs had poisoned the water supply in an effort to enslave humanity. Not only were they wrong, but they didn’t know about the algae blooms, nor that the problem was spreading. The only way to win them over was to tell the truth about their dying planet, which he’d been expressly forbidden from doing.
The director-general rubbed his jaw. “Sounds like we have some serious public relations work ahead of us.”
“That was the purpose of the student exchange,” Colonel Rutter said. “It was going fine until…” He trailed off, and all eyes shifted to Aelyx.
Until the L’eihr students were caught tampering with the crops and one of them was murdered for it. Coincidentally, Syrine chose that moment to emerge from her bedroom and join them.
Aelyx addressed the group. “What can we do to help?”
“How about a multicity PR tour?” the director-general suggested. “We can identify the hot spots of extremist activity and send the L’eihrs there to do good deeds on camera, then broadcast it nationwide.”
“I guess it’s worth a shot.” Colonel Rutter nodded in consideration. “With a constant security detail, of course.”
“Of course,” the director-general agreed. “We’ll treat this like a presidential reelection campaign—nobody without security clearance will get anywhere near the L’eihrs. We’ll even screen the participants in each photo op to make sure no one poses a threat. A few months of kissing babies and shaking hands should be all we need to turn the public’s opinion in our favor.”
Syrine drew back, curling her upper lip in disgust. “Kissing?” she screeched. “With humans? That’s a—”
The ambassador caught her eye and instantly silenced her with a stern private message. Aelyx didn’t need Silent Speech to understand what was transpiring between the two of them. Stepha’s narrowed gaze and Syrine’s darkening cheeks said it all.
After a few moments, she forced a grin that wouldn’t fool a blind man. “A wonderful idea. I will gladly participate.”
“Then we’re agreed,” said the director-general. “I’ll have my staff make the necessary arrangements and book your first appearance. We’ll want to get the ball rolling right away, so go ahead and pack a suitcase.”
“Cool,” David said with the only genuine smile in the room. “We’re going on tour!”
“We?” Syrine turned to Aelyx for clarification.
David is our personal bodyguard, Aelyx told her. He’ll be living with us for the rest of our stay on Earth.
Bleeding Mother. Syrine didn’t bother disguising her distaste for the young man. Why couldn’t The Way simply give us a dozen lashes with the iphet instead?
“How exciting,” she said aloud, then faced their new bodyguard. “I can hardly wait.”