Was this the Phoenix effect she'd heard so much about? Maybe she did take after her aunt.
"How many coins did she collect?" the Sye asked.
"One."
"So little. I may have considered her if she'd gotten at least two."
Well, excuse her. No one told her this was a numbers game. How did they expect her to play if they didn't explain the rules?
In Elena's opinion, she'd done pretty well considering the few clues she'd been given. Would these children have been able to acquit themselves so well? In a foreign environment? With zero allies? Or even a proper weapon?
Elena thought not. This was the product of relentless training by her uncle and aunts. Something these people couldn’t even fathom.
The Sye waved a hand in dismissal. "She'll be dead weight. Weak and useless."
Weak? Hah!
Just wait until Aunt Kira arrived and Elena was no longer restricted. They'd see who was weak then.
Despite her disdain, Elena kept her feelings off her face. As Auntie and Uncle always said, being underestimated was a gift. It meant no one would notice when Elena started making moves under the surface.
"You should call her scrappy instead," Ajix corrected.
Elena just barely managed not to nod in agreement.
"She survived a week alone in the pit. Except for Fyr, no one else in your crèche could do the same."
See? See? Ajix got it.
The Sye's expression was grudging. "How many kills?"
"Five." Ajix let the pause stretch. "A tiea, two jian, a cla and a wla."
The children's faces hardened. Their disinterest changing to hostility as they finally realized how much of a threat she could be.
Elena listened, trying not to show her confusion at the unfamiliar terms. It made sense that Ajix wouldn’t use human terms to describe the different Tsavitee species. She’d have to figure out which was which before anyone realized. Otherwise, her cover would be compromised.
The Sye looked mollified, staring at Elena for a moment before flicking a hand in acceptance.
Ajix bowed, the subservient gesture shocking Elena. She’d always thought generals were at the top of the Tsavitee food chain.
Ajix straightened, giving Elena a warning look to not cause trouble.
As if she would ever listen. Trouble was in her blood. She lived, breathed, and ate it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Her aunties and uncle hadn't been able to train that out of her. She doubted the Tsavitee would be any more successful.
Elena watched Ajix's departure to see if she could spot the mechanism he was using to trigger the doors.
It had to be a device of some type. Either on his person or keyed to his biometrics. If she could figure out which, maybe she could do a little recon while everyone else was sleeping.
"What should we do with her, Kai?" one of the younger children asked in Tsavitee.
Elena turned to find the Sye watching her. Kai caught Elena's chin, forcing her face up for a better look.
Elena didn't struggle, not daring to move or flinch.
"The same as always. If she wants to live, she'll have to earn her place among you."
There was a strange smile on Kai's face, a clinical detachment that sent fear shivering through Elena.
"I hope you don't disappoint." Kai released Elena, sweeping a gaze over her one last time before disappearing through one of the doors off the communal area.
Elena waited until the Sye was gone, taking her time to size the children up the same way they were her.
She waved at them. "I'm Elena. What are your names?"
The children stared at her for an uncomfortably long time.
There was a sigh from the top of the boulder as the boy dropped to the ground.
"Leave her," he ordered, herding the children away. "She won't be here long anyway."
Elena's hand dropped to her side as the children disappeared into their rooms. "You know, I don't think they like me, Uncle Jin."
As usual, there was only silence from the lu-ong spawn that lay as still as death around Elena’s bicep. As quiet as the first day they'd arrived.
"No matter, though. I'm not here to make friends." Elena forced back the crushing sense of loneliness, wrapping her arms around her waist for comfort. "Still, I wish you'd wake up, Uncle Jin. It'd be nice to have someone to talk to."
Until then, she'd just have to keep going with the flow and hope things didn't get too dicey.
Eight
Kira – The Wanderer somewhere in space
Kira hooked a towel around her neck, using the ends to pat her face and hair dry as she stepped out of the communal bathroom located on the lower aft deck beneath the ship's pitiful excuse for crew quarters.
She felt good. Finally like herself again. The grime and sweat that had accumulated from her three day 'nap' washed away under the shower's enzyme spray.
Kira could kill Graydon. What had the man been thinking letting her sleep for that long?
Three days? That wasn't a nap. It was a coma.
She was tempted to suspect he or Wren had done something to ensure she got the rest they felt she needed, except she was pretty sure the party responsible was the oasis Harlow had built in the middle of her ship. Something about that place had lulled her to sleep and kept her that way until her mind and body were partially healed.
The only silver lining about her lost days was that she did feel better. Clearer. Less like she might lose control at any moment.
The barrier keeping her primus locked inside her skin was stronger. A few, tissue thin layers reinforcing it. As microscopic in width as they were, they were better than nothing. Nowhere near as strong as the chains she usually used to keep the primus from rising, but at least her alter self was no longer in danger of breaking loose the moment she sneezed wrong.
The wound Jin's absence had left in her psyche was still the same. Its raw, jagged edges a constant reminder. Like a sore tooth she couldn't help prodding. At least, her soul's essence was no longer actively leaking out of it.
Those three days of recovery meant death was no longer quite so imminent. It was the small wins that kept her afloat.
Kira reached the upper deck and headed to the bridge to check in. Finn had given her an overview when she first stepped out of the garden, but she wanted to hear the situation from Raider.
Not knowing what was happening on her own ship was disturbing. Now that she was awake, she'd have to see about correcting that oversight.
Spotting Blue sitting on the deck outside the bridge, Kira lifted her chin in greeting. "What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be in there?"
Or at least in her quarters. Not sitting on the floor with all this...stuff.
"What is all this anyway?" Kira asked, trying to make sense of the clutter.
"Raider is busy. I'm giving him space." Blue didn't look up from the computer boards she was bent over. The smell of something burning came as Blue soldered wires together. "And this is Jin."