"That woman. She has you and the rest wrapped around her finger. Since she came, we've gotten further and further from our true purpose. She's using us like pawns," Fyr snarled.
"This isn't up for debate," Ajix said with forced patience. "You have your orders. Do your duty or you'll be the one the collective sacrifices next."
Elena darted away from the doorway as footsteps approached. She threw herself at the bed, diving under the covers as whoever it was stopped on the threshold of her room.
She lay still, her eyes closed, her heart pounding with adrenaline.
"She'll wake in an hour or two. When she does, escort her back to the crèche and protect her until we determine the level of her usefulness," Ajix instructed.
There was no response from Fyr.
Elena chanced cracking her eyelids a small bit to see what was going on. Just in time to watch Ajix set a hand on the general boy's shoulder.
"Don't lose faith quite yet. Our spies on Ta Sa'Riel are due to report in soon. If you're right and it turns out that woman is lying to us, it won't be too late to deal with the child then."
Fyr's nod was grudging.
Elena held herself immobile, squeezing her eyes shut to feign sleep.
It was hard not to imagine Fyr taking advantage of her defenseless state to strangle her. Or maybe he'd smother her. Less bruising that way.
If it was Elena, she'd definitely go for the pillow over the face. At least if she was hoping to not get caught.
The seconds ticked by, ramping up Elena's stress and anxiety to stratospheric levels.
If he did try to kill her, what should she do in retaliation? She couldn't let herself be snuffed out that easily. She'd have to defend herself of course.
Good thing she'd stuffed her friend the bone pick into her pant leg before departing the crèche.
Maybe she could just give Fyr a little stab. Injure rather than kill.
It flew in the face of Auntie's teachings—always make sure to put your enemy down permanently. Never give them an opportunity to get back on their feet.
Elena flinched at Fyr's sudden and explosive curse.
Luckily, the sound of him moving out of the room covered her mistake.
Elena held still, not quite trusting her good luck. Cautiously and half feeling like this was a trick, Elena parted her eyelids.
The room was empty.
She opened her eyes fully and looked around.
Still empty.
Huh. How about that?
Elena propped herself up on her elbows. She was alone. Unsupervised for the first time since she'd landed in this place.
For the second time, Elena tossed the sheet off her and lowered her feet to the floor.
There was no way she was this lucky.
Except as the moments passed, it seemed she was.
There was no one lying in wait. No one standing in the corridor to make sure she stayed in bed like a good little girl.
She was well and truly alone.
"Maybe he went to cool off?" Elena guessed.
Whatever the case, Elena planned to take advantage.
For just a second, she found herself studying the bed she'd woken up in. Remaining and waiting for Fyr's return was definitely a safer option than exploring.
The problem was that only applied to the short term. Eventually, Elena's charade was going to be found out. Whether by the Tsavitee's spies or through her own mistakes.
She couldn't stand by and wait for Auntie to save her. She needed to do something to get herself out of this mess.
The only thing that gave her pause was how unhappy Uncle Jin would be upon returning to find her gone.
Elena dismissed that thought with a shrug. "Oh well. Uncle Jin shouldn't be the only one who gets to have a little fun."
After all, sneaking about was Elena's specialty.
Nineteen
Kira - Rothchild
A few days later, Kira hesitated on the threshold of the temporary quarters she and Graydon had been sharing.
"It's clear they've been planning this for a while," Harlow was saying from the vid screen. "Since your departure, an assassination attempt was made on the Overlord of Asanth by a sub-House. Castor survived but he lost two oshota and a high level member of his House."
Graydon acknowledged Kira's arrival with a glance. "How is that possible?"
Harlow's face turned grim on the screen. "They used Siphons."
Kira moved closer. "What are those?"
Harlow's eyes were warm as he focused on her. "You probably wouldn't have heard of them before. They're the favored weapon of a particular sect of assassins. Parasitic in nature, they latch onto a host and drain them of their blood."
"That sounds like something Castor and his oshota should have been able to handle easily," Kira said with a frown.
House Asanth's Overlord hadn't struck Kira as weak. Quite the opposite actually.
Castor had carried himself like someone who'd encountered numerous dangerous situations. He shouldn't have been brought down so easily.
"You're right," Harlow agreed. "While siphons are more dangerous than they sound because they hunt in groups and possess an uncommon speed that make them difficult even for a Tuann to fend off, that wouldn't have been enough to take down so many of House Asanth's top echelon."
"Ambush," Graydon guessed.
Harlow nodded. "The sub-house was one Castor trusted. He and its Overlord grew up together. He never saw the betrayal coming."
Kira hated to say it, but she'd warned them. Maybe after this, Castor and the other Overlords would actually start to listen.
Torvald's voice issued from somewhere out of sight on the holo vid screen. "House Asanth has gone into lockdown while their Overlord heals."
Graydon leaned his fists on the table in front of him. "A member of his House may use this opportunity to usurp his seat."
Kira glanced at him. "Would his House allow that?"
"Maybe," Graydon said with a hint of frustration.
"It's not unheard of. Especially in Houses like Asanth's where they put a large emphasis on strength," Harlow explained. "If they’ve lost faith in their Overlord, there are some who might seek to take advantage. Castor is highly respected, though, so I find that unlikely in this case."
Graydon pushed off the table. "Let's hope so. Asanth's current Overlord is a known entity. I don't like the thought of having to deal with someone new. It could make the situation unpredictable."
"We will deal with that if it comes to it," Torvald said.
It would be nice to think that this lesson had taught Asanth something. That they would take seriously Kira's claim that there were people among their House working with the Tsavitee.
She doubted it, though.
If there was one thing she’d learned, it was that the Tuann could be incredibly stubborn when it came to what was right in front of their faces.
It was more likely they’d blame the rest of the sub-Houses, adding more fuel to the rebellion.
"What happens to the sub-House responsible for the attack?" Kira asked.
"It's already happened," Harlow answered. "The House was razed to the ground. The few survivors were branded traitors and cast out to become wanderers."
Kira looked from him to Graydon in disbelief. "All of them?"
Graydon's face was hard. "Members of a House share in its fate."
Kira swallowed. "The children too?"