Her skin was unnaturally pale. Bloodless, making the bruises under her eyes stand out in stark contrast.
"A little light torture," Elise drawled, her voice sounding far stronger than the state of her body suggested. "Nothing to get worked up about."
"Your threshold for pain is unusually high. I'm quite impressed. Both you and the Phoenix are exceptional specimens. It's a pity the lab and research behind your creation was destroyed during your escape all those years ago. I would have loved a chance to study what they did to you."
"Yes, such a pity, my lord," Elise agreed.
Auntie hadn't been lying about the egg donor's courage. Her ability to stand in front of that monster and not flinch was impressive.
Elena couldn't have done it.
"I advise against further failure, my dear. Next time, I won't punish you. I'll punish them."
The Tsavitee lord nodded at the bank of tanks.
Elise's expression was calm as the lord circled her. A flash of rage crossed her face when he leaned down to sniff the hair at the back of her head. The emotion gone so fast that Elena thought she'd imagined it.
By the time the Tsavitee crossed in front of Elise again, her expression was as placid as it had been before. As if she'd flipped a switch and buried everything that she was feeling.
"You and the Phoenix. Both so distressingly sentimental." The lord tsked. "It's the only failing in your design that I can find. Your handler should have trained that out of you first."
Elise didn't comment, watching the Tsavitee with a blank expression.
He stepped to the side and nodded at the tanks. "A visit is in order, I think. A reminder of what’s at stake and who holds your leash."
A crack appeared in Elise's control as her eyes flicked to the tanks. She swallowed, her throat working.
"Your children have missed you."
Elena jerked back in surprise, the action causing her to bump into a canister. She froze at the small tink.
Please don't have heard that, she begged. Please.
"My, my, it sounds to me like we have another vermin infestation in my lab," the Tsavitee crooned, dashing Elena's hope. To Elise, "Bring them to me."
Elena backed further into her nook, her eyes darting back and forth.
There was nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide.
If she ran, they would see her immediately.
All she could do was hug the wall and hope her egg donor didn't think to look where she was.
Something hit the back of Elena's knees.
"Psst. Down here, Elena mine."
Elena whirled, her mouth falling open at the sight of the lu-ong spawn's head poking out of an air duct cover on the wall. "Uncle Jin?"
"Catch it," he ordered.
Elena barely reacted in time as the cover fell forward. She lurched to grab it before it could hit the ground.
The lu-ong spawn jerked its head at her. "Get in!"
With the sound of footsteps slowly stalking toward her, Elena wasted no time, squeezing into the narrow opening. It was a tight fit. Possible only because of her prepubescent body.
"Help me get the cover back into place," Uncle Jin whispered.
Elena grabbed the cover, pulling it into position as Elise rounded the corner. The spawn flattened its body partially on the cover, the other half clinging to the floor of the air duct. Like that, he held it in place, allowing Elena to draw back her hands so her finger tips wouldn't show.
She'd learned long ago not to question how Uncle Jin did some of the things he did. Instead, taking his sometimes miraculous feats for granted.
"Who is it?" the Tsavitee called from out of sight.
Elena's egg donor scanned the nook carefully. Her forehead furrowing then relaxing as her gaze landed on the air duct where Elena was hiding. She crouched in front of it, hooking one finger over the top. "You should have known better than to come here."
Elise tugged on the cover, freezing at the sight of Elena's terrified face.
"Yo," Uncle Jin said in greeting.
An explosive bang shattered the silence.
Elise twisted to stare up at the pressurized steam venting from the crack along the top third of the cannister.
"It looks like the sound we heard was the cannister. Probably the first sign of a de-pressurization," Elise said, pushing the air vent closed and rising. "You should punish whoever is responsible for maintaining them. A mistake like this could affect your work."
Elena held her breath, her body flashing between hot and cold. Please. Please. Please.
"I see," the Tsavitee said finally.
There was rustle of movement as Elise rose and stepped out of the nook. Then the sound of her footsteps as she walked back toward the stairs leading down to the pool.
"Aren't you coming?" Elise asked after a moment.
"Of course, my dear," the Tsavitee murmured, finally moving away from Elena's hiding place. "I have a new set of specimens to break in."
Neither Elena nor Jin moved, waiting until they were absolutely sure that Elise and the Tsavitee were gone.
"You are in so much trouble, favored child of my heart," Uncle Jin hissed as the spawn welded the air duct shut. "The most trouble you've ever been in your entire life."
"Wasn't that what you said last time?"
The spawn reared back, looking like a snake about to strike. "It's incredible, isn't it? How every time you manage to top yourself."
Elena pursed her lips, wanting to argue but unable to.
If she tried, Uncle Jin's spawn might actually bite her. She kind of thought she deserved it this time. Not that she’d ever admit it to him.
"Let's go." Uncle Jin slithered past her into the air duct. "If they discover you're gone, it won't matter what I just did."
It took effort but eventually Elena got herself pointed in the right direction. "How did you do that by the way?"
The arrogance on the lu-ong’s face was impressive given he was composed of inorganic matter.
That's one of the things Elena liked best about her Uncle Jin. His exterior never mattered. No matter what form he took, his soul and personality shone through, eclipsing all else.
"While you were sleeping, I maybe did a little tinkering and spawned a few more of myself."
Elena crawled forward another few inches on her belly before she was forced to stop and rest. "No wonder Auntie gets so upset with you sometimes."
"Your aunt has a propensity for overthinking things. She's a worrier."
Elena thought Auntie might have a good reason to be, if this was the kind of behavior she was forced to deal with.
"Hop to, little girl," Uncle Jin ordered, glancing back at Elena.
Elena wiggled forward again in the narrow space. "This isn't as easy as it looks."
It was quite exhausting, actually.
"I imagine not. Maybe next time keep your nose out of adult business," Uncle Jin said with zero sympathy as he led the way. "That was a real surprise you gave me, Elena mine. I almost had a heart attack. Who knew the first thing I'd see when I came to was your face hitting the business end of a staff?"
They reached an intersection where the ducts crossed. Uncle Jin headed to the left. Elena squirmed after him.
"You don't have a heart, Uncle Jin."