Page 10 of Souls of Steel
I’d worked hard to achieve my position. Brendan and the others were relying on me. I didn’t want to throw everything out the window because I had the sudden impulse of castrating a general, feeding him his own balls, then ripping out his intestines before he could digest his own flesh.
Where were these thoughts even coming from? Tartarus help me, I needed to get a grip.
The general stepped back, putting some distance between him and Selene. “It’s still very unexpected and quite remarkable. How did you become its pilot?”
“After the terrorist attack, there was so much panic and chaos. It’s all a bit of a blur, really, but I reached out and the Sphinx… She reached back.”
The explanation sounded vague, but I knew exactly what Selene meant. The instinctive link between chimera and tamer couldn’t be described in words. The general didn’t seem convinced. “The Sphinx remains in the plaza now?” he asked sharply.
Selene nodded. “Yes, Sir.”
“I’d like to test something out,” he said. “Could you please summon it? Ask it to come here.”
For the first time since she’d entered the tent, Selene paled. “S-Summon it?” she stammered. “But… I don’t know how.”
Triumph glittered in General Rhodes’s sharp eyes. “You summoned it to you the first time, didn’t you? Otherwise, the chimera would’ve never come or connected to you. Unless, of course, you’re lying about your link to it.”
“I’m not lying!” Selene bristled. “The Sphinx and I are one.”
“Then you should have no trouble calling it here, right?”
At the general’s words, I remembered the first time I’d connected with Cerberus, how hard it had been for me to adjust to the overwhelming presence of the mythical creature now inhabiting a part of my brain. It was undoubtedly so much harder for Selene.
She’d never received the type of training I had. She didn’t have any understanding of what a chimera truly was. For Tartarus’s sake, Terrans still called the aliens that had invaded us Sun-Dwellers.
She wasn’t prepared for this. Of course she couldn’t just summon the Sphinx.
General Rhodes could never understand because he hadn’t actually piloted a chimera. He might have received more medals than my whole unit put together, but at the end of the day, the mechas had never accepted him, not in the way they accepted us Chimera Warriors.
Something sharp and rebellious rose up inside me, the same power that had helped me bond with my Cerberus. They all thought they knew better, but they didn’t. They didn’t know a thing. The power of the gods was only granted to the people who deserved it.
I knew what I had seen and no matter how crazy it was, Selene had been piloting the chimera herself. I still believed what I’d told her—that it was not my place to get between a chimera and its tamer. And maybe it was stupid, but for the sake of our unit, I would help.
Clearing my throat, I brushed my hand against her arm. It was a barely there touch, but it still sent an unexpected jolt of energy through me. It went straight to my cock, but I ignored it.
I wasn’t doing this because I wanted her as my woman. Right now, she was a fellow tamer and she needed my help.
“You can do it, Ms. Renard. The power is there. It’s new to you and that’s why you feel you can’t access it. But like you said, you and your chimera are one. All you need to do is believe that.”
General Rhodes didn’t appreciate my intervention. “Flight Lieutenant Alexander…”
“With respect, Sir, you asked Ms. Renard to give you a demonstration of skill,” I said. “As a high-ranking member of the Grand Chimera Unit, it is my responsibility to make sure she can safely accomplish this.” Not bothering to wait for a response, I turned toward Selene once again. Explaining the mechanism of the link wouldn’t work since she didn’t have the education to understand it. Instead, I chose the simplified approach, which was just as good and more practical for a true Chimera Warrior.
“Close your eyes and reach into yourself. The connection with the chimera should be there.”
I took hold of her shoulder, knowing this wouldn’t be easy on her. She tensed at my touch, but didn’t pull away. “All right. I’ll try.”
Her voice was much softer than before, almost musical. Our eyes met, and in the depths of her black orbs, I saw starlight. It was almost blinding, as if I was looking straight at a chimera diamond core.
My grip on her tightened. Her breath caught, and on some level, I knew I was hurting her. Even so, I couldn’t force myself to let go and she didn’t ask me to.
She closed her eyes and relaxed. Her heart rate evened. Beneath her skin, I felt the power of Tartarus sizzling, echoing the heat that rushed through my veins.
General Rhodes glared at us, but I shot him a sharp look and he said nothing. Despite his position, he wasn’t irreplaceable, and he knew it.
I might not have his rank or experience, but I was a Grand Chimera tamer. Without me, the Cerberus would go dormant for Tartarus knew how long, just like the Sphinx had been. The Grand Judiciary couldn’t afford that. My position gave me just enough power to do this, even if General Rhodes hated it.
Maybe he’d have still tried to stop me, but he didn’t get the chance. Once she stopped panicking, it was strikingly easy for Selene to reach out to her recently tamed chimera.
