Page 25 of Tears of Tungsten
I waved at him and ushered him to get moving. There was no reason for him—for any of them—to linger just because I was moping like an idiot. I didn’t begrudge them the fact that they still had their chimeras. Tartarus help me, if one of them lost their own machines, it would be an even bigger disaster.
One of Scylla’s wolf heads snarled. I couldn’t hear what she said from here, but whatever it was, it seemed to reassure Pollux. He disappeared inside the cockpit, and seconds later, it closed.
Watching my fellow Chimera Warriors fly off onto the training field, I felt some of my tension disappear. Even if I wasn’t out there with them, it was nice to know that they were still ready to tackle any threat. We’d get Charybdis back eventually, and we’d return to the way we were supposed to be.
In the meantime, I could wait and get a better grip on my tachyon manipulation abilities. If I didn’t do that, I’d be a menace in the piloting seat anyway. And while I was at it, I could wait for Selene. Hopefully, her mother would let her come back before the class finished. Leaving aside my own desire to see her, Selene didn’t have nearly enough time with Sphinx. She enjoyed these practical flight lessons and tearing her away from them was unnecessarily cruel.
Still seated on the Charybdis, I activated the largest displays in the hangars. They gave me the ability to keep an eye on my lovers without leaving my chimera’s side. It was a little silly of me, since staying with Charybdis’s shell didn’t help me or her in any way. But for the moment, while I was in the hangars, at least, I’d indulge. After all, why not?
Taking a deep breath, I reached into myself, poking the power that was giving me so much trouble as of late. The fire blazed brightly and for few seconds, I could’ve sworn I stepped into the very sun. An overflow of tachyons flooded my bloodstream and I clenched my hand into fists, doing my best to tame it.
“Come on, August,” I hissed under my breath. “You can do this. You’ve done harder things. What would Charybdis say if she saw you now?”
I owed it to her, to Selene, and to all my other lovers to succeed in this. If I didn’t rein in my power, I was dangerous for them. And considering the fact that, three-quarters of the time, we lived in each other’s pockets, there was no telling what the consequences would be.
At first, I couldn’t find the clarity I sought. The familiar feel of the metal anchored me and distracted me at the same time. On one hand, it reminded me so much of my friend that I automatically felt safe. On the other, my advanced technopathic senses screamed at me that she wasn’t really there, making me want to rave and rage at the world, to avenge her. But that desire for revenge was weaker than the one to bring her back and keep her—and everyone else—safe, which in turn, helped me tame myself.
Fire danced over my fingertips. In front of me, the signal in the displays flickered. But I didn’t lose control, not again.
Through the tachyons in my palm, I created an image of us, of our whole unit together. Me, Selene, Pollux, Brendan, and Knox, with our respective chimeras. Charybdis was once again awake, her long serpentine body wriggling around in delight.“I’ll be waiting for hatchlings soon,”she’d say.“Maybe a whole clutch. Selene is a fertile female. She can surely provide one for you.”
I could almost hear her voice now, so clear in my head. “Yeah, Charybdis. A whole clutch. We can have it, together.”
“A clutch?” a familiar voice asked, snapping me out of my trance. “When did you decide on that?”
I looked up and my eyes widened when I saw Selene standing right in front of me. When had she gotten here? Shit, I was losing my touch if I hadn’t noticed Selene of all people. I’d been waiting for her to show up.
“Hey,” I greeted her, a little lamely. “You’re back.”
“Obviously,” she answered. The comment might have sounded sarcastic, but the smile she shot me was warm and sweet. “Sorry for the delay. My mother took me on a terra-forming expedition.”
“Sounds interesting.” I patted Charybdis’s frame, inviting Selene to sit down next to me. “Did you get the chance to practice Gaia’s Gift?”
Selene practically glided to my side, more graceful and elegant than any Chimera noble could ever hope to be. “Not really,” she replied as she sat down. “It’s not all that safe right now. Gaia’s Gift can be just as dangerous as Tartarus’s, and I don’t want to make any costly mistakes.”
That was true. Our experience with Gaia extremists had made it clear that such skills had as much potential for destruction as tachyon manipulation. Gaia’s priestesses primarily used their talents to heal, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t do serious damage.
Selene leaned against me and threaded our fingers together. “Anyway, you were saying something about a clutch?”
“It’s not important.” I tried to shrug, but with her in this position, it was kind of difficult. “I was just thinking out loud.”
“U-huh. Care to share your thoughts with the group?”
Her tone held something teasing and knowing. I narrowed my eyes at my wicked Terran and said, “That’s my line. What’s on your mind, Selene?”
“Oh, now I know you’re avoiding the topic. But that’s okay. I don’t mind starting if you’re feeling shy today.” Selene squeezed my hand a little more tightly, as if providing a warning. “You know, my mother told me something interesting when we spoke. She said His Majesty seems to have mentally assigned me the position of broodmare. I’m meant to be the mother of Brendan’s children and follow that pattern for all of you.”
Shit. We’d kept saying that we’d discuss that with Selene, but it had mostly been an excuse Brendan had come up with to get his father off his back. I did want a family with Selene—a clutch, like Charybdis would have said—but we couldn’t have that until we fixed every other problem, including getting Charybdis back and earning the throne for Brendan.
“We do want that, eventually,” I admitted, “but right now, it’s not an issue. We have too many things on our plate to consider it as more than a distant dream. Brendan mentioned it to his father because of the circumstances—dynastic continuity and all that—but it’s not going to happen anytime soon. And even if it does, it’s not like we’ll force you or anything. If you don’t want to, I’m sure Brendan can come up with another solution.”
“Probably, but as long as he can lift the reproduction ban on me, I’ll be happy to be a mother. Although, like you said, not now. I…”
All of a sudden, Selene trailed off and scowled. She rubbed her temples, as if she’d just been struck by a headache.
My immediate instinct was to ask her if she was all right. Unfortunately, the answer was right in front of me.
The large displays that showed the flying chimeras flickered again, but this time, it wasn’t because of my power. The lights in the hangars dimmed and Charybdis’s body seemed to grow colder.
