Page 43 of Destinies of Diamond
I’d have never in a million years expected my mother to come out and suggest treason. Our whole unit had been planning it for the better part of a decade, but we just hadn’t found the best moment. Had someone else had the same idea?
In hindsight, it made sense that Prince Archibald would have issues with his brother. They’d always seemed to get along, but power struggles happened all the time between siblings in a royal family. But that was a bit of a problem, because even assuming they were honest about their plans, we now had two potential heirs to the throne in this room, both of which had equal claim to leading the dynasty, depending on one’s point of view.
Knox must have realized this as well, because his panic over Selene’s condition turned even more intense. He abandoned his previous attempts to keep his hands human and turned toward Archibald, growling under his breath. “Just go ahead and try something, Your Highness,” he said, baring his suddenly very sharp teeth. “I dare you. You won’t live to see tomorrow.”
Archibald didn’t seem daunted by the threat. His lips twisted into a tiny smirk. I didn’t like his expression, and I was very grateful when Brendan intervened. “Knox, stand down. If my uncle hadn’t wanted to work with us, we wouldn’t be having this conversation and Commander Trevor wouldn’t have acted so strangely these past couple of days. Let me guess. You were trying to assess our intentions and abilities.”
“Something like that, yes,” my uncle replied. “In truth, Acting Pilot Renard was a variable that threw a wrench in our plans. But if she is willing to participate, I see no reason why we couldn’t move forward with what we originally established.”
“And what, pray tell, is that?” Selene asked. “Forgive me, Your Highness, but so far, I haven’t had the best experience with The Grand Judiciary, or with your family as a whole.”
I suppressed the urge to flinch when she didn’t exclude Brendan from her statement. Fortunately, Archibald didn’t find this odd. Maybe he thought we were all the natural exception and Selene didn’t have to explicitly mention it.
“I can’t disagree with that, Acting Pilot Renard,” he said, “but that’s exactly why it’s important for us to be straightforward with one another now. Lady Donadieu was perhaps a little too blunt, but there are reasons for this. We believe we’re out of time and we have to take steps now if we want to defeat Philip. And in this case, you are the key.”
“So Commander Trevor tells me. But he hasn’t explained why that is the case.”
“First and foremost, we have your baby,” Odette said. “You never received approval from The Grand Judiciary to conceive. That makes this pregnancy illegal. The law can be bent because of your connection with Prince Brendan. We can say he gave you leave. However, the fact remains that it was never official, so you didn’t receive the antidote for the toxin that should’ve made you sterile. In other words, your body overrode a chemical The Grand Judiciary specifically created to control Terran population.”
It had never occurred to me that would be a problem, since Selene hadn’t been the one to actually fix her sterility. The apsid Great Mother had done it in her stead. But we couldn’t say that, which left us with quite a mess on our hands.
To her credit, Selene didn’t panic. Maybe she’d expected this, at least a little. “But they already know I have Gaia’s Gift. I healed August ages ago.”
“Yes, but even the priestesses of Gaia don’t automatically heal from such things,” Archibald pointed out. “You’re special, Acting Pilot Renard, and you know it.”
Selene let out a slow breath. “Let’s set that aside for a moment. If I did heal myself from the toxin, it was an involuntary response. I’ve been training my skills and I don’t think it’s that important.”
“It is, considering the identity and nature of the child you carry,” Odette pointed out. “Partially apsid children are always very important to The Grand Judiciary.”
We didn’t bother denying their guess. The child was partially apsid, although it wasn’t because of August. “That still doesn’t explain what you want with Selene,” I snapped back.
“It’s quite simple,” Archibald said. “I believe that peace with the apsids can be accomplished. I’ve looked into the older records of the Apsid War and none of what is written there convinces me that the conflict was ever necessary. The root cause was with us, with the Chimera dynasty. We’re the ones who started this. It is our duty to end it.”
The Great Mother had more or less told us something similar, although I got the feeling no one had been completely truthful to us. None of it was as black and white as it had been presented, because in a war, there was rarely a single person who was guilty of serious crimes. Tartarus only knew I’d done plenty of nasty things and I was supposed to be among the better people serving this damn system.
In the end, it didn’t matter that much. The causes of the war were beside the point now. The rebellion was the only thing that counted, because it would give us closure and it would allow us to move forward without fear. King Philip and The Grand Judiciary posed a threat to Selene and to everyone else we loved. As long as Prince Archibald could be trusted to not stab us in the back, I was on board with whatever he suggested. But I was still leery. Even if we all agreed to work together now, there was no telling what would happen in the future.
Despite what he’d said earlier, Brendan seemed to feel the same. “That’s all well and good, uncle, but what guarantees do we have that you won’t want the throne for yourself?” he asked. “You could be planning to use us for our power and attack us once the rebellion is over.”
“I could be, yes, but I’m not. The Chimera dynasty might be rotten to the core, Brendan, but it still needs continuity. I can’t provide that, nephew. I’m sick. I’m dying.”
Silence fell over the med bay. Brendan stared at his uncle blankly, his face set in a non-expression that I recognized as his go-to reaction to disbelief. “What?”
Brendan and his uncle weren’t close, so there was no deep familial affection between them. But Archibald had always been a soldier. I didn’t remember him ever getting sick. As a rule, the whole Chimera royal family was like that, and the skill was even more advanced in Brendan, who’d borrowed it from Typhon.
Chimera royalty only ever died from battle wounds or old age, never disease. That was an unwritten rule of our society.
“I know this might come as a shock to you, but that’s the way it is. Some powers… Human bodies aren’t meant to contain them. Which is why you must all be very careful. I’ve seen your downward spiral. If you keep going at this rate, you’ll get yourselves killed too.”
“I-I don’t understand,” Selene stammered. “Killed?”
My mother’s eyes flashed, and for the first time since she’d arrived, her pleasant, meaningless smile faded. “Please, don’t lie, Acting Pilot Renard. You know exactly what His Highness means. You can’t have missed it. You’re not blind.”
“Chimera tamers borrow certain characteristics from their mechas,” Commander Trevor offered, speaking for the first time. “That connection gives us a few extra gifts. But if it is pushed to extremes, it can twist our bodies and our spirits. You’ve seen it in the members of your unit and maybe, even a little in yourself.”
Selene stared down at her hands and I wondered what she was seeing, what she was thinking about. A wave of tachyons flared around her, making the air blur and overheat. It was only for a second, and then, she looked at Archibald again. “Right. What does that mean for us?”
“It means we have to advance the plan and get rid of Philip as soon as possible, so we can stabilize our political system before things can get any worse. As long as Brendan and I work together, we should be able to contain most of the damage and make sure none of us lose ourselves to the power we wield.”
