Page 12 of Destinies of Diamond
At that, the tamers finally looked apologetic. Selene flinched, uncomfortable with my reprimand. So far so good. Now, I had to see if I could ingratiate myself in her favor a little more.
“Gentlemen, you’re dismissed. See yourselves out while I speak with your fellow tamer.”
The young men all frowned, reluctant to leave their lover alone with me. Selene nodded at them and silently ushered them to the exit. Although they were still unhappy, they complied, which pretty much confirmed my theory that they indulged her even at the expense of their own comfort.
One by one, the group left my quarters. As soon as Selene and I were in private, I gestured for her to make herself comfortable. She chose a seat on one of my couches and I sat down on an armchair in front of her, careful to seem approachable, but not excessively so. “Now that it’s just you and me, Acting Pilot Renard. Do you have anything else you’d like to tell me about this incident?”
“Err… I don’t know, Sir. I can only make a couple of guesses, I’m afraid. I’ve been practicing hard as of late, both here and on Terra. My mother has already warned me that I need to be careful, because my tachyon manipulation skills might clash with my lessons in wielding Gaia’s Gift. I just didn’t expect this to happen, not like this.”
That explanation made sense, but it also didn’t ring true. I didn’t know why, but I had the feeling she was hiding something—something important.
It wasn’t in my character to use my secondary skills in an invasive way, but this situation was too delicate to ignore the tools I had at my disposal. I narrowed my eyes at her in a way that she’d interpret as a simple look of suspicion. In reality, I was activating my analysis engine.
The implant embedded in my eyeball was a downgraded model of what the drones used to monitor the health of every citizen on Tartarus. My human mind couldn’t sustain anything more complex than what I was equipped with, but even in my current state, I didn’t use it often. Relying on it would be far too dangerous and could put unwarranted strain on my brain.
Fortunately, it didn’t take me long to figure out what was wrong with Selene Renard. A tiny bubble of heat was forming in her midsection—to be more specific, around her uterus.
She was pregnant.
I couldn’t detect a real heartbeat, just a mild vibration of the cells. The organs hadn’t yet formed. The pregnancy wasn’t very advanced. Selene was maybe one month along, if that. Either way, one of her fellow tamers was obviously the father, and based on the energy output of the fetus, I suspected I knew who it was.
Fuck. No wonder she’d lost it in the showers. The hormones involved in a pregnancy would completely throw her off balance and make it even more difficult for her to control her powers.
There was no more time for games now, or for approaching matters carefully. If The Grand Judiciary found out about this, the results would be disastrous. I wasn’t confident Prince Archibald would be able to save her, or that he’d even be willing to try.
“Acting Pilot Renard,” I said, not bothering to disguise my alarm, “it’s come to my attention that you are now in a certain condition that may have influenced you. I can understand why you decided to not share this information with Dr. Bell, but you must be aware that it’s much too dangerous to continue on the same path.”
Selene was so startled she shot to her feet and started backing away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sir.”
“Yes, you do. You’re with child.”
I debated the merits of explaining the true extent of my concerns, but I couldn’t do that without revealing what I knew about August. As far as I knew, August was unaware of his part-apsid nature, and so were his fellow Chimera Warriors. The energies swirling around Selene’s uterus indicated that he might be the father, but I couldn’t exactly tell her.
I picked a simpler approach. “You realize conception is against the law for a Terran, right? What made you think it was a good idea to remove the contraception substance keeping you safe?”
“It’s not something I did on purpose.” She hesitated and bit her lower lip, as if considering her next words. “It may have been because of Brendan or one of the others. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Grand Chimera tamers have some secondary skills that assist us in battle. No matter how much you claim the substance was meant to help me, the fact remains that it was a toxin neutralizing a natural process in my body. We hypothesize that one of our skills might have removed it. We didn’t intend it. It was an accident.”
That made sense. My Harpy had been similar, although her skills hadn’t been as powerful as those of a Grand Chimera tamer. It was part of the reason why her destruction had hit me so badly.
But even if Selene hadn’t eliminated the substance on purpose, the main problem still remained. That baby she was carrying would be one-quarter apsid. As its mother, Selene was remarkable in her own right. There was a reason why King Philip had given his son permission to court her, and that was because he did indeed believe she would be useful for the future of the dynasty.
“Well, for the moment, the best thing you can do is keep it under wraps. Make sure Brendan pushes for an elimination of restrictions soon. And for Tartarus’s sake, see a doctor.”
“I am, on Terra. My mother knows, and she’s helping me.”
That was the best possible thing we could expect at this stage. High Priestess Tanya Renard could be relied upon to protect her daughter and grandchild.
“Will you be telling Dean Chimera about this, Sir?”
I knew what the answer should be. My loyalty was first and foremost to the rebellion and I couldn’t forget that. But looking at her pale, beautiful face, I couldn’t deny her either. “Not yet. I’ll let Brendan do it, in his own time.” I let out a deep sigh. “I do want to help you, Selene, but unfortunately, we’re spiraling more and more into a situation we can’t control. We have to be very careful.”
“I understand, Sir. I’ll be more vigilant in the future.”
I got up and made my way to her side. From up close, she looked even lovelier and a strange pang of jealousy rushed through me.
I shoved the thought away, since now was not the time to pursue such things. With Selene pregnant, we might have to scrap that plan altogether, since it was no longer feasible. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t have at least a bond of friendship and mentorship with Selene.
“Don’t be scared, Selene,” I told her. “I know this must be very difficult for you, that you were probably unprepared for the pregnancy. Since you’ve kept it until now, I assume you’re not opposed to the idea of becoming a mother. But don’t forget that you have friends and you have options. Chimera Academy has been tough on you, but you’re not alone.”
