Page 15 of Destinies of Diamond
Maybe Brendan understood an underlining message that I missed, because he nodded. “Of course, Uncle,” he said. “We’ll leave at once and we’ll approach with caution. Until then, it’d probably be a good idea to be careful around the hangars. If you find enough time to fix them, don’t rush it. The structural damage might make it problematic for inexperienced workers and tamers to stay too long there.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Brendan,” Archibald replied. “Now go. I trust you and your unit will provide us with the best result in this mission.”
The words should have sounded condescending, but instead, they seemed honest. Still puzzled about the prince’s behavior, we excused ourselves and made our way back to the hangars. By now, the excess of tachyons had mostly dissipated, consumed by our chimeras.
Full of energy, our friends were more than ready for our mission. “Training is all well and good,” Cerberus confessed as he took me in his paw,“but I was created for action, not lying around.”
He didn’t say more, and for that, I was grateful. We both knew he didn’t truly regret his actions in Gaia’s Haven, or if he did, it was just because of the consequences I’d had to suffer.
Maybe a mission that would involve rescuing someone would be just the thing we needed to get our relationship with Selene in a good place again.
Still, I was uneasy and watching Selene enter her chimera again didn’t really reassure me. “Be careful, Selene,” I whispered. “Please, don’t get hurt.”
I didn’t expect her to hear me, but she did. She looked up and shot me a quick, sweet smile. “I won’t. Trust me a little, will you?”
It wasn’t her I distrusted. It was the world I had a problem with. The world didn’t value her enough. But I’d lost the right to say that when I’d lied to her and participated in that attack that had almost killed her. And so, I could do nothing but follow orders again and enter Cerberus.
As we took off and ventured past the wavering shield of Tartarus Base, I made a silent, dark wish. I hoped that the apsids had indeed decided to attack and had gotten rid of King Philip for us. Somehow, I doubted that was what we’d find when we reached The Grand Judiciary. As of late, our luck hadn’t been great and I feared that it would take some time for it to change.
****
Pollux
“I think we should split up,” August told me as soon as we left Tartarus Base. “Let’s get this mission done as quickly as possible. I don’t like this delay at all and we’ll be safe enough on our own.”
Ensconced in the Scylla, I nodded. “We’ll keep in contact at all times. Let me know if you find anything.”
“You want me to take Tartarus 2X?”
For a few seconds, I genuinely considered his offer. It was a tempting proposition. I hadn’t been to my childhood home in months. As a rule, I avoided going back to that damn place, because it brought back dreadful memories of a time when I’d been unable to save my sister. But today, I had a mission from Archibald Chimera, and I no longer carried the same burden. Oh, I was still very angry with my parents, and that would never go away, but I knew that my sister was still alive and safe. That gave me strength and even filled me with a desire to find closure.
“It’s fine,” I told August. “I’m done running away, hiding, and making excuses.”
“All right, Pollux,” he replied. “I’ll head out to 1T. But be careful.”
“I will.”
I directed the Scylla into space, toward my childhood home. The asteroid where my parents had built their massive mansion was generally known as Tartarus 2X. They shared it with a few other noble families, all of which were pretty much assholes. I had no desire to see any of them and a part of me wished they had indeed fallen victim to some kind of vicious attack. But it wasn’t meant to be.
It took me a good couple of minutes to get to the asteroid, even with the full speed of my thrusters. The moment I was within view of my home, I activated the coms. “Grand Chimera Scylla, tamer Pollux Donadieu, requesting permission to land.”
I received a prompt response. “Milord Pollux! Of course, of course. Landing strip 2B is available for you.”
Our steward sounded enthusiastic, but a little nervous. His attitude, coupled with his words, made my hackles rise.
Landing strip 2B? That was pretty out of the way and smallish for a chimera. Was it a way to slight me? That seemed out of character. When my parents wanted to make a point, they usually did it in a more overt fashion. And they hadn’t tried to instigate a fight with me in ages. How odd.
“Is everything all right, Jensen?”
“Yes, Milord. Of course. We just have some guests.”
Guests. That didn’t sound good, considering the reasons for my visit. But maybe I was jumping at shadows here. My parents entertained all the time. Maybe their neighbors had dropped by for a visit and their shuttles had occupied the landing strip.
There was a simple way to find out. If I approached my destination from the right angle, I’d be able to catch a glimpse of the vessels of these mysterious guests. I might not be able to identify them on sight, but Scylla could run them through all the systems she had at her disposal and tell me who we were dealing with.
I didn’t have to worry about such an issue. The moment I caught a glimpse of the vessel, I knew who it belonged to.
What in Tartarus’s name was King Philip doing here?
