Page 58 of Destinies of Diamond
“That won’t be necessary,” a familiar voice said, interrupting our exchange. “If you want to speak to me, I’m here.”
Tanya Renard emerged from the depths of the temple. She was accompanied by the same priestess who always seemed by her side. If I remembered correctly, her name was Yolanda. Come to think of it, she looked a little similar to the young adept who’d mouthed off at me. This must be Selene’s friend, Louise, then.
I made a mental note to not harm them too badly if we ever ended up fighting. Selene wouldn’t want that, and I had to respect her feelings. If they forced my hand, I’d still go through them, but hopefully, it wouldn’t be necessary.
“What do you want, Flight Lieutenant Glass?” Tanya asked. “What’s so urgent that you had to come here yourself, defying our laws?”
“Like I said, it’s about Selene. I’d rather talk to you in private. Now.”
Something in my tone must have alarmed Tanya, because she ushered me into a private room without protesting further. The other priestesses weren’t thrilled, but they obeyed Tanya and left us alone. “Selene’s been taken,” I said as soon as we were behind closed doors.
“Taken?” Tanya repeated in disbelief. “By who?”
“King Philip.”
Tanya paled, having obviously not expected this response. “Impossible. We had an agreement.”
“Chimera royals tend to honor their agreements selectively. You should have known better than to trust him.”
She didn’t explain her actions, nor did she mention the fact that she’d wanted to kill my son. I couldn’t allow that, not when we didn’t actually know for sure what the king wanted with Selene. “What did you tell him? Why did he take her like this?”
“Tell him? I haven’t spoken with him in ages, since he asked me to come to Tartarus Base to teach that class. He said that he’d allow promoting a better image for Terrans as long as I made sure Selene gave up her position as a Chimera tamer.”
“And you agreed to that?”
Tanya shrugged. “I know Selene is fond of that beast of hers, but the whole point of the arrangement was to get her pregnant with Brendan’s child. If that happened, it wouldn’t have been so difficult to convince Selene to step down for the benefit of raising the baby.”
That was actually very plausible. Selene cared deeply about our child, even if her relationship with me was still very rocky. She would have prioritized the baby over everything, including Sphinx.
But that was beside the point now. What mattered was that Tanya didn’t seem involved in this particular ploy, if she was telling the truth, at least. “So you didn’t mention she was pregnant?”
“Of course not. I’m not insane. That child of yours… It’s a curse. If anyone found out about it…”
She trailed off as realization dawned and her eyes filled with horror. “They did find out. That’s why she’s gone.”
“More or less, although I think it’s a little more complicated than that.”
I gave her the brief summary of what had happened at the base, including the attack of the Centaurs and the way the king had controlled all the chimeras. “Selene could do next to nothing to protect herself,” I finished. “She’d almost miscarried the baby earlier and she was very weak. It would have been pretty easy for them to take her.”
I didn’t want to reveal the fact that I knew what she’d been planning, but the poison in my voice gave it all away. Tanya didn’t flinch, but I could see a shadow of pain and guilt in her eyes.
To her credit, she didn’t apologize, nor did she try to launch the blame at me. Instead, she chose to stay practical. “I see. So I take it you want to save her. What can I do?”
“Right now, we’re assuming they’re taking her to Hades Base. But there’s no way for us to get there, not without some major firepower. So we need reinforcements.”
“You want us to fight against the star fleets? You’ve lost your mind. We’re not warriors.”
Despite her words, I could see she was considering it. Brendan had been relying on this. Tanya loved Selene, to the point of having hidden the truth about what had happened in Gaia’s Haven from everyone else. Just like Selene would prioritize the baby over Sphinx, Tanya would put Selene over her own people. I was here to take advantage of that vulnerability.
“You’re not trained in combat, it’s true,” I told her. “But how much longer will you allow Chimera nobility to oppress you? You know as well as I do that Selene is only the beginning. If King Philip succeeds in this, the results could be devastating. You’re well aware of how things are for women on Tartarus Base. I have no doubt that terror will spread on Earth, as soon as he tightens his hold on the chimeras.”
That was actually a lie. I didn’t think King Philip would immediately target Terrans. He didn’t deem them a real threat, so he’d go for the major issue first—the Apsid Quasar. Heliads were the ones that were a problem.
But I trusted the Great Mother to prepare for a possible invasion. In the meantime, I could stir the Terrans into a frenzy. Even if the immediate threat wasn’t to them, they could still come in handy.
“I see your point,” Tanya said, “but we’re not equipped to go to Hades Base. Our powers are fueled by Gaia. It’s next to impossible for one of us to use our abilities when we’re out in space. I can barely manage and Selene is an exception.”
“We know. You don’t have to do anything like that. What we want is for you to provide a distraction. After all, you have superior numbers and firepower here on Terra. You can easily take down the outposts of The Grand Judiciary, as long as no chimeras are involved. That will make them send people here, which will give us the opening we need in Hades Base.”
