His eyes were different too. Creepy looking, for one thing.
They were larger than either a human's or a Tuann's. There was also no pupil. Just an unrelenting gold that made him look blind.
Except his head turned as he tracked another's approach, proving he was anything but.
Elena stifled her gasp. What was Elise doing here?
"You've put yourself back together quite admirably, my dear," the Tsavitee crooned.
Elise was in bad shape. Her powerful presence much fainter than it had been upon their arrival. Weak, as if she was hovering on the cusp of life and death.
There was a hitch to her walk. A slight limp she was trying to hide. She also held herself carefully. As if something still hurt somewhere deep inside.
Her skin was unnaturally pale. Bloodless, making the bruises under her eyes stand out in stark contrast.
"A little light torture," Elise drawled, her voice sounding far stronger than the state of her body suggested. "Nothing to get worked up about."
"Your threshold for pain is unusually high. I'm quite impressed. Both you and the Phoenix are exceptional specimens. It's a pity the lab and research behind your creation was destroyed during your escape all those years ago. I would have loved a chance to study what they did to you."
"Yes, such a pity, my lord," Elise agreed.
Auntie hadn't been lying about the egg donor's courage. Her ability to stand in front of that monster and not flinch was impressive.
Elena couldn't have done it.
"I advise against further failure, my dear. Next time, I won't punish you. I'll punish them."
The Tsavitee lord nodded at the bank of tanks.
Elise's expression was calm as the lord circled her. A flash of rage crossed her face when he leaned down to sniff the hair at the back of her head. The emotion gone so fast that Elena thought she'd imagined it.
By the time the Tsavitee crossed in front of Elise again, her expression was as placid as it had been before. As if she'd flipped a switch and buried everything that she was feeling.
"You and the Phoenix. Both so distressingly sentimental." The lord tsked. "It's the only failing in your design that I can find. Your handler should have trained that out of you first."
Elise didn't comment, watching the Tsavitee with a blank expression.
He stepped to the side and nodded at the tanks. "A visit is in order, I think. A reminder of what’s at stake and who holds your leash."
A crack appeared in Elise's control as her eyes flicked to the tanks. She swallowed, her throat working.
"Your children have missed you."
Elena jerked back in surprise, the action causing her to bump into a canister. She froze at the small tink.
Please don't have heard that, she begged. Please.
"My, my, it sounds to me like we have another vermin infestation in my lab," the Tsavitee crooned, dashing Elena's hope. To Elise, "Bring them to me."
Elena backed further into her nook, her eyes darting back and forth.
There was nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide.
If she ran, they would see her immediately.
All she could do was hug the wall and hope her egg donor didn't think to look where she was.
Something hit the back of Elena's knees.
