The little bug clung to her cheek. "This is why I told you to leave immediately."
Elena should have listened. She really should have. Too late now.
"Where are you going, little girl? There's nowhere to run."
Elena fled, pounding over the metal grates back toward the labyrinth. As if she'd stay put like a good little girl.
Ha. Just ha. Aunt Selene didn't raise no idiot.
Except for Tommy. That boy could be so stupid sometimes. He was a mother hen with a martyr complex as strong as Aunt Kira's.
Elena burst into the adjacent room, slowing at the sight of Fyr blocking the labyrinth entrance.
"Move," she ordered softly, reaching for the bone pick she'd stashed in her boot. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will."
The pace of Kai's steps never varied. Slow and steady as if the Sye had all the time in the world to catch up. That more than anything let her know the two had planned this.
One to flush her out. The other to block her escape.
"Don't worry; you've got this," Uncle Jin whispered. "If nothing else, stall for time. My main body is close. I'll get you out before anything happens."
That would feel more reassuring if Elena didn't detect a thread of the very worry he'd advised her against.
"I won't ask again," Elena warned.
Fyr's gaze was cold. As unfeeling as it had been that first day. "I have my orders."
Funny. So did she.
Elena sprung forward, pouring all her ki into her legs and arms to reinforce them. She made it two steps before a shock went through her system. Her mind blanked. A barrier snapped down between her and her ki, cutting her off from its source and snuffing out her connection with Uncle Jin.
It felt like half of her soul had been sundered from the rest. Agony, unlike anything she had ever felt in her short life, splintered her body.
Uncle Jin's bug fell off her cheek and into the glowing pool below.
Elena couldn't cope with the onslaught of pain, finding herself in a ball on the ground. No wonder some of her siblings had chosen this position for their sleep. It was instinctual.
"Worry not. What is happening to you right now is only natural. This is his space." Kai waved a hand at their surroundings. "Only he controls the flow of the seriet. All others are punished."
Elena whimpered, conscious of the Sye moving closer. Get up, El. Remember what you promised Auntie. You have to survive.
Her limbs refused to obey as Kai gazed down at her. "Who are you working for?"
Elena glared up at the Sye, putting all her hate into her gaze. What she wouldn't give to curse right now. Aunt Selene's rules or not. A good choice of swear words would really go a long way to making her feel better.
"That's alright." Kai's lips twisted cruelly. "We'll have plenty of time to get acquainted."
Twenty Six
Kira - CSS Reliance
Kira crossed the busy flight deck, wearing the waveboard armor Jace had procured for her on 'short notice'.
A nice excuse, but she didn't buy it. The armor waveboard pilots wore was custom designed for its wearer. Besides the waveboard itself, it was the single most expensive item in a pilot's possession. Every piece of it tailored for their use. Anything less was too dangerous to risk wearing.
It wasn't the kind of thing you could pluck from a storage locker.
Kira didn't know if it had been Jace or Himoto who had commissioned it for her. Either way, she appreciated their foresight.
