Shards of Hope (Psy-Changeling 14)

His back to a dark green fir that echoed the others around them, Vasic flexed the robotic arm that was Samuel Rain’s latest attempt at a functional prosthetic. “This thing creaks.”

“So it’s a no?”

“I’ll give it another three hours.” Stretching out the fingers, he froze midflex. “Or maybe not.” He teleported out and was back within a minute, sans arm. “The entire thing froze up.”

“Samuel won’t be happy.”

“He threw the last one into a deep hole, then had me ’port in and retrieve it after he calmed down.” Vasic pinned up his sleeve as the wind riffled through his hair. “As for Blake, the fact that he was taken out so cleanly, with minimal fuss, fits our enemy’s MO.” Vasic’s eyes tracked Sienna Lauren’s small movements as she sat on a tree stump in the distance, Arrow teenagers on similar makeshift seats around her.

The cardinal X, her distinctive dark red hair currently pulled into a ponytail, had requested they all leave, giving the teenagers freedom to ask the questions they wanted to without fear of oversight. Aden hadn’t been able to agree to that for security reasons, and he knew the changelings hadn’t either, but they’d all withdrawn out of view and out of hearing range.

Like Aden and Vasic, the leopards and wolves were scattered in the trees surrounding the compound deep in pack territory, a compound normally used for the training of empaths. “I would’ve bet money Hawke Snow would rebuff my request.” The wolf alpha was viciously protective of his pack.

“If Ming hadn’t claimed Sienna as his protégé, she’d have ended up in the squad,” Vasic said. “And Hawke is mated to her—a man does many things for love.”

Yes, Aden thought, he did. “Do you think she’s sharing a manual? I’m not sure the squad is ready for such well-armed teenagers.”

Vasic glanced at him, a faint curve to his mouth. “I’m glad to see you’ve found laughter.”

Aden didn’t smile, but his friend was right. No matter his and Zaira’s duties, they continued to manage to find each other, managed to rest skin to skin. The intimacy of having his deadly commander fall asleep in his arms was blinding and perfect. “Being with her . . . it makes everything else bearable.” Her fire lit up his life.

“Yes,” was all Vasic said, his next words about someone else altogether. “Alejandro has adapted surprisingly well to the valley.”

“The children love him because he’ll play a simple game with them for hours with no sign of impatience.”

“Did Zaira order him to do that?”

“No. Her only order was that he not cause harm to the children.” Zaira didn’t like controlling Alejandro, but she’d taken on the task because without it, the brain-damaged Arrow would be confused and dangerous. “He simply walked out of his cabin one day and joined in a game. Added to the fact that he made the independent decision to get me during the incident in Venice, there’s cautious optimism among the medics that his brain may have started rewiring itself.”

“The chances of a full recovery?”

“Nil.” The drug had done too much damage to Alejandro’s brain. “But if he stays on this trajectory, he could eventually have a life that requires very little supervision.” The latter would take longer to achieve with Alejandro than it would with a civilian because of the male’s deadly training. “For now, he appears content living in the cabin next to ours, and doing tasks within the compound. Nerida has him on the security detail to protect the children and it’s an assignment that suits him.”

In the clearing under the sunlight, an Arrow teen leaned forward, face more animated than Aden had ever seen it. It bolstered Aden’s view that this had been the right decision, the time he’d carved from his schedule to arrange it more than worthwhile. Even though she was now twenty, Sienna Lauren could reach these teenagers in a way he and other adult Arrows couldn’t. “Did you talk to Judd?” he asked, thinking of another member of the Lauren family.

Vasic nodded. “SnowDancer’s had three more reports of dissension-causing events.” He telepathed the details to Aden. “Hawke and Lucas are handling it, keeping the changeling groups calm.”

“Bo is doing the same with the Alliance.” Krychek, meanwhile, was speaking to the heads of powerful Psy family groups in order to alert them to the situation.

All of them were aware that the very people they were warning might be involved in the conspiracy.

There was no help for that, not at this stage. They had to work on the theory that most people weren’t involved—not a theory without cause, given how well the people behind the conspiracy had managed to contain all data. That simply wasn’t possible with a larger group. It had to be a small, intelligent cohort.

“It’s piecemeal, though,” Aden continued, thinking about his and their allies’ efforts to foster calm. “Things will fall through the cracks.” Creating conflict that caused bitter divisions. “We need a better system to communicate data between all three races, as well as mediate disputes.”

“Silver Mercant’s network?”

“A good start, but it’s targeted at first responders rather than the leadership.” And the agreed-upon operating protocols applied only to emergency situations. “We need a system in place that equals day-to-day communication so even an organized enemy can’t pit us against one another with a little fancy maneuvering.”