Shards of Hope (Psy-Changeling 14)

Krychek leaned back in his chair. “I won’t allow a return to what the Council once was, Nikita.” Ice-cold words.

Nikita didn’t back down, the sharply cut edge of her glossy black hair swinging against the porcelain skin of her cheek as she spoke. “I understand we’re to allow dissent in order to leach off tension in the populace, but it’s gone too far if whoever took Aden and Zaira believes us vulnerable.”

“I don’t agree with Nikita,” Anthony said, the two of them not looking at one another though they sat side by side. “But she’s right in one sense. We are still seen as interim and that equals fragile and impeachable in certain minds. We have to nip that in the bud before it starts to make our task difficult—Pax Marshall is already making noises about having to comply with our mandates.”

“Wait,” Ivy said. “Pax is a businessman, right? Young, too.”

“Twenty-four,” Nikita supplied. “And he’s taken control of the entire Marshall Group. He’s ruthless and if we don’t get him under control, he’ll keep pushing.”

Zaira touched Aden’s mind. Want me to disappear him down a dark hole? She knew Aden had already had one run-in with Pax when Aden had warned the other man off attempting to recruit children who needed the training provided by the squad.

No. We don’t execute people for being an aggravation.

Are you sure Krychek knows that? Zaira had the sense Kaleb thought more like her than like Aden.

Aden’s eyes flicked to Kaleb. As if guessing the content of their telepathic discussion, the cardinal telepathed both of them. Killing Pax would be an inconvenience. He’s dangerous but he’s also the most rational member of the family group—and as I said, we will not become the old Council.

“Pax isn’t the only one,” Nikita said. “Jen Liu is making similar noises and the Chastains tend to follow where Liu leads.”

Aden spoke aloud. “Regardless, the Arrows stand with Krychek—we don’t wish to resurrect the old Council.”

Ivy Jane leaned forward, her copper-colored eyes intent. “The fact is, the Net no longer supports the way previous Councils worked, even pre-Silence.”

“Pre-Silence?” Nikita turned toward the younger woman. “They worked by consensus much of the time—the decision to undertake Silence took over a decade. Isn’t that what you’re proposing?”

Arms braced on the table, Ivy shook her head. “We can’t afford to spend all that time in discussion. Not now, with the Net so fragile. We need strong decision-making—but we also need checks and balances.” She held Nikita’s gaze, her own unflinching. “The previous Councilors spent their time building their own wealth and power on the backs of the people they were supposed to rule. You can’t do that anymore.”

Nikita didn’t back down. “Are you suggesting I become an altruist?”

“No, Nikita. I’m suggesting you decide whether you want to become a true leader, or if you want to be a politician.”

That, I didn’t expect, Zaira telepathed to Aden. Ivy is so inherently gentle and yet she’s going toe-to-toe with one of the most dangerous women in the Net.

Yes, but Ivy is a leader now, too.

Of the empaths, hundreds of thousands of them. Key linchpins in holding the PsyNet together. She knows how much power she holds, Zaira said in approval. I simply never expected to see her wield it.

A telepathic knock on Zaira’s mind at that instant. It was Ivy, her psychic presence as gentle as her physical one.

You two are going to back me, right?

Of course, Aden replied, as Zaira did the same. The Es and the Arrows are a unit.

Great, because Sascha’s mom is one scary woman.

Even as she said that, Ivy was continuing to hold the eye contact with Nikita. Who finally said, “Issues of terminology aside, I have no desire to roll the Net back in time.”

She loves Sascha, you know.

Zaira couldn’t think of anything less apt to be true. Nikita doesn’t understand emotion any more than I do.

I think you understand far more than you know—and so does she. Try to attack Sascha. You’ll be dead before the day is out.

That’s not love. It’s protecting the family genetic legacy.

You’re arguing emotion with an empath, Zaira. You know I’m going to win.

Emotion can blind.

Ivy’s lips twitched, but she didn’t reply, her attention on Nikita.

“Strength,” Nikita said to the table at large, “doesn’t have to be aggressive. It’s about perception.” An expressionless face, her grooming without flaw, and no sense of heart or emotion in her voice or gaze. “I might not be a leader but I am the best politician at this table, and I tell you that politics can win wars and this is a war.”

Cardinal eyes unreadable, Kaleb said, “One thing the Net understands is power.” His voice vibrated with it. “We do the broadcast.”

“Anthony speaks,” Aden said.

Nikita’s response was surprising. “Agreed. Anthony is seen as the most . . . human. Having him appear to be leading the new Coalition will calm those who believe Krychek to be a dictator, while seeing the rest of us with Anthony will satisfy those who want to believe the old Council is as it was.”

“I’ll announce that the Coalition is now a permanent unit,” Anthony said, the streaks of silver at the temples of his otherwise black hair giving him a distinguished air. “The addition of the empaths was the final step.”

“I think we need someone else at the table,” Ivy said unexpectedly. “Ida Mill.”