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Her plea broke my heart. “Ah, Kat.”
“Promise me we’ll always be together. That if we get separated, you’ll come for me.”
“If there is any part of me that is still me, I will never forget you.”
“That’s not the same thing.” Tears leaked from her eyes.
I kissed away the salty droplets. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“I love you, Lomax.”
“Viq ogurk gat.”
* * * *
The ovwet is alive! For a split second, a tangled knot of contentment and despair squeezed my heart, and then it vanished as shock and disgust ricocheted through me.
“Get off me!” I shoved the ovwet. She tumbled into a naked heap on the floor. I sprang out of bed. I must fulfill my duty. Why didn’t I kill her yet? I should have slit her throat. I gasped as pain knifed through my skull.
Wedged between the bunk and wall, she struggled to her feet. “Lomax? What’s my name?”
A chaotic storm of emotion twisted my guts as agony hammered through my head. I must kill her. I must eliminate the threat. I stepped toward her.
“Ghadt! Ghadt!”
* * * *
Kat and I faced each other across the bed. When had we gotten up? I shook my head in confusion at her frightened face. What happened? What did I do? My gut clenched. “I flipped, didn’t I...Katherine Anne?”
She scrambled across the bed. “Yes, you did. Oh my god. You flipped yourself.” Tears filled her eyes. “I’d just told you I loved you.”
“I remember. And I answered—”
“No!” She clapped a hand over my mouth. “Don’t say it! You answered me in Ara-Cope, and then you changed. I love you in Ara-Cope is another trigger.”
“But I told you that when we were still in the palace. It didn’t flip me then.” I grabbed my horns and sank onto the bed. “Seeher added more triggers. She’s not done with me yet.” She intended to ensure I remained enslaved. My mind wasn’t my own. I couldn’t even express my feelings.
It was diabolical. And it proved what I feared—I was a danger to Kat.
Chapter Sixteen
Sandria Seeher
I sealed off the bridge and opened an audio channel. For security, Da’an never appeared on vid. “I need your help,” I said to the only person I trusted.
“So, now you remember you have a brother.” He laughed, the unforgettable rumble of affectionate mockery hurtling me back to childhood before a course had been set, when all options remained open. His amusement contained no censure; he understood my situation, but my heart ached all the same. I missed him terribly.
A half-sib, Da’an shared my sire but had a different mother. After the death of Da’an’s Mnemonian mother, our father had met and bonded with my Quadran mother. Throughout my childhood, I had adored Da’an, who was older than me by twelve years. I cringed at how I’d pestered him. A veritable parasite, I’d clung to his legs with all four of my skinny arms. Da’an had been patient, answering unending questions, offering advice and guidance, serving as a surrogate father figure.
Our father had rarely been home, but, when he was, his aloofness communicated loud and clear I’d failed to measure up. Only half-Mnemonian, I did not resemble him or my brother. Except for height, I resembled my Quadran mother. I stood out, and not in an exceptional way.
“I haven’t forgotten you. It’s just not always…safe to contact you,” I explained, trying to assuage my guilt.
“I understand,” he said. “Contact is risky for both of us. We can’t ever be linked.”
Public records documented we were brother and sister, but, as far as anyone knew, we hadn’t seen or spoken to one another since I’d fled Mnemonia ten years ago to escape prosecution for mind-crimes, which were a capital offense.
No one could suspect that Da’an had helped me escape or that I had returned the favor by recruiting him to the Galactic Justice Warriors. He’d seen how unfairly I’d been treated, how the laws had been used to persecute me, turn me into a fugitive, and separate me from my family, friends, and homeland.
