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“To confirm, it is your wish for me to strengthen the partition separating the prince’s two mindsets, solidify his commitment to the GJW, shore up the triggers and anti-triggers, and sever the attachment to the female,” Da’an reiterated.
I rested a hand on the blaster holstered at my hip. “Yes. Then I’ll have him kill the female to verify the solidness of the partition and his loyalty to me and the Galactic Justice Warriors.”
“You doubt my ability?”
“Of course not. Your abilities are unparalleled.”
“Testing won’t be necessary. When I’m done with the prince, the partition will be unbreakable—by anyone but me, that is.”
“I still want the female dead. She’s in the way, and it’s personal at this point,” I admitted. “I don’t like being thwarted.”
“No problem,” he said. “But you can’t leave the body here.”
“I’ll take it back with me. Lomax can carry it. Once we’re in outer space, I’ll eject it from the airlock.”
He chuckled the mocking laughter of a doting, teasing older brother. “You’ve thought of everything. But maybe someday you will meet your match.”
“Maybe. But not today.”
The arched door of the temple slid open. Da’an halted and turned toward me. “Dria, my sister, I love you like no other. We are about to commit a serious crime. We must both be right with it. If you have doubts about what we are about to do, now is the time to turn back. When we cross the threshold, a process will be set in motion that will be irrevocable, the outcome fatal. Do you still want to proceed?”
“Yes,” I answered without hesitation and swept into the temple.
Chapter Twenty-One
Kat
Lomax nudged me forward, his hand on the small of my back, his thumb caressing. What is he doing? My gaze shot to his face. He neither showed emotion nor gave any indication the gesture meant anything. He didn’t flip. He’s still the GJW lieutenant. But the tiny, involuntary gesture rekindled the hope that some part of him remembered our love.
Seeher had noticed the gesture, too. It was hard to slip something past someone with four eyes. Her lips compressed into a thin line, and all four orbs narrowed with a determination that made my gut clench.
We hadn’t landed on this planet, hiked through the jungle up a mountain to have tea. Nothing good would happen here. I had the horrible feeling all traces of the man I loved were going to be erased. I’d been stunned when I’d found myself agreeing to have tea. That hadn’t been what I’d been thinking at all. I’d wanted to flip Lomax back to his normal self and run far, far away. How could I sit and have tea, oh-so-civilized, while the man I loved got mind-raped?
I felt sick.
We had to get out of here. If an opportunity to flee arose, it would be small and fleeting. I had to be ready. I had to pay attention.
I dragged my gaze over the interior, scanning for the exits. The temple vestibule was short and narrow. Mottled light-lime-green walls rose to an unadorned ceiling, the only interruption a row of tiny plain windows near the roofline. This didn’t look like any temple I’d ever seen. There were no religious icons at all—no statues, no artwork, no stained glass, no symbols of worship of any kind. Maybe “temple” was a misnomer?
From the outside, the building had reminded me a lazy eight, like the old Greek infinity symbol. Did that have significance? Probably not. Aliens wouldn’t know about anything Greek.
Da’an gestured to the right. “Come this way, please.” His voice sounded rusty like he didn’t talk very often.
The oval-shaped room was as plain and empty as the vestibule, except for a knee-high figure-eight table and four green cushions, two on each half of the eight. A round steaming pot sat on the table, along with four tiny translucent jade-green cups.
Da’an must have foreseen we would have tea.
Lomax and I sat on the cushions on one side of the lazy eight with Seeher and Da’an on the other. It made me nervous to have Seeher staring at me, but I preferred she and I sat eyeball to eyeball than to have her looking at Lomax. How close did she have to be to him to brainwash him?
Da’an rang a tiny bell with a sweet sound, and a robo rolled in and served the tea, filling each cup with precisely equal amounts. A floral-minty aroma filled the air. The tea smelled so nice, and I was suddenly very thirsty, but I hesitated. Maybe they intend to poison us. Or just me.
Da’an raised his cup. “Peace through chaos.”
“Peace through chaos,” Lomax intoned.
“Peace through chaos.” Seeher raised her cup.
They all took a drink.
