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So what had last night’s interaction been all about?

“I’m sorry,” she said now, carefully avoiding Tate’s knowing gaze from where she sat in the lab’s window seat sketching on some parchment. “You’re right. Let’s take it from where we left off with the plasma proteins.”

Zachariah ran a hand through his already wild hair, a sure sign he was aggravated. “There are at least a thousand plasma proteins, and I said before that although Nyx’s toxin enters the bloodstream, it really only has its impact when reaching the nerve endings.”

Sophia nodded and pulled at her bottom lip in consideration. Then she said, “We know the antitoxin worked for Tate even though you designed it to work on you. Therefore, the genetic differences in a full and part-Estilorian’s blood appear to be negligible when accounting for how Nyx’s toxin interacts with it.”

“We need to know more about the differences between human and Estilorian blood in order to know why the antitoxin I created worked for both of us,” Zachariah pointed out. “I have never studied human anatomy.”

Sophia stiffened. “Well, I have. We’ve mapped the stages at which it affected the eosinophils—”

“Quincy!” Tate suddenly called out. She had stood up on the window seat and called down toward the courtyard from the high open window. “We need you!”

“Tate!” Sophia gasped. “What are you doing?”

“Get down, you demented female,” Zachariah said irritably. He walked over to the window seat and gripped Tate around the waist, lifting her as though she weighed nothing and returning her to the ground.

Ignoring him, Tate said to Sophia, “Do you need Quincy to make this go easier?”

Sophia opened her mouth to snap out a “no,” only to consider her cousin’s ability to tell when someone was lying. Pursing her lips, she lifted her chin in curt acknowledgment of Tate’s point and then glanced surreptitiously at her reflection in the mirrored surface of her triple beam balance. Her cheeks were flushed and damp tendrils of hair stuck to her temples. She was what Tate would call a hot mess.

Her shoulders slumped in defeat. Here she was, convinced that Quincy didn’t like her, yet she tried to adjust her appearance to make herself more appealing to him.

She was pitiable.

She answered the door when a knock sounded. Quincy stood on the other side of it. She noted that he wore a navy blue tank with matching pants, a color she loved on him because, when paired with his many silver markings, it reminded her of a night sky.

“We need your help to create an inoculation to Nyx’s toxin,” she greeted him.

His silver eyes met hers for an extended heartbeat of time. What was it she couldn’t read in that gaze? She simply had no idea. And his meaningfully-issued response only confused her more.

“I’m all yours,” he said.

Metis had a more difficult time escaping the next time she went to meet with Eirik and Deimos. It was sometime between midnight and dawn when she reached their temporary shelter among the trees.

The air was so cold that her breath plumed around her head. The loud crunching of her booted feet on the dead leaves carpeting the ground heralded her arrival. When she arrived, Eirik was awake and standing outside the rocks covered by a canopy of wide branches and leaves that he had erected with his limited abilities.

They had decided that keeping his location hidden, even from other Mercesti, was essential in light of the scope of their plans. This arrangement was much easier for her, she had to admit, since she had respectable shelter.

“I come bearing good news,” she said as she stopped a few feet from him.

“You had better,” he said in his deep voice. “I grow tired of waiting.”

And she grew tired of his griping, but knew better than to voice that thought. She had to bide her time to achieve her goals. For now, Eirik played a key part in making sure things went as she planned. There was also the fact that he was probably the only being on the plane who could appropriately deal with Deimos in her absence.

“Very soon, we will have the lure needed to draw the Lekwuesti and Kynzesti females to you.”

“How soon?”

“By tomorrow or the next day.”

He considered this in silence. She wondered—not for the first time—whether he was debating whether to slay her rather than continue to trust that she was upholding her part of their plans.

“Did Deimos enjoy the gift I sent him yesterday?” she asked to break the silence.

Glancing over his shoulder into the shelter where Deimos lay sleeping, Eirik gave a short grunt. “He enjoyed the hunt. She was a worthy bit of prey.” He looked back at Metis. “His violence is escalating. The female was hardly more than a mass of torn flesh when he finished with her.”

She waved that away. “He cannot help what he is. I have assured him that he can have the two females you seek once we are through with them. He will cooperate with our plans.”

Eirik’s eyes narrowed. “You had better do whatever you have to in order to ensure that. He has tasted the Lekwuesti now. I expect it will be nearly impossible to keep him off her when she is back with us.”

She didn’t allow her concern to show. Any sign of weakness would spell disaster. But she could silently acknowledge that she worried over Deimos’ increasing aggression.

“He will be fine,” she said. “He can make use of the Kynzesti female if needed.”

“I require her abilities, as well,” Eirik snapped. “Allowing Deimos to kill her would—”

“Who said anything about killing her?” she interrupted coolly. “Just allow him to relieve some of his aggression through her if he requires it. I will instruct him to feed on animals while you search for the scroll.”

Eirik shook his head. “You fail to recognize the bloodlust in your own creation. I will tell you once again: you had better do what you can to control him. I might need him to transport me with his unusual abilities at some point. But if he interferes in my plans, I will kill him. Then I will return and do the same to you.”

She stiffened, but nodded. As she turned to leave, she wondered how he would react to the knowledge that she intended to kill him first.

Quincy’s contributions resulted in Sophia and Zachariah developing a formula for an inoculation to Nyx’s toxin for both full and part-Estilorians. It only took them a few hours of brainstorming, after which Zachariah ended up carrying Tate from the lab. She had been bored into sleep.

Sophia, however, was energized. It had been a long time since she worked with Quincy on something so deeply intellectual. She remembered now how attractive she had always found him when he was engaged in something that stimulated the mind.

Okay, she had always found him attractive regardless. But this…
wow
.

She was sure her smile radiated from her face after she bathed and changed and made her way downstairs to find out what her family was having for supper. When she heard a host of voices—including those of beings who weren’t related to her—coming from the dining room, she took it in stride. Having impromptu guests was very common with the three family homes being so close together.

“The issue has definitely become more paramount in recent weeks,” she heard Sebastian say. “Tate was stranded without the benefit of a paired Lekwuesti to provide her with sustenance or clothing. Fortunately, she has learned the skills needed to stay alive on her own, but if she had been injured to the point of immobility…”

Sophia walked into the room as the elder trailed off. All eyes shifted briefly to her. She realized that her parents and aunts and uncles were also there, along with Quincy, Ini-herit and Jabari. She knew that Zayna and Uriel had gone to Hoygul the Scultresti, while Malukali and Knorbis had traveled to the home of Kanika.

“Should I come back?” she asked, trying to ignore her grumbling stomach and the platters of sandwiches and fruit on the table.

“No, Sophia,” her father said. “This topic relates to you. We’d appreciate your input.”

As she nodded and took a seat next to her dad, she wondered about Quincy’s presence. Then her mother made a pained face and Quincy’s sharp gaze quickly assessed her. Sophia understood. With the baby due any time, he wouldn’t go far.

“We’re talking about the need to pair you and the other firstborn Kynzesti with Lekwuesti,” her mother said as Sophia took half of a sandwich and some cantaloupe.

That made sense. Sebastian’s example was valid. Tate had been stranded thousands of miles from home without the ability to connect with a Lekwuesti for food, shelter or clothing. Yes, she had drawn on important skills that she learned from her parents and aunts and uncles to survive, but her ordeal would have been far less difficult if she had already been paired with a Lekwuesti.

“I think it’s a great idea,” Sophia said. “We’re all mature enough now to appreciate the weight of the exchange of vows that a Lekwuesti pairing entails, and to honor the once-a-day limit on hospitality requests.”

There were nods around the table.

“I think that the pairings should take place at Central,” Jabari said, surprising Sophia.

“Agreed,” Sebastian said. “We should allow the Kynzesti to pick their paired Lekwuesti, much as we allowed their mothers to do. It would be too much of a security risk to have so many Lekwuesti brought within the protections around your homes.”

Sophia took a sip of water to wash down the bite of sandwich she had just eaten and tried not to gape. She would be traveling to Central? Holy crap.

“Zachariah won’t let Tate travel to Central without him,” Aunt Skye mused.

“It would only be for a couple of days,” Sebastian said. “She would have protection.”

Aunt Skye’s eyebrows rose. “Zachariah will only sleep if he’s on Tate’s bedroom floor and blocking the door,” she pointed out. “His latent Gloresti instincts have been fully awakened by their pairing.”

“A Mercesti can’t travel to Central,” Uncle Gabriel said. “The protections prevent it.”

After a moment, Aunt Skye nodded as if to herself. “Zachariah can. I’ll take him there.” She was referring to her ability to teleport, which wasn’t inhibited by the protections if she knew where she was going. Quincy started to speak, so she quickly added, “
After
the babies are born.”

“You will be unable to use your abilities for at least a month after the babies arrive,” Jabari said. “We all know how the births drain your powers.”

Aunt Skye sighed. “I know. But it’s either we wait until then, or someone manages to convince Zachariah to allow Tate to leave for a couple of days without him.”

Everyone exchanged looks. Sophia figured they were thinking exactly what she was: there was no way they’d convince the hard-headed Mercesti to let Tate leave. He’d probably kill himself trying to get to Central.

Eventually, Jabari nodded. “It appears there is little choice. Sophia, Tate, Tiege, Clara Kate and Zachariah must travel to Central after the next Kynzesti are born and Skye has recovered her abilities.”

Sophia watched her parents exchange glances with each other and her aunts and uncles. She knew that, outside of Aunt Skye’s brief teleport, none of them would be able to travel to Central because they needed to stay with their newborn children. They were likely all exchanging thoughts about this difficult reality.

Her gaze met Quincy’s. He looked at her with quiet intensity. She blinked, uncertain of the significance of that look. Why did she feel as though she was missing something?

“Very well,” her mother said then, turning her attention. She covered Sophia’s hand with her own. “We agree. Our firstborn children will travel to Central once the babies are born.”

Quincy emerged from his cottage the following day with Sophia at the front of his mind. This was hardly unusual. But the news yesterday about her traveling to Central made him fixate.

The Kynzesti had yet to be formally introduced to Estilorian society. So far, only the elders and the top ranks of each class had even met them. There were a number of reasons for this, not the least of which being that the elders wanted time to understand their abilities. In light of their elemental natures, the Kynzesti were unpredictable. Thus, putting them in the midst of other Estilorians without knowing what to expect was considerably unwise.

Now, however, it appeared the firstborn Kynzesti were deemed ready to integrate into Estilorian society. Quincy couldn’t help but equate that with his recent personal acknowledgement that Sophia was, indeed, now a mature female with the ability to make decisions about her own future. He was both thrilled and terrified by that realization.

It was time for training in the paddock, so he decided to walk over and check it out. He occasionally participated in weapons training. Today, since he had gotten very little sleep the night before and still felt sluggish, he decided to observe.

As he walked, he caught a glimmer out of the corner of his eye and spotted Nyx getting settled in the shade of a tree. Sunlight reflected off her large, black, serpentine body and her diamond eyes. Although he was getting more accustomed to the kragen’s presence within the homeland, she was still a rather fearsome creature to behold.

Tate stood on the outskirts of the paddock, so Quincy walked up to stand beside her. She wore a dark orange training tank with brown pants and boots, a rather conservative look for her. Her colorful, curly hair was bound on top of her head in a messy bun. She gave him a bright smile when he approached.

“Hiya, Quincy.” She stepped closer and linked arms with him, a friendly and familiar gesture. “Came out to make sure Sophia participates in today’s training, right?”

He grinned back at her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Lie,” she said with a wink. “Yeah, I dragged her out this morning. Sparky keeps getting me up earlier and earlier for my training since he wants me to learn to fight better on my own. I headed over to get Soph as soon as my torture session was over.”

That explained why she wasn’t in the center of the paddock with Zachariah, Tiege, Ariana, Sophia, Clara Kate and a number of other Kynzesti old enough to participate. Everyone was stretching and otherwise preparing themselves for the training ahead under Zachariah’s assessing eye. The Mercesti had taken an active role in defensive and offensive training of the Kynzesti since pairing with Tate. Because he was new to the family dynamic, he more easily spotted the holes that existed in the training that the Kynzesti had received over the years.