Asaro, Catherine Skolian Empire 9 Skyfall

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shoulders in a shrug. Besides, you wouldn t have been the first Ruby heir to have a man on the side.
Majda gave the pharaoh a sour look. On the side of what, Your Highness? Her marriage to my
nephew? She spoke grudgingly, to Roca. It is true that you have treated the Skyfall man with honor, as
you did my nephew in your visits to him.
In truth, Roca had never been attracted to Dayj, despite his good looks. It hadn t been hard to keep her
hands off him during their constrained visits. But she could hardly reveal that to Vaj Majda. Whatever
the price, Roca said, my marriage is made.
And you wish us to stop trying to unmake it, Lahaylia said.
Yes. Roca s gaze didn t waver.
Majda spoke. I will not set myself against Kurj Skolia.
Damn.Majda knew perfectly well Kurj would never relent. To cease an offense, Roca said, isn t the
same as setting yourself against an ally.
Make your peace with Kurj, Lahaylia told her. Then perhaps we can entertain this compromise.
Roca swallowed. There is no peace between us.
Lahaylia s face changed, revealing a sadness Roca suspected she had meant to hide. The pharaoh lifted
her hand as if to reach out to her daughter, but then she lowered it, her restraint taking over. But she
couldn t hide the pain in her voice. A child and parent shouldn t be so at odds.
No, Roca said softly. They shouldn t.
But she saw no way to heal the wounds that divided them.
Anger suffused the Imperator s home.
It vibrated through the stone mansion where Jarac lived, high on a hill of Valley. The house had many
windows and spacious rooms to accommodate his large size, filling it with light and air. Given the perfect
weather of the Orbiter, the windows needed no glass. The main entrance had no doors.
Today, an inexplicable brooding filled his home. Jarac paced from room to room trying to fathom it.
Finally he left. He walked across Valley, past the house Dehya shared with her husband, Seth
Rockworth, then past the home where Roca lived with her new son. It wasn t until he had traversed the
length of Valley that he reached Kurj s house. In some ways, it resembled his own, large in dimension
and simple in style. But it had accents: arched eaves, beveled glass, a slanted roof. Its windows were
designed so someone inside could see out, but no one could see in. It reminded Jarac of the inner eyelids
Kurj often kept lowered.
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When Jarac touched the pager at the entrance, the door shimmered and vanished, offering admittance.
This surprised him; given his current strained relationship with Kurj, he hadn t expected his grandson to
put him on the list of visitors with automatic permission to enter.
He found Kurj in his office, sprawled behind his desk, studying a document on a screen in front of him,
his inner lids lowered. He was clenching a light-stylus in his hand so tightly, his knuckles had turned white.
Bad news? Jarac asked.
Kurj jerked up his head. Then he threw the stylus on his desk. Did you send Banner Highchief to try
talking me into negotiating with the Traders?
No.
Kurj stood up, rising to his full height, one hand on his back as he stretched. She wants me to
reconsider my vote on the invasion.
Jarac felt tempted to say,So do I,but that was the wrong approach with Kurj, reminding him of his
subordinate position. He had grown more and more restless these past years, impatient for more
authority.
Jarac waited.
I told her I would think about it, Kurj finally said.
And have you?
He crossed his muscled arms. No.
They faced each other across the desk. Jarac knew his grandson had more to say. He wished he could
find a way past Kurj s emotional armor, but it had no chinks. The days when Kurj was a laughing child
running to him with arms outstretched were long and forever gone.
After a while Kurj spoke in a quieter voice. When I was a pilot, I participated in an engagement against
a Trader frigate. Its Aristo commander had a psion, a youth he had captured by raiding a Skolian
commercial liner. His fingers were pressing his desk so hard, tendons stood out on the back of his
hands. The Traders were using the psion to detect our forces. They had already killed his parents, using
them for the same purpose. I picked up the youth s mind at the same time he detected me.
What happened? Jarac asked, dreading the answer.
A muscle twitched in Kurj s cheek. He wasn t revealing enough about our forces. So they
encouraged him. He made a visible effort to speak evenly. While they were torturing him, I couldn t
break my connection with his mind.
Jarac felt the horror in Kurj s mind. What did you do?
His jaw tightened. I blew up the frigate. I couldn t free that boy, but I could end his agony. His hand
curled into a fist. And I rid the universe of the monster who had destroyed his life.
Jarac spoke quietly. If I could free you from those memories by taking them into myself, I would do it in
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an instant.
You ve never fought. Kurj s voice grated. You weren t a military officer when you became
Imperator. How can you lead ISC when you don t burn inside?
And what would you have me do? Destroy us in the blaze of my hatred?
You have no right to be a man of peace.
Jarac s voice took on an edge. It makes no difference, does it? No matter how hard I work toward
peace, we will have a war.
Kurj fell silent then. Jarac didn t push. His grandson had said his piece and would add no more. In that
rationing of words, he and Jarac were alike.
Then Kurj said, I received the report on Eldrinson from the medical team that went to Skyfall.
That caught Jarac off guard. What does it say?
Kurj jabbed a panel on his desk and it ejected a copy of the report on Eldrinson. He gave it to Jarac. As
Jarac scanned the report, his relief grew. Both psychologists rated Eldrinson Valdoria as above average [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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