Spring Changes, page 23
“Correct. When we walk into that council room today, there will be room for Yun and yourself to speak. But Rayth and I are the ones who will do most of the talking.”
“Why is that?” I asked.
“There have been many fights in the council rooms. Those fights became real challenges, Sitha to Sitha. We do not allow them to speak anymore so that no one voice stands out above others. No one can be singled out in a challenge. We are the representatives that speak for you.”
That makes sense, Hiroto said. If they all started to voice their opinions, it would lead to chaos.
And as he said, infighting and death.
Yes, that wouldn’t do well with those in this room today. They’re much needed and supported members of the clan.
“So your testing me was so you could honestly face your opponent and tell them what you believed to be true. Because you’ve felt it with your own energies, seen it with your own eyes?”
“Exactly.” He motioned for us to sit. “I’m not as steady on my feet as I used to be, and we’ve a long day ahead.”
I sat with him and there was a younger Sitha female who wandered over with a tray of food and drink. “You need to eat, Grandpapa,” she said, yet still lowered her head to him.
“Stilla,” he said. “You honour us, thank you.”
“Yes, thank you,” I added.
Stilla seemed to shy away, then lowered her head again and backed away from us. I was actually really grateful for the food and picked some up, popping it into my mouth without a thought.
“You were hungry. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pulled you away without you getting breakfast first.”
I swallowed and took a drink. “It’s okay. It’s my own fault for sleeping in.”
“You had a very busy day yesterday, catching up with Yun and our politics?”
“I did.” I looked to Tyto, who was standing with Barsis on one side and Tiftia on the other. They were talking quite excitedly to three others. “I’m very grateful I have some extra help to understand the politics, because I have to admit a lot of it goes over my head.”
“Understandable. Our way of life is probably very different from yours.”
“In every single way. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to try. It takes me a while because I’m with so many different species, and you’re all so very different.”
“That we are. You’re human, yes?”
I nodded and chewed some more food, feeling the energy flow through me; it was all enhanced. “Yes, I am originally human, but if you touch me like your friend did, you will see I’m also much more than that.”
“You would allow us to touch your soul?”
“Of course, if that is what you need to help. You understand me and who I am. I wouldn’t deny anyone in this room.”
“That would be something to see,” he said.
I held out a hand, palm up, sparking my kenosi. “Feel free.”
The older Sitha looked around the room. I knew he was making sure no one was watching, but there was one person. His granddaughter. Stilla shook her head at him, but he then placed his palm to mine.
The rush of his kenosi was very different, and to my surprise, I now stood in a different room with him.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“You’re actually standing in my mind space,” he said and walked away from me. “I didn’t think it was possible, but here we are.”
“What does that mean to you?”
“It means you are very surprising, Kyle.”
I laughed at that. “You don’t need to tell me—you just need to convince everyone else of it.”
He turned back to me and smiled. The wisps of his hair floated around him but in a smaller capacity. “You don’t understand all of this, what the wisps are, do you?”
I shook my head. “I just took them to be a part of your . . . almost hair, fur-like.”
“Well, you’re correct. On a genetic level, it is. But it’s also a way we not only transfer but take power. The more power we have, the more hair, as you say.”
“So, Yun is as hairy as he is because of his power?” I asked.
“Oh yes, he comes from a great line of power.”
“So why here?” I asked.
“You opened yourself up to someone you don’t know, and I wanted you to see who I am. I think that is only fair.”
I looked around then, able to see the vast world around me. “This is your life?”
“Yes,” he said. “This is everything I was, from a warrior next to Yun’s father to the man and grandfather I am today.”
The images flittered past me, the fights, the negotiations, the children. Wow. I never expected I would see these things. The Sitha were more a species of love than I thought. The connections, the trust, the loyalty.
“You wanted me to see this, to understand your species more,” I said. “Stilla is special because she was your last grandchild, but you want more, you want more from Yun.”
“Ahh,” he said. “Now you see.”
“How come you didn’t take his place as king?” I asked. “Seems you run a typical monarchy, no?”
“When it was my time to pass on my throne to my son, I did. We may only pass down generations; it may never revert to the previous monarch.”
“You’re Yun’s grandfather, yes, but you’re more than that to his species. You’re one of the most trusted. I would have thought under the circumstances—”
He shook his head. “I might be trusted, but that doesn’t mean they put my thoughts above their own, not anymore. If I’d have attempted to lead them once more, Sakrost would have forced his hand many years ago. Too much is changing around here. I had to wait.”
“Because of the war?” I asked. “Or because of Yun and I?”
“There’s never been a bond outside of our species.”
“Technically saved for a mate.” I took a wild guess.
“Yes, but his mother had no choice. She gave you not only the link to his power, but the link to his mind from her side. You do not have quite the bond of a mate, but something which evolved as you did.”
“That’s because we bonded twice,” I said.
“Twice?”
Crap, he didn’t know that.
I guess not, Hiroto said.
“The first bond,” I admitted, “was because of his mother. She asked the one thing of me she knew I couldn’t pass. The chance to save a life, a young life, and the chance to do more with him at my side. I had no idea what I agreed to. That she would have to give her life for him to survive. That if she didn’t, she had no other choice than to take innocent life on board my ship.”
“She would never have done that,” Harth said. “She was a purist for all the right reasons.”
I nodded. “Yes, she really was. I agreed to take Yun as my familiar, and I did the one thing I never thought I could. I took in all her power so Yun and I could have a chance.”
Harth’s shoulders shuddered a little. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Tini was a wonderful woman, and all of this, though needed, is hard to hear.”
“I understand. She was. I could only just about take what she gave me, and I returned it to Yun so that he could live. Her only other request was we bond. Convincing him we could work together, that we could live side by side as equals, was hard. But he needed to trust me to live. When he did, I never expected the bond to be so complete either. I have Hiroto inside my mind as you can hear, right?”
“That surprised me,” he said. “You may show yourself, Hiroto.”
The form of my closest friend appeared in the shared space. Hiroto lowered his head to the Sitha and stood at my side.
“You’re quite the complement to Kyle yourself,” Harth said.
“Thank you,” Hiroto replied. “I think we make the best team.”
“We do.” I smiled at him. “We went through quite the ordeals together, Yun and I.” I carried on, “But I lost my life on Drudel, and many things changed.”
“He told me some of what happened leading up to his release and Tiftia aiding him.”
“He didn’t tell many our bond was broken with that?”
“No, it seems not, though I can’t understand why he would hide any of his decisions.”
“Because of their consequences. He knew what would happen when that was made. We made the choice together.”
“So this time it felt different?” Harth asked.
“Yes, there was no dire need to be together. We already had the friendship, the loyalty.”
“You wanted more?”
“It’s very difficult to tell you everything, and I don’t think some of the reasons are mine to share. Just know we are stronger together. That we bounce off each other.”
“It almost seems like a spousal bond,” Harth said. “When Yun is of age enough to want to move on, you might find yourself with connections you didn’t know possible.”
“You think I’ll feel his partner?”
“That,” Harth said, “I really don’t know.”
“Interesting times ahead,” I said.
“Indeed, they are. And speaking of timing, I fear I have already taken too much of yours.”
I had no clue as to what the time was, but he was sure. The room inside his mind vanished, and I lowered my hand to my side.
“Thank you for showing me, and talking through some of your life decisions,” Harth said. “When I go into that room and I announce you as Yun’s equal, I fully believe it.”
“That will have more conviction than anything, thank you.”
I saw now that I looked around that the room had cleared somewhat.
Yun stepped towards us. “We did not wish to disturb you, but now we must leave.”
“The council awaits,” Harth said. “Let us make the decisions for our clan and our species, that we need for a future everyone wants.”
I stood and stretched, wondering how long I’d been sitting there, but when Tyto brought me over another drink, I knew it had been too long. “Get this in you before we have to sit down at anything formal.”
“You can drink on the way,” Harth said.
We walked out of the office, and he led us through many corridors. I still asked many questions if something caught my eye. And Harth wonderfully explained the history of some of the buildings and the plant life that was around us.
It was merely distractions to help me get to where we were going. Ahead of us now was a round building with large doors. There were several guards on the outside that moved out of the way, opening the doors for us.
When Harth stepped inside, we were met with an uproar of voices. “It seems they have already started their debate. I will lead; both Yun and you will follow me. Sit where I point and wait for me to call upon you. Understand?”
I nodded, waves of nausea spreading up from my twisting stomach.
This is really something you need to feel, Hiroto said. Nerves are a good thing right now; it means what we’re going in for is something worth fighting for.
I couldn’t agree more. We’ll do this, I said to him. We will win them over no matter what they throw at us, like they said.
Trust Harth will have our best interests at heart, Xe added.
I fully believe that, or I’d be wanting to present myself no matter their policies.
As Harth stepped into the centre of the room, many Sitha gathered around us. The circular room’s seating spread upwards in hundreds of levels. Much like an older amphitheatre would, with us on the performance level. He strode to the middle of the room and pointed at a row of seats for us. We went to sit as he had asked, and the room around him quietened.
“You are just in time,” Sakrost spat. “We were about to call you as a no show.”
“You really think I would let the fate of our species be decided on a no show?” Harth said, waving across to us. “I had to make sure that what I said here came from the truth. I have been inside the mind of Kyle Ranz today.”
“You connected with him?” Sakrost took a step back, and the room reverberated with shock.
“He offered, and I was not missing out on the chance to see what I am defending.”
Ethran at the other side of our seated area cried out, “He’s tainted, you cannot trust any of them!”
Sakrost spun around, eyes flashing. “Be quiet. You do not get to speak now.”
Chastised, Ethran turned to those he sat with to gather his thoughts. Their drifting agreement to his words reached my ears. Ethran had a lot of backing.
“Clans of the Sitha council,” Sakrost said. He took a step back and looked up into the throngs of people above us. “We are here today to witness the final decision of the Takar Clan and their proposal for king.”
Sakrost stepped aside, and Harth moved to the centre. “We have gathered here today finally with the presence of our young king to stand by the royal blood line. Yun is not only of age to rule our species, but he is of sound mind and presence.”
“Preposterous!” Ethran shouted.
Sakrost wasn’t the one to shoot him a glare this time, Harth was. “Speak once again and I will throw you out.”
Ethran glared at me. Yet he quietened down just a little.
Harth waited to speak once again. “I have witnessed many things in my lifetime and seen two kings crowned and lose their lives. We as the council ruled without a king for many years, waiting in the hopes that the rightful heir would rise to take his crown back. Here now, as Sitha clan council representative of the Takar, I assure you he is capable of taking the position.”
Harth moved away from the centre circle, and I understood what they were doing, taking it in turns to talk to the remaining council members.
Sakrost stepped inside the circle and raised his hand. “Yun is not the only one capable of taking the mantle as our king. Because of this, there is a challenge set forth. Because his bond breaks all of our tradition, our heritage, that he must also face.”
Sakrost actually looked at me when he said the next part. “You have one chance to back away and live, Kyle Ranz. You are neither human nor denti in this world. You have no background we accept, no alliances we believe would help you. Stand forward and make your choice.”
When he moved out of the centre of the circle, I went to stand.
Yun shot me a glare. “You go in there now, you have to decide. Emotionally and physically.”
“I already decided, the day we bonded back together.” I touched his arm. “What they’re going to do, I do not know.”
“You could die,” Yun answered, lowering his eyes.
“I won’t,” I replied. “I won’t because they do not know what they’re testing, and we have the purest bond I could ever ask for. Not just a bond. A partnership.”
His eyes brightened, and he sat straighter in his chair. “Then you show them exactly what you’re made of. Why I believe in you. Why most of this galaxy does.”
That was the Yun I wanted to stand here with right now, one that believed in everything we stood for together. The one I needed to believe in me, like he did, right now.
24
I stood and moved to the centre of the room. That one circle glowed lightly, the kenosi swirling around it.
As I stepped closer, Harth intercepted me. “You understand what happens here once you’re inside that circle?”
I didn’t really, but I had to do this. “I’ll do whatever it takes to help him claim what is rightfully his,” I said.
Harth nodded and stepped aside, and I took that one step forward that would change everything.
I then took a much better look around me, the people, their faces. The kenosi around. Above their heads, Hiroto had put in their first name, and level. There was not one person in this room that was lower than 150 on the system’s scale. It made my level seventy-one seem rather tiny.
The shielding of the circle shimmered, and I understood it was for other reasons. Not to hurt, or to draw from me, but just to amplify my voice.
“Take your time, but in your own words,” Sakrost said, “I want you to answer the following questions.”
His pause was more for dramatic effect than anything, but I crossed my hands in front of me and watched Yun wait for him to finish.
“What makes you think you can stand by the king of the most powerful species and influence his life and decisions?”
It seemed a pretty simple question, yet it was loaded with more possible answers than I could distil. The most important one to me was one I didn’t need to take any time to answer. I looked upwards to the crowds around as they waited for my answer.
“What makes me think I can stand with Yun is this,” I said. With a flick of my energies and pulling forwards my kenosi, I showed them the connected life force we shared. “You call this a bond, one none of you have shared with anyone other than a mate. I am not mate material.”
I beg to differ on that one, Xe chuckled on the inside, and I almost laughed with her.
I sucked in a breath and added, “I am not mate material to your species. I have a life partner of my own, one I chose, who is not here with me right now. Her name is Shion, and she is pure denti.”
I heard a few reverberating conversations, and Hiroto focussed in on them so I could gather their thoughts. “He’s a pure denti mate, but he isn’t pure denti. Why would she do that? What makes him so special across all species?”
“This bond I have with Yun,” I carried on, “is different because it’s mutual. It crosses our species, it crosses worlds, and it is stronger than any mated bond.”
“Impossible!” someone shouted.
“You just want us to join your war!” someone else said.
Sakrost moved before me, and my eyes locked with his once more. There were questions there, many questions. I knew most would never be answered to his standard.
“The reason why I am standing here right now,” I answered honestly, “the reason I am here above anything else, is because my friend needed me.”
“Friend.” I heard the laughing, the scorn. “He is not your friend.”
“Listen to my words as I say these now. I was not bonded when I travelled the galaxy, steered my newly formed alliances with the Drudel and the M-Wolves to Flaoer. I was not bonded to your king when I drew strength from the people and the world around me to feed him enough energy to survive their torture, their pain. We were not bonded when we took down Arndale’s hold on Flaoer and took back the denti homeworld.”
