31. Concord Platform Alpha #2
“Your communication prior to and during the abduction. You attempted unauthorized contact with another Starfallen. This is not permitted under Concord law.”
I freeze. He’s doing something when he looks at me.
Testing my truthfulness? Trying to read my mind?
I glare at him and work up my biggest grievance with his entire system. “Starfallen are supposed to be protected under your laws, but Vorak hurt Sophia. The mate your system gave him.”
A flicker of annoyance flashes across the High Lord’s face.
“So where is Sophia? We never found her,” I demand.
The High Lord is so still that I can’t see him breathing. Then, with a flick of his hand, he signals to the armored advisor.
“It seems Sophia is quite resourceful. She is in safe custody,” he tells me, his voice light. “As is the other Starfallen. The one you call Maya. My bride.”
A shock runs through me at Maya’s name. “Maya?”
He nods. “She is physically well. Though she has also exhibited… troubling psychic effects. I am helping her recover. It has taken much of my focus. I have no other option than to care for my bride, but it is possible that my focus on her has distracted me from events such as Vorak’s.”
I open my mouth, but the words die on my lips, because what happens next floods my body with relief so sharp I almost fall to my knees.
They bring Sophia in.
The Council guards escort her through the door, one on each side. She’s leaner than I remember, her hair hacked shorter, jaw set tight. But she’s well. Whatever hurts she’s been through, they’ve healed. At least on the outside.
The world narrows to just her and me.
She sees me, and the steadiness of her jaw wavers for just a second.
The High Lord watches us with polite interest, but there’s something about the way his hands flex, the way his head tilts to catch every micro-expression.
“Starfallen Sophia Carter,” he intones, “you are summoned to account for your actions. Do you understand?”
Her face is set in stone again. “As much as you ever let me understand, sir.”
I get the sense that the two of them have been communicating in some way. Perhaps mentally.
The guards tense, but the High Lord waves them off.
“I prefer candor,” he says. He nods to me.
“You are in the presence of your fellow human. I know you have contacted her. She is safe, as you see, with her mate. I did not have to satisfy your demands, but I have chosen to indulge you. But I will give you the same warning I have given Sophia—further dishonesty toward the Council will be noted and punished. I cannot harm you, but the next 1,000 years could be made to feel very long.”
Sophia’s eyes are locked on mine. I feel my head prickle and burn.
And then, clear as a spoken word, Sophia’s voice is in my head.
You okay? she asks, or means. I feel the thought, the urge to check for wounds, the quick scan of my body. The link is so raw and unfiltered it brings tears to my eyes. Her voice has never been clear like this before. Something is making it easier to talk.
I blink back tears. Yes, I think to her.
Good. She relaxes, just a fraction, then stands at parade rest. Bride or not, she’s still an ex-soldier of New Terra.
The High Lord leans back, eyes unnaturally bright. “Sophia has already described what she experienced in Reach’s End. But she has not been truthful regarding your mental communication.”
I hesitate, but between the High Lord’s warning and his strangely brightened eyes, I don’t want to push this too far.
He’s got Maya and Sophia now. “The Concord Stone made a connection between us. I don’t know how.
It just happened. It’s your technology. You’ll have to be the one to explain it to us. ”
Especially since you can do it, too, I think.
He nods, makes a note on a tablet. “Communication between Starfallen has already disrupted order on Xytheos. Did you reach anyone else?”
I shake my head, but even as I do, I feel the fourth presence in the circuit.
Faint, but there—Dana.
Not a voice, just the sense of four minds huddled in a deep shelter, embers all waiting for the same bomb to fall.
The High Lord’s mouth twitches. He’s sensing it, I’m sure of it. “Describe the sensation,” he says.
I try to recall it without emotion, but that’s not how this works.
The memories of Sophia’s fear and pain are racing through my mind.
I shake my head, feeling like the High Lord is watching the memories with me.
“I can’t describe it.” I choke on the words as my voice breaks.
I blink, trying to stop tears from forming. I don’t want to cry in front of anyone.
Sophia still looks confident and strong, and here I am, falling apart thinking about what she went through.
He frowns. My answers haven’t pleased him. “And you, Sophia?”
She lifts her chin defiantly. “It’s the same as Elena. The Concord Stone gave it to me as a gift. And you said it doesn’t make mistakes.”
The High Lord drums his fingers on the armrest of his chair. “Sophia has made it clear to me she regards her pairing with Vorak to have been a mistake. But the Stone does not make mistakes in pairings.” His gaze fixes upon me, piercing and intense.
“Then why is this happening?” I ask.
He looks away, tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair.
“Your Claiming Ceremony was unprecedented. Never have we had so many Starfallen, and never has the Stone summoned biome lords as mates. Perhaps the Stone had to take extreme measures to deal with your primitive physiology. Regardless, you and the other Starfallen must not use this connection to one another. You must have only the bond to your mate. No other,” the High Lord says dismissively.
The High Lord doesn't even register any of his comments as insulting. To him, our inferiority is just a fact. I glance at Sophia, but she’s staring straight ahead. I know Sophia won’t stop fighting.
“The Stone is all or nothing,” I say. “And when I reject one bond, the other goes. I can’t control it.”
The High Lord frowns at me. “You will learn,” he says coldly.
Rythar reacts fast to this perceived threat, pulling me behind him in one swift move. He has spent enough time with me to know that I can’t obey this order. And that I wouldn’t, even if I could.
“Whatever you did to your Starfallen bride,” Rythar warns, “you won’t get the same chance with mine.”
The High Lord freezes. They’re two rulers facing off. “You know as well as I do, Rythar Smythe, that we cannot allow this. Control your mate, or we will all face consequences,” the High Lord says.
Rythar’s arm is around me as I step to his side. “I don’t want war,” I say quickly. “I’ve seen enough of it.”
Sophia glares at the High Lord. “I agree. But I’ve also seen enough of it to know that a handful of women aren’t enough to start a war on their own. Whatever happens, it’s going to take more than a few chatty women to spark a war. I suggest you figure things out on your end,” Sophia says.
“Are you threatening me?” the High Lord asks.
“No. Just pointing out that you’re right about one thing,” says Sophia. “We all face the consequences if any of this turns into war. And we’re just women. What can we do on our own?”
Sophia is playing weak. I don’t know what her long-term strategy is, but I’m going along with it for now.
The High Lord’s lips are a white, flat line.
He’s not entirely fooled.
He came in underestimating me, but he’s starting to catch up. And playing weak won’t work if he thinks we’re a threat. "What's going to happen to Sophia?" I ask softly.
The High Lord begins to respond, but I cut him off.
Forget playing weak.
"Before you answer that, I want you to know something,” I say.
“The antivenom for serpent-panther venom exists because I made it.
I'm the only person on this planet who can make more.
If Sophia or Maya are harmed, I will never let you have it.
Let every ruler on Xytheos take that thought back to their biomes. "
Rythar's hand tightens on my arm, but he doesn't speak. The old Rythar would have pulled me behind him and answered for me. This one waits.
The High Lord studies me. "You would let warriors die."
"The question is, are you going to let warriors die? I don’t trust you with Sophia. Or Maya. Just what are you doing to Maya?"
He rises from his seat, and the guards shift automatically. “Maya’s condition is being treated. I have not harmed her. The Starfallen Sophia will be offered the status of courtwife, with privileges and obligations appropriate to her caste.”
Sophia doesn’t flinch at his proclamation, but I feel her alarm ripple through the connection we share. She forces herself to remain composed as she asks, “What does that mean? What is a courtwife?”
“It means you will remain in my realm, provide genetic material as required, and assist in defense or security as the situation warrants," he replies coolly. "You will not be forced into union with any ruler, but you will be expected to comply with Council requests.”
Sophia’s eyes flicker briefly to me before returning her attention to the High Lord. Her voice remains steady despite her uncertainty. “Before I agree, I want to talk to Elena. Alone.”
He scrutinizes her for a beat, then nods.
Rythar’s hand is on my upper arm in an instant. I look up at him, questioning. His lips are pressed into a deep frown. He doesn’t want me separated from him.
I don’t trust the High Lord either, but I want to be alone with Sophia. I look at him, eyebrows raised.
“I’ll be right outside the door,” Rythar growls. He looks at the High Lord’s men. “Walls set to transparent.”