know how to be Athanate. Who wasn’t even conscious of taking her in. Not comfortable and definitely not secure. And yet she’d jumped to stand with me in a hopeless confrontation with Diana. Her instincts were directed to me. No wonder she was having difficulty.
A bit like me going from being human to Athanate. Suck it up, girl.
“Pia, sit by me, please,” I said.
She folded stiffly, as if her joints needed oiling, kneeling at my side.
I unthinkingly raised my hand to rest it on her and stopped. Maybe later, when we’d all gotten used to it. If there was a later for us.
“Well?” repeated Diana.
Concentrate.
“I’ve known David since he became an Aspirant, long before I first met you. We’ve become close, like brother and sister. He talked to me about Athanate in general, without really giving anything away.” I cleared my throat. “There didn’t seem to be an appropriate time to tell you.” It sounded pathetic to me.
“And you think this is an appropriate time?” Diana asked.
“No, of course not, but—”
“This is the worst time possible,” she said. “Skylur has calls from the Warders on an hourly basis, all being held at the moment. When we get back, what should he say to them? He’s lost control of his mantle?”
I couldn’t answer that.
“Go on,” Skylur said. He was back to steepling his fingers, but at least his face looked less angry now. If only I could figure out what he was thinking, I might take some reassurance from that. But I’m familiar with the military concept of expendable assets, of course, and that’s what I suspected he regarded me as. In which case, he was simply pondering how best to get the maximum return from my sacrifice.
“I worked with David on his physical preparation, and on his telergy. It was while we were experimenting with that, projecting images, we had some mixed signals and, well, we ended up kissing.” I blushed and Pia stirred. “That’s all that happened, but David said that there was some transfer to him in the kiss. Some of my prions.”
I paused to let them ask questions, but they were just watching me like a pair of cats around a mouse hole.
“I guess that changed his marque,” I went on. “I understand it started to be more like me than House Altau. He and Pia fought over it. I don’t know what happened exactly. When I came in last night, there wasn’t any time. I just wanted him to survive. He seemed to recover okay, but I also felt that I had completed the change to Athanate. Then I really wanted to bite him, make him House Farrell. That’s why I left.”
I licked my lips nervously. “Today, he was manic. I had to talk him down. But he was still okay. He listened. I called you.” I had to say something more. “I have no intention of setting up a House in opposition. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I didn’t realize what was happening.”
“And now, what went wrong, Pia?” Diana gestured to me. “You’ll need to release her, Amber.”
Had I really compelled her that strongly? I was going to have to be so careful with this control. How did I turn it off?
“You can speak, Pia,” I tried.
“Thank you M…” she stuttered to a halt. “Mistress,” she finished in a whisper.
“You acknowledge her?” asked Skylur. Pia nodded, keeping her head down.
Before she could say any more, Bian raised her head from David’s throat. She turned with an eerie, inhuman grace, her mouth wide in a snarl, bloodied fangs showing. Her eyes were glittering, and when she breathed out, it hissed in her throat. I could barely recognize her.
Diana was there in an instant, a hand on her shoulder. She’d moved so fast, it was as scary as Bian’s transformation.
Bian shuddered at the touch, but her pupils gradually contracted and her eyes lost the glittering edge. Her fangs shrank, became normal canines again. She licked her lips and looked like Bian once more. Unnervingly, her eyes had never left me.
“Awesome, Round-eye,”
A bit like me going from being human to Athanate. Suck it up, girl.
“Pia, sit by me, please,” I said.
She folded stiffly, as if her joints needed oiling, kneeling at my side.
I unthinkingly raised my hand to rest it on her and stopped. Maybe later, when we’d all gotten used to it. If there was a later for us.
“Well?” repeated Diana.
Concentrate.
“I’ve known David since he became an Aspirant, long before I first met you. We’ve become close, like brother and sister. He talked to me about Athanate in general, without really giving anything away.” I cleared my throat. “There didn’t seem to be an appropriate time to tell you.” It sounded pathetic to me.
“And you think this is an appropriate time?” Diana asked.
“No, of course not, but—”
“This is the worst time possible,” she said. “Skylur has calls from the Warders on an hourly basis, all being held at the moment. When we get back, what should he say to them? He’s lost control of his mantle?”
I couldn’t answer that.
“Go on,” Skylur said. He was back to steepling his fingers, but at least his face looked less angry now. If only I could figure out what he was thinking, I might take some reassurance from that. But I’m familiar with the military concept of expendable assets, of course, and that’s what I suspected he regarded me as. In which case, he was simply pondering how best to get the maximum return from my sacrifice.
“I worked with David on his physical preparation, and on his telergy. It was while we were experimenting with that, projecting images, we had some mixed signals and, well, we ended up kissing.” I blushed and Pia stirred. “That’s all that happened, but David said that there was some transfer to him in the kiss. Some of my prions.”
I paused to let them ask questions, but they were just watching me like a pair of cats around a mouse hole.
“I guess that changed his marque,” I went on. “I understand it started to be more like me than House Altau. He and Pia fought over it. I don’t know what happened exactly. When I came in last night, there wasn’t any time. I just wanted him to survive. He seemed to recover okay, but I also felt that I had completed the change to Athanate. Then I really wanted to bite him, make him House Farrell. That’s why I left.”
I licked my lips nervously. “Today, he was manic. I had to talk him down. But he was still okay. He listened. I called you.” I had to say something more. “I have no intention of setting up a House in opposition. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I didn’t realize what was happening.”
“And now, what went wrong, Pia?” Diana gestured to me. “You’ll need to release her, Amber.”
Had I really compelled her that strongly? I was going to have to be so careful with this control. How did I turn it off?
“You can speak, Pia,” I tried.
“Thank you M…” she stuttered to a halt. “Mistress,” she finished in a whisper.
“You acknowledge her?” asked Skylur. Pia nodded, keeping her head down.
Before she could say any more, Bian raised her head from David’s throat. She turned with an eerie, inhuman grace, her mouth wide in a snarl, bloodied fangs showing. Her eyes were glittering, and when she breathed out, it hissed in her throat. I could barely recognize her.
Diana was there in an instant, a hand on her shoulder. She’d moved so fast, it was as scary as Bian’s transformation.
Bian shuddered at the touch, but her pupils gradually contracted and her eyes lost the glittering edge. Her fangs shrank, became normal canines again. She licked her lips and looked like Bian once more. Unnervingly, her eyes had never left me.
“Awesome, Round-eye,”
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