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“JayJay.” Mayor Yurst patted my hand and ushered me inside. “I trust all is well with you, and you were not involved in the little shake-up this morning?”
“Little shake-up?” Two Nacers had lost their lives half a sun’s flight from Yurstille’s center.
“Come, come”—he beckoned with one hand—“let the past rest. I have us all set up by the pool. It should be a delightful meeting.”
With every step I took, I resisted the urge to reach out and wring his neck. My knees nearly met my ears as I sat in the too-low lounge chair. A meeting notification chimed, and the wall projection linked to Yurst’s wristport launched, turning his pink wall black.
Bonic took up one half of the projection, his shoulders hunched as he typed behind a long desk. When the Yagrasrepresentative joined, my stomach lurched. The male who’d accused me of killing an influential lobbyist, a female, filled the other half of the screen. His pressed sash cut across the deep indigo of his uniform in a slash of bloodroot fungus red. A smirk the length of the wall hovered over me where I sat with my knees at my shoulders, and my stomach dropped to the floor.
“Devile…so wonderful to have you join us. Your delightful voice always brightens my day,” Mayor Yurst gushed.
He nudged my knee. A silent request to offer a similar obsequious welcome. I remained frozen in my seat, my mouth as dry as sand.
Bonic passed a tablet to one of his staff before lifting his head, ready to join the meeting. “JayJay, how’s my brother? Makir informed me Yurstille’s fleet of hoverbikes is in dire need of replacement if you wish to maintain your assault.”
Before I could respond, Yurst interrupted. “It’s wonderful that Makir has you as a confidant.” He smiled at the statues of himself. He had two now. The gem-encrusted eyes of the second sparkled in the pool’s water. “But I must disagree, High Commander. Your brother has been doing a terrific job. Each and every one of our hoverbike fleet is in tip-top shape.”
How had this Tig been elected? I swallowed my shock over Devile’s presence and stood, leveling a glare at Yurst. “Should I bring my hovee in? Park it next to your statue, maybe?” Then I turned toward the projection. “Makir tells the truth.”
“Well, a generous donation from a wealthy ally certainly wouldn’t go unwelcomed.” Credits shone in Yurst’s eyes as he leaned toward Bonic’s projection. “We’re all friends here,” he cooed, “we must trust one another.”
A container wobbled when Bonic’s hands turned to fists on his large desk. A royal family portrait hung in a gilded frame behind him. His blue tail stood rigid like a flagpole, identical to his family's in the background. “I entrusted you with the safetyof my brother. At no time, Mayor, did you mention Tern had a giant—”
Devile’s smirk widened as he cut Bonic’s words short. “Inmate 141, it’s been over an annum since your banishment. Tern has served you well.”
Thanks, Devile. Now, all of Yurstille will know I’m not here of my own volition.
“Banishment?” Mayor Yurst gasped. “That wasn’t declared on your recolonization admission form.”
“Oh, did I miss that detail?” Devile carried on as if I wasn’t there. As if his very presence wasn’t a gut-wrenching reminder of the life he forced me to leave behind. As if his accusations hadn’t turned me into an unworthy male.
How was I going to get this conversation back on track? Two Nacers had died this morning, and Sisip was trusting me to secure the bloodroot fungus. Instead of releasing the anger racing down my spine, I reeled it in, grinding my boot heel into the solarium’s pink soil. In the face of anger, Yurst shut down, and I needed him to charm his way into Devile’s good graces.
Devile leaned against a linnea tree, one foot propped against its trunk. If his intent had been to make me long for home, it worked. “The reason I never doubted your praise about Inmate 141’s effectiveness at luring hellsna is because he’s trained his whole life as an elite guard. But as competent as he is, that doesn’t change the facts of his conviction. To lure a hellsna and kill a female—unforgivable.”
“Oh dear.” Yurst walked over to his statue and patted its elbow. “Well, I will have to discuss this with our lead enforcer. It’s not right to have JayJay lead a team with that kind of record.”
Bonic tapped his long fingers on his desk. “Enough of this pandering. JayJay will remain as is.”
Devile plucked a payot, my favorite fruit, from the bush next to him. I could almost smell the tangy citrus as if the fruit were in my own hand. Juice dribbled down his chin as he bit into it.
“One good thing has come of Inmate 141’s conviction.” Devile leered at me, slurping up the juice with his fat tongue. It was clear that he’d come to the meeting with his own agenda. “The supreme rulers have passed a new bill. For the past annum, elite guards have been reassigned as defenders of the wealthy. I quite enjoy being under the protection of my own personal shield.”
My face grew chalky in the pool’s reflection, where I paced along its edge. The strange shimmer covering my skin had me second-guessing my vision. Acid soured my mouth. Not only had I not committed the crime I’d been charged with, but the devastation caused by passing that bill rendered me speechless. To reassign the elite guard as personal shields left the citizens of the seven districts unprotected from hellsna. I’d spoken out against it many times.
“Must I remind you”—Bonic’s steely gaze bounced between Yurst and Devile—“that we are here to find a solution to the immediate hellsna problem on Tern, not to rehash old grudges?”
The mayor clutched his statue’s arm. “Stars above, Devile, do you think JayJay could have awoken the hellsna in the hibernaculum on purpose?”
Of all the sneaky, blanting beings in the universe…I couldn’t believe the mayor had the equipment necessary to suggest such a thing. “Watch what you accuse me of, little Tig. Or I might find some accusations of my own to throw out. I will not be wrongly convicted again.” My tightly coiled rage unfurled, and I kicked a lounge chair, sending it screeching over the concrete floor.
“Yurst, Devile, not another word.” Bonic’s sharp command rang through the sticky air.
He was the only one in this sham of a meeting I had any respect for, so I swallowed my rage and forced myself to remain in the room. Tern needed the fungus.
Yurst cowered behind his statue while Devile smirked, biting into his payot once more.
Bonic’s blue tail snapped behind him. “Any more slander and an embargo on Lornian exports to both Tern and Yagras will be on the table. We’re here to discuss the delivery of the bloodroot fungus and nothing more. Devile, can you confirm you have secured the fungus and provide the details on its delivery?”
