Page 35 of The Quoram Effect

“If I knew where he resided, he’d be a dead man.” Torz’s unusually gravelly tone coated my insides with splinters of ice. I’d never heard him express such a violent opinion. It was usually me who did that, after which came a scolding from Torz for being too brazen.

I almost teased him about it, but his remark clearly held weight with him. The sudden darkness swirling across our bond was thick and bitter, leaving me speechless and desperate to lighten the mood. But adding more acid to the unsettling tension, a drawling female voice sailed over us, and my barriers instantly went up.

“Ah, Commander Benoit. I’m pleased to see you’re taking an interest in my manifesto.” Draped in her usual flowing robes, Zuli stood by the auditorium doors, her head held high.

“How could I miss it?” Torz’s sarcasm was blunt, the feigned smile and hardness in his eyes failing to deny it.

Zuli’s expression shifted to one of shrewdness, scrutinising my black security uniform with disdain. “Guards are to remain stationed outside—”

“Lieutenant Harthwaite will be viewing your presentation with me,” Torz shot back.

“Will she now?” Holding Torz’s gaze with an assertiveness I associated with a dark-minded scientist sizing up an obstinate experiment, Zuli lingered in the doorway, blocking our entry. “How are you finding your suite?”

Torz flashed an incredulous smile. “It’s very nice. You have exquisite taste.”

She smirked. “I’m glad you noticed.” Then she stepped aside, allowing us to pass. I glanced over my shoulder at Saul, who remained in the corridor, and as Torz and I made our way to two vacant seats near the back of the large, dimly lit room, I stiffened at the burning scowl Zuli threw in our direction.

“I wondered why you were staying in such a luxurious hotel,” I whispered as we took our seats. “So, Zuli is blackmailingandbribing you?”

“Yep.” It was only the bob of Torz’s Adam’s apple that proved his disconcertion about the situation. It astounded me howseasoned he was at hiding his emotions in settings like this, whereas back at the hotel room, he’d been an open book.

He leaned in closer, his shoulder brushing mine. “I’m not the only one.” He nodded down the rows of seats to a grey-haired man dressed in the deep-purple military dress of Juniper. “I spoke to Chief Kalu last night. Looks like Zuli is blackmailing Colonel Sewell.”

Chief Kalu—the Argentum’s commander-in-chief and Torz’s superior—sat to the Colonel’s left. He and Torz were close. They always had been since Kalu was Delta Ring commander himself, and had assigned Torz as his understudy seven years ago. I liked Kalu. He was discreet, diligent, and morally just, and he overlooked Torz’s involvement with the Purans, offering support when Torz needed it. I had no doubt the Debate Gala and its leading manifestos had been discussed between them over recent days. And clearly, Torz had told Kalu about Zuli’s blackmailing. I assumed Kalu held no sway over such matters. Like Torz, he was one good leader among a nest of vipers.

Torz lowered his voice, still looking at Colonel Sewell. “Kalu said the colonel lost his wife a year ago to cancer. Just after, his eldest son revoked the Damson bond he’d newly accepted with his girlfriend, claiming she’d cheated on him. But the truth is, he started gambling to cope with the loss of his mother. After getting himself into some sticky business with multiple loan sharks, his Damson left him before he could escape to Quoram.”

I glanced at Sewell. If my memory served me correctly, he was usually a jovial, happy man, but today his brow was prominent, his lips taut and solemn. “Why would Zuli blackmail Sewell because of that?”

“To clear his son’s debt, Sewell forged money transfers from Juniper’s military fund. Kalu said it was covered up well. But somehow Zuli knows. And if Sewell doesn’t support her, she will prompt his and his son’s arrest for fraud.”

“Gods.”

Torz then nodded towards the front of the small auditorium to an ebony-skinned woman in her thirties. Glancing around the room, she stood rigid, immaculately dressed in the crisp white uniform of one of the Gemini space stations.

“Kalu also told me Zuli has Commander Oakka in her claws. She rejected her Damson five years ago when she was married and heavily pregnant. Turns out the marriage had been arranged, and when the bond tried to take hold with a near stranger, she was carrying a child that was neither her Damson’s nor her husband’s.”

“Wow, that sounds complicated. Poor woman.”

“Makes our relationship seem pretty normal, doesn’t it?” Torz chuckled, then cleared his throat as I shot him a pointed look.

Where had that comment come from?

“Anyway…” He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Zuli has threatened to tell Oakka’s husband who their son’s real father is unless she votes for her. I’m starting to wonder if our scheming friend holds a vendetta against those who reject the Damson bond.”

It didn’t shock me. She was a power-hungry oppressor who would stop at nothing to become prime governor. And winning this debate was one step closer to that goal.

“Could be a coincidence,” I said, glancing along the crowded rows of chairs surrounding us, wondering who else she had blackmailed and how many were rejected Damsons. But the question that bothered me the most was how she knew who had refused who. That information wasn’t something that was documented.

Claws of dread scaled down my spine as I took in the number of spectators present for Zuli’s presentation in comparison to Governor Dix’s. Was everyone here set on supporting her, orwere they viewing her attempt at genocide with worrisome objection?

Next to me, Torz shifted in his seat again, and I spotted Marla being escorted into the auditorium via the stage door by Finn and Petra. The flowing white dress Marla wore emphasised her shapely figure, and the vibrant red of her hair contrasted beautifully with her pale skin, emphasising the brightness of her irises and plumpness of her lips. Like a beacon of attractiveness, dozens of individuals turned towards her, including Torz. A bite of jealousy twisted in my gut like frozen helium, and when Marla clocked Torz, sending a delightful smile and a wiggle of her fingers his way, the stab in my chest cut deep. Especially when he smiled back, nodding his acknowledgement with a warm sentiment I felt through our bond.

Holding my breath, I muttered, “I see she’s grown on you.”

Torz rubbed his lips together, still watching her. “Maybe she has. She’s harmless enough.”

Harmless?I wanted to laugh. She was a devious temptress, steadily sinking her nails into him. She’d already admitted to me how attractive she found him, and with her sitting in Zuli’s pocket, where did that leave Torz if he fell for her charm?