Rise of the Faire-Amanti (The Ascendant Series Book 3) (3 page)

Kyr’s continued worry flowed through Ty. He glanced down at the top of her head as they walked, reaching over and stroking the hair that she had changed to light orange-red before leaving the palace. When her gaze lifted to his, it wasn’t her usual light star-blue eyes he met, but disguised sapphire blue ones. He, too, had used the Tinker-made implements provided by Scarlyt so he could disguise himself. Rather than his dark blonde hair and silver eyes, he now blended in with most Alametrian males with brown hair and brown eyes. Like Kyr, he had altered the shape of his facial features to enhance the disguise.

He knew that many of Scarlyt’s Peace Keepers suspected who they really were, though. Some of them had seen him and Kyr before they implemented the disguises. Although most of the planet believed that Kyr was dead and that he had killed her, word was beginning to spread that she was alive and well. They couldn’t control the gossip. The best they could hope was that news of Kyr’s survival didn’t get back to the palace before they were ready.

His thoughts turned as they knocked on the door to Scarlyt’s chambers. Gren sent them a silent signal to enter, so Ty reached for the door handle and walked in first, instinctively scanning for any signs of trouble before Kyr followed him inside. Although he was her amanti and not her bodyguard now, he would always protect her.

She took his hand and joined him on one of the couches in Scarlyt’s lounging area. Gren and Scarlyt were also seated. A small spread of food was set on the table between the couches.

I’ve tasted everything
, Gren conveyed, meaning the food was all safe to eat.

Ty nodded in thanks. “Did you catch Sem’s update?” he asked as he reached for a plate and began piling food on it.

“Yeah,” Gren replied, catching Scarlyt’s gaze. “I just finished updating Scarlyt. We’re trying to figure out what the ambassadors are still doing at the palace. Do you think Vycor is holding them prisoner?”

“Why would he do that?” Kyr asked, absently taking one of the biscuits from the plate Ty held out to her. “Telad and Ravina were treated like honored guests while I was at the palace. If Vycor intended to harm them or take them prisoner, wouldn’t he have done it right after we all returned from Earth?”

“The V’larians are our allies,” Gren pointed out. “Vycor wouldn’t have had much reason to interrogate them after Ty did. His motives would have been questioned by the Vawn council.”

Kyr’s brow creased in thought. “He could have said he wanted more in-depth questioning of the ambassadors since they happened to be near Earth right when the Shelvaks found me. We’ve all thought that was strange from the beginning.”

“Considering everything Gren told me about what has happened since your return,” Scarlyt said, “I wouldn’t be surprised to find out Vycor had a role in that Earth situation. Maybe the V’larians found out about it and Vycor decided to silence them.”

Ty considered that as he finished a cup of filtered water. It seemed to play into the Advisor’s deceitful wheelhouse. “If that’s true, maybe he intended for the V’larians to be found dead in such a way that blame could be cast on Kyr or someone close to her. We all know he intended to rise to power one way or another.”

“Then why did he wait?” Gren asked. “The ambassadors supposedly left days before Vycor enacted his plan against the two of you. If he took them out then, why not raise the alarm?”

“He might have been waiting for the right time and circumstances,” Kyr supposed. “Shaya was poisoned almost immediately after the meeting with the ambassadors. Vycor was probably distracted by that.”

Ty noticed that she was merely tearing apart the biscuit she held and not eating it. She had lost entirely too much weight as it was. Taking the biscuit, he placed it on the plate and spooned some of the burberry preserves on top of it. He knew she loved anything made with burberries.

But they’re so rare out here
, she thought as he held the biscuit out to her.
We should save that for others to eat.

Eat it for me. Please
.

Sighing, she took the biscuit and ate a bite. He squeezed her shoulder in gratitude, trying not to think about how delicate her bones felt beneath his touch. It didn’t seem to matter how much of the barely tolerable food options available in the Dark Lands he coerced her to eat. She still seemed much too thin and fragile.

I was able to defeat Gren today, wasn’t I?
she asked, glancing at him.
I’m stronger than I look.

His mind started to turn towards his dream, but he forced it not to.
You don’t have to remind me of that,
he thought instead.

She took another bite of the biscuit and gifted him with a small smile. Both of them realized they were drifting from the conversation and looked back at Gren and Scarlyt. The pair was eating in silence, used to Kyr and Ty being in their own little world.

“Sorry,” Kyr mumbled around the biscuit.

Gren shrugged it off and glanced at Ty. “If Vycor did take the V’larian ambassadors prisoner, how does that tie in with the V’larian supplies and weaponry you saw when you were Malak’s prisoner?”

“I have no idea,” Ty replied. “I’m not sure those two things necessarily go together.”

“What if Vycor negotiated with the V’larians for the items you saw?” Scarlyt asked. “Don’t we provide them with tajeria?”

Ty nodded. “Yes. The V’larians rely on our Elixir to provide them health benefits. Their atmosphere has been growing more toxic, so they need more Elixir.”

“Maybe Shaya and Vycor decided to up the price,” Kyr mused. “Instead of just the jewels, textiles, and food products we normally get from the V’larians, they asked for the weapons and whatever else is being stored out here.”

“And why is it stored out here anyway?” Gren asked in his deep, gravelly voice. “If Vycor is stockpiling these things, wouldn’t he want easy access to them?”

“We would have found them during one of our regular scans of the palace,” Ty said. “He couldn’t risk it. Besides, we know Vycor has connections out here, at least at the mine. The guards know what’s happening. I suspect he could get to the V’larian items easily enough.”

Gren and Scarlyt nodded. Just a few days ago, word had reached them from two of Scarlyt’s most trusted Peace Keepers, Jenna and D’arl, who were currently undercover inside the mine. They had found another store of V’larian weaponry. They suspected it was meant to be used in the event there was ever an uprising inside the mine, but no one knew for sure.

“Then what are the rest of the V’larian supplies intended for?” Scarlyt wondered. “And why is he waiting?”

They all sat in silence for a minute, mulling over the information at their disposal. Ty knew they didn’t have enough pieces of information to answer with any confidence, though.

“I think we’re going to need Sem to do a little more investigating,” Gren said at last.

Ty’s first instinct was to argue. He was worried enough about his cousin as it was. Sem tended to act first and think things through later. It had always gotten him in trouble when they were growing up. And with the dream he’d been having…

He stopped himself again.

Kyr reached over and took his hand, sending him comforting thoughts. She shared his general concerns about Sem, but she also knew that Sem was currently their only link inside the palace. They needed him, and they needed information.

“I agree,” he said finally, forcing himself to use logic and not emotion. “Sem is our best bet to try and fill in the missing pieces.”

“I’d prefer to get those answers sooner rather than later,” Scarlyt said. “I’ve got good people risking their necks right now. I figured you’d be at the palace by now with Vycor’s head roasting on a spit.”

Ty couldn’t be offended by the woman’s plain words. The truth was, they had all imagined things progressing more swiftly than this. Their initial plan had Ty and Kyr using their joined abilities to break through the protections, then driving a vessel through the megais to the palace. They would use the most powerful source of energy on their planet, the Gift of the Yen-Ki, to fuel their journey. They would head to the palace, reveal themselves, and use their abilities to defeat Vycor.

But as Kyr had pointed out earlier, they couldn’t figure out how to get through the protections. No matter how much energy they exhausted trying to defeat the mental power of the Mynders generating the protections, they hadn’t been able to do it. It not only frustrated them, it made them seriously doubt that they could defeat Vycor with his enhanced mental abilities and Mynder guards. Ty was certain that this, in part, was fueling his nightmares.

“We’ve come close to getting through,” Kyr said in response to Scarlyt’s statement. “I’ve sensed it. It’s like there’s one piece that isn’t clicking.”

After another minute of silence, Gren cleared his throat. He scratched the top of his ear and said, “Maybe you should plan to, uh…you know. Before.”

Even Scarlyt looked confused. “Spit it out, Gren.”

Heaving a sigh, Gren waved a hand and said, “They should try having sex out by the protections.” He met Ty’s baffled gaze. “The two of you need to do whatever it was you did right after we rescued you from Malak. The power you generated…”

Scarlyt tilted her head with a thoughtful expression. “He’s right. You two nearly blew this place to rubble.”

Heat touched the back of Ty’s neck, so he reached up to rub at it. “I’m not so sure—”

“Gren’s right,” Kyr said, surprising all of them. “It was the most power we’ve ever generated. I may not understand it, but I’m not opposed to using it to our advantage. We’ve got to try.”

Ty’s personal reservations faded in the face of her determination. “All right,” he said. “Then we’ll give it a try.”

Chapter 4

They waited two nightfalls before making the attempt. Ty wanted to make sure Kyr was rested enough, which meant refraining from any defense lessons and keeping their minds as free and unburdened as possible. It also meant plying her with an infused broth Scarlyt told him would give Kyr nutrients she was missing from the questionable food supplies available to Outcasts. The broth was usually reserved for those who were ill, which Ty figured was suitable enough for restoring Kyr’s energy.

He also decided that he and Kyr should refrain from intimacy until they made the attempt to get through the protections. Assuming this theory of Gren’s held water, it made sense that restoring
all
of their energy would help the effort be more successful.

Of course, he considered himself an idiot every time he touched Kyr after making that decision.

As the sun rose on the third day after they crafted their plan, Ty did one last systems check on the land skimmer he and Kyr would use to make the journey. This would be the first time they attempted breaking through the protections without anyone else present. He refused to have an audience while he and Kyr did something so personal and private. No argument issued by either Gren or Sem would sway him. It was this, or they found some other way.

“I still think you’re taking an unnecessary risk,” Gren grumbled, stepping beside him as he examined the left engine.

“I know,” Ty replied. “And since I’d feel the same way if I was in your shoes, I can’t argue. But I feel like this is the right thing to do.”

“I know you do. I can read you well enough now. You’ve almost convinced me that this isn’t just lunacy.”

That earned a smile. “We’ve tried a number of other things to get through the protections, some of them stranger and riskier than this.”

“Unfortunately, you’re right.” Gren shook his head as Kyr approached from the far side of the underground hangar. “She hasn’t been well since we got here. All of these attempts have battered her. This is going to take a lot out of her.”

Ty tried not to let Gren’s words concern him, but they closely echoed his own thoughts and fed into his deepest fears. “We’ll be okay,” he said firmly, knowing Kyr was very aware of their conversation.

“Yes, we will,” she declared, stopping a couple of feet away. Her smile flashed as she walked up to Gren and gave him a hug. “I hope that this is the last time I see you before we rip out Vycor’s throat.”

Gren returned her hug. “Feel free to rip his testicles off, too.”

Kyr laughed at that, pulling away from the hug as Scarlyt walked into the hangar. Ty noticed Scarlyt’s frown and knew she didn’t appreciate Kyr’s proximity to Gren. Although the Peace Keeper leader was aware that Kyr and Gren had never had a romantic relationship and that Vycor had influenced her to believe otherwise, it was taking some time for her rational mind to believe it.

“Is everything in order?” Scarlyt snapped out as her long strides ate up the distance to the land skimmer.

“Yes,” Ty said, stepping intuitively closer to Kyr. “I just completed the inspection. Thanks again for letting us take this vessel.”

Scarlyt shrugged that off. “You more than paid for that and everything else you’ve cost me.”

Ty knew she was referring to the large amount of Gift of the Yen-Ki he had given her and the Peace Keepers not long after joining them. The trip out into the poisonous Dark Lands to retrieve the canister of the potent liquid had been well worth it. There was still plenty left to get Ty and Kyr to the palace, since a little of the Gift went a long way.

“Keep us updated on your progress,” Gren said, clapping Ty on the back. “I especially want to be tuned in when you bring Vycor down.”

Ty returned the gesture, nodding at Scarlyt and then helping Kyr board the skimmer. He assisted her with donning an air canister, goggles, and a facemask in preparation for the journey in the outside air. His hands lingered a few times along her body, eager to touch her without her lightweight armor in the way. Her gaze held his, conveying a similar yearning. It took a lot of willpower to remind himself that they had an audience and it wasn’t the time for intimacy.

Soon
, he promised himself, adjusting his stance and reluctantly parting from her.

Within a couple of minutes, he was geared up and taking his place at the helm as Kyr secured herself in one of the skimmer’s seats. He shifted the canister of the Gift strapped to his back to balance the weight against his air canister, then started the skimmer’s engine with a flick of a lever.