Page 22 of Nyanine's Divide

“I don’t know, Ayira, I have no idea what connection you two have. You do share similarities, but that’s to be expected due to your race. I won’t know until Tavi explains.” I shrug, wishing I had a better answer for her, but for now, it’s all I’ve got.

“Well, in the meantime, what can we do?” Kij asks, his gaze bouncing around as if he’s anxious to get to work on something. He seems like a guy who needs a purpose. It’s either that or he can’t sit still, much like the fly he appears to be. He’s just missing wings.

“Want to help me with this infuriating laptop you made?” I grin, Kosiiba chuckling beside me.

Kij’s eyes narrow. “What’s infuriating about it?”

“How about the fact that nothing in your instructions seems to work, I can’t get to the other browsers for more information, and all I’m finding on the browsers here are the same bullshit over and over. It’s creepy how identical the information is across different sources. You’re the so-called genius who programmed it, maybe you can work it for me and help me figure out this nightmare.” I cock my head to the side, eyebrows raised as Iquestion him, a smile still on my lips so he knows I’m at least half teasing.

“You are the sassiest human I’ve ever met, and I thought Ethan was bad. Damn.” He sighs, rubbing between his large eyes as the others laugh. Ethan seems like a nice kid, I don’t have much experience with him, but with the way they’re reacting, he must be the class clown type. I bet we’d get along great! “Go get the damn thing and meet me in my cave on the ship. I’ll help with your research.”

“Don’t grumble too much. Seems like it’s just what you need, something to keep you busy,” I mumble as I turn to walk away, and Tohtor laughs.

“Oh, she has no idea how true that statement was.” There’s a thump, and then Tohtor grumbles, “Ow, bastard. I’ll make you pay for that later.” Chuckles follow, and I shake my head as I walk away with Kosiiba.

“I think it’s a good thing we can all still find some fun and laughs at a time like this. Things are going to get bad, but they don’t have to be all the time.”

“Wise words, Cap.” Kosiiba grins and bumps my shoulder before we continue on in companionable silence.

Chapter 16

Tavionna

Ayira’s hand is soft in mine, her smile sweet and unsure, and then it’s all gone. All sensation. I’m sucked into a tunnel, and I know I’ve sunk into a vision. There’s no sound, no feeling, no thoughts for a moment, it’s just dark, and then, it hits.

Light penetrates my lids, cold hits my body, and I cry. A baby’s first cry. I’m lifted into someone’s arms when I hear my mother’s voice. “Hi, Ayira, hi, baby. Welcome to the world. Oh, you’re so beautiful. You’re going to be a great priestess one day, pretty girl.” My eyes are blurry, but it’s my mother’s face, her voice. She’s happy, so happy, as tears track down her cheeks.

“She’s so beautiful, just like you.” A man kisses Mother’s cheek, but I don’t recognize him.

The darkness returns, and I fall as one word clicks into place. “Sister.”

Mother feeds Ayira, cooing at her, loving her, whispering sweet words as they cuddle close. Her mate is there, staring at them both, and there’s love in the air. They’re happy and excited for their future. Mother kisses him deeply, tears dripping down her cheeks, and he gently wipes them away.

I watch from outside their bubble, as if I’m a star above, as she shares this beautiful life with her Ngozii mate. I’m confused and lost, but I can’t leave.

Time skips forward, Ayira begins to crawl, to walk, to talk. When she reaches about three years of age and is old enough to understand, Mother begins to teach her spells, takes her to her sanctuary, explains the power the crystals have, the water, meditation. Ayira is eager to learn the abilities that Mother displays, but her mate grows worried.

Mother’s power and reach are greater with the help of Ayira’s magic, and that’s what she wants. Her prayers when alone are not for a daughter to follow in her footsteps but for the power they have to work together, to recreate the power of the ancient priestesses before her. Mother seeks to rule more than just this world with the magic she weaves, but she can’t achieve it without more power.

Distance begins to build between the couple as Mother spends more and more time with Ayira, teaching her more and more, growing excited and cheering when Ayira manages to achieve her goals. She pushes for more all the time, keeping Ayira from school with the others in the colony. Ayira is isolated but happy with her mother. Her father is upset, he argues for her to go to school with the others, to be a child. Mother argues that she’s special, meant to be a powerful priestess, meant to change theworld. Her powers must be nurtured, must grow, and they won’t do that if she’s not taught properly.

He sees through her lies, knowing that keeping her away from others keeps them from teaching her new things. Mother intends to indoctrinate her with her own desires. She can’t be thwarted if Ayira isn’t shown other ways of doing things. Her arguments for Ayira’s future as priestess sound genuine, but he sees the truth deep in her eyes.

That’s when he makes his decision. Grabbing Ayira in the night, he rushes onto a ship and runs for his life. He aims to protect his daughter, to give her a life as a normal child, where she can learn and grow and become her own person, without her mother’s agenda over her head. He’s saving her from a form of abuse in his eyes.

Mother wakes the next morning, frantic, as she searches for her mate, her daughter. When she can’t find them, she screams and panics, rushing to her sanctuary to search for them. She doesn’t eat or drink for days, sitting in meditation as she struggles. Until one day.

He walks along a dark street, heading home to his daughter, on some dirty planet. He’s not happy to be there, but it’s temporary, they’ll move again soon, he just needs to get a little more money for tickets. He’s nearly home when a cloaked woman steps in front of him, blocking his path.

Mother reveals herself by pulling back her hood, and he panics. He begs her to understand, he’s protecting their daughter, she deserves a childhood. She refuses, she never had one, this is her destiny, her legacy, and the sooner she starts, the better prepared she’ll be. She demands her daughter, and he refuses. She threatens, producing a knife she’d taken from a warrior. He still refuses, accusing her of using their daughter for her own gain, and he won’t stand for it.

A curtain in an above window shifts, Ayira’s tiny pink face appearing, grinning when she sees her dad, but it quickly drops as she sees the knife in the hands of the woman. Ayira’s lips move, her brows dropping, and I hear her whispered word from afar. “Mother?”

Mother asks one more time, screaming at him, and he says she’ll never find her, not if he can help it. For all she knows, her daughter is already in the far reaches of space on a ship, heading for a better life. Mother screams in rage and rushes forward, plunging the knife into his chest. I gasp, Ayira covers her mouth, and we watch on together as his life drains, his body dropping to the ground at her feet.

Mother spins, pressing her bloody fingers to her temples as she attempts to search out Ayira, but she scuttles away from the window, into the building, no doubt, hiding away.

Mother returns home, using her crystals and powers to search for Ayira, her efforts frantic, but she can’t seem to find her, not even through blood. After two years, she gives up and searches for an easy man to target. She toys with a warrior, convincing him they’re lovers and she wants his child, and he’s able to send her body into heat, forcing her to ovulate. She drugs him with a sleeping potion before he can impregnate her, and she leaves to seduce Criido. Finding a man offworld means he won’t know of her child to take it away again. She has what she needs to continue her search for the ultimate power.

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