Page 135 of Seer Prophet

A semi-organic, brushed-metal conference table filled most of the space, ten feet long with two screens embedded on either end of its oval length. Sixteen plain metal chairs with low seat backs sat around it. A third monitor, embedded in the wall, stretched the length of the conference table. The sheer size of it told me the room probably had full VR capability.

Balidor closed the door.

I used my headset to switch off the normal surveillance feeds.

Without waiting for any of the other four to sit, move closer to me, open their mouths, or do anything really, I spoke, cutting them off before they could even start.

“Look,” I said. “I don’t want to hear it. Not from any of you. Not one fucking word about me, about Revik… about anything to do with what I just did.”

They all stood on the opposite side of the table, open mouthed.

They all fell silent in their minds as soon as I spoke, but their reactions weren’t uniform. Wreg and Balidor looked vaguely surprised. Chan I couldn’t read at all. I saw Jon frown, his expression holding its normal, well, expressiveness.

Jon actually looked pissed, I realized.

It occurred to me that he’d fully intended to chew me out for how I’d just treated Revik, especially since I’d done it in front of other people.

“I know what I did.” I aimed my words at Jon. “Believe me, I know. And believe me, I’m going to hear about it.” Feeling a pulse of pain shiver through my light, I gritted my teeth. “We’re not here for that. I want to talk to you about something else.”

The silence deepened.

I caught another series of exchanged looks, especially between Jon and Wreg.

I saw similar but different looks flow between Wreg and Balidor.

“Seriously,” I said. “I don’t want to hear a fucking word about Revik. I’m going to deal with that, all right? I want to talk to you about yesterday. About the Children of the Bridge. And by that, I don’t in any way mean whatever personal relationship you might have knowledge of between Revik and the representative of that group we met last night.”

They all looked at me again.

That time, the surprise was unmistakable.

Jon looked particularly startled, especially in relation to the last thing I said.

“Personal relationship?” Jon looked at Wreg, who shrugged. “What the hell does Revik have to do with any of that?”

When I didn’t answer, Jon looked at Balidor.

He still seemed to be waiting for someone to clarify.

“He has absolutelynothingto do with it,” I said, my voice an open warning. “Like I just said.”

Jon shut his mouth, but his expression, if anything, grew more bewildered.

Then Wreg cleared his throat, making the sign of the Bridge with his hand.

“Cut the formality crap,” I snapped. “Jesus. Just talk, Wreg.”

Jon jumped a little, then frowned, looking between me and Wreg. I thought for a minute, he might have something to say about how I’d just talked to his husband, but Wreg laid a hand on Jon’s arm as if to calm him, addressing his words directly to me.

“Perhaps I simply do not wish to be demoted, too, princess?” Wreg’s voice remained light, holding a faint humor. “There seems to be a lot of that going around today… so you’ll forgive me for being a little cautious.”

When I didn’t answer, he bowed again.

I couldn’t help noticing that, when he finished, he kept his head slightly lower than usual. Giving me a cautious smile, he watched my eyes.

“What is it about this group you wish to discuss, Esteemed Bridge?” he asked politely. “You must realize we do not yet know very much about them ourselves.”

I looked at Balidor.

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