Page 231 of Seer Prophet

Maybe it was that soft whisper of questioning hope I felt on my daughter, that I felt on both of them.

Either way, I made up my mind.

“What’s the current state of the construct?” I asked Balidor.

There was another pause.

“Meaning what, Esteemed Bridge?”

“Meaning… what is its current state? Any leaks? Is Shadow able to see past it, from what you can tell? From what any of the others can tell?”

Again, I got a curious ping from Revik.

I continued to focus on the speaker in the organic wall.

“Why are you asking me this, Esteemed Bridge?”Balidor said.

Clicking a little under my breath, I shook my head. Smiling wryly, I glanced at Revik, meeting his gaze as I told Balidor the truth.

“I want to know if Shadow would be able to see my husband and daughter outside of the tank,” I said. “…If, say, I were to remove the specific resonances and structures in their light that allow the Dreng to penetrate our construct now.”

Revik flinched, staring at me.

Allie…he sent, soft.

Seeing the sadness in his eyes only brought a flush of anger to my light.

“I’m tired of this bullshit!” I said, maybe to all of them. “I think I can get rid of the structures in Lily… and probably in Revik. But it’s going to mean taking both of them out of the tank. I can’t have either of them cut off from my light. Ideally, I’d like to use the other half of the Four to really strengthen this. What I can do on my own might not be enough to get them to regrow the structures they need to connect on their own.”

My jaw hardened more.

“They’ll need to be connected to my light until then,” I warned. “…As in all the time. So no tanks. No Barrier separations. Not until we figure out a way to regrow the critical pieces of their structure without the resonance of the Dreng.”

There was a silence.

When I glanced at Revik that time, his eyebrows had gone up.

I could see him listening though, probably to hear what Balidor would say.

“Alyson,”the Adhipan leader said, clicking through the loudspeaker.“You could kill them. Both of them.”

“I’m aware of that,” I said.

Even so, his words hit at me, enough to make me pause.

Seconds later, I shook it off.

“I don’t see a lot of good options. My…” I bit my tongue on the word, then refused to say it. “…Kali. She said Lily wasn’t safe on the ship anymore. If that’s true, we need to be able to get Lily out of the tank, at least for short periods. I want Revik with me in Dubai and we absolutely can’t risk that if he’s still tied into their construct.”

I looked at Lily, coiling my arms more snugly around her.

“I know it’s risky. I know that. But I really think I can do it. I wouldn’t be suggesting it, otherwise.”

There was another silence.

I didn’t look at Revik in that one either, but I felt him listening again, almost holding his breath.

I heard Balidor sigh, clicking, but there was a grudging admission in the sound.

---