Page 238 of Seer Prophet

I definitely got the sense neither Wreg nor Balidor’s girlfriend, Yarli, were enthusiastic about using their romantic partners to that end, and not only because the process with Revik nearly killed me.

Yarli, in particular, seemed entirely pissed off by the whole conversation. I’m pretty sure she glared at Balidor the entire time Cass was being discussed.

In the end, we had to table any decisions for now.

Chandre put an end to it.

Even after everything Cass put her through, Chandre ended up being the most conciliatory of all regarding the Cass question.

“If she cannot help us with Dubai, I say we wait.” Chandre glanced up and down the table, her voice final. “We can determine what to do with her when we have some idea of whether we will reunite the Four.” She gave Yarli a brief glance. “Until then, we leave her alone. Otherwise, we are simply being aggressive to be aggressive… with no clear goal.”

“I agree,” Balidor said at once.

Yarli folded her arms, scowling at him.

A few more people chimed in, at different points around the table.

I heard Revik add something, from across the table.

I don’t think I realized how far I’d lost track of the meeting until everyone around turned suddenly, staring at me. Realizing they were all looking at me expectantly, waiting for me to weigh in, I leaned back in the metal chair.

I shifted my ass on the hard seat, where I sat cross-legged.

We were in the bullpen part of the CIC, and right about then, I missed the hotel in New York, with its leather upholstery and warm wooden tables.

Giving another glance at faces, I cleared my throat.

“What?” I asked. “Did you need something?”

Balidor looked at me, then at Revik.

Revik’s face remained neutral as he returned the Adhipan leader’s glance.

I felt the distraction on Revik too, and tried not to meet his gaze. I knew he’d sat on the other side of the room for a reason, and for the most part, I appreciated it, but it still felt weird, me sitting at the head of the table with him sitting further down like that, both of us avoiding looking at each other.

“Are we boring you, Esteemed Bridge?” Balidor asked mildly.

I felt my face warm. I knew ‘Dori meant it as a joke, but I couldn’t help feeling caught.

“What was the question?” I asked.

“We wished to know if you had any luck removing the structures from Maygar’s light. You had said you were going to attempt to do it without tying him to you, and that if it worked, you might try a similar experiment with Cassandra.”

I caught another scowl from Yarli aimed pointedly at Balidor.

Refusing to try and puzzle that whole thing out, I frowned.

“No.” Remembering our last session in Maygar’s part of the tank, I felt my frustration rise. “I would have to do the same thing with Maygar that I did with Lily and Revik. Revik and I talked about it, and we think that’s too many lives interdependent on one another, at least right now.” I refolded my arms. “I’ll look at Cass, too, but I don’t have a lot of hope it will be any different.”

Balidor leaned back. The metal of his chair squeaked around the screws.

His voice remained neutral.

“And for the Dubai op? Do you know how this affects Maygar’s involvement?”

I nodded, once. “For now, Maygar acts as back-up. We’ll keep him outside the Dreng construct for the duration of the op. I know he won’t like that, but Revik and I discussed it, and it’s probably better to have a telekinetic on the outside anyway.”

“Understood. Do you want Maygar with Wreg’s team? At the northern end of the city? Or with me and Yumi, as part of the infiltration unit?”

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