Page 104 of The Surviving Sky
Iravan raised his eyebrows. He glanced at Ahilya, but she said nothing. The other councilors rose to their feet, and everyone else followed, gathering toward their leaders.
“Pardon, Airav-ve,” Dhruv said as he arose. “I think you’re overlooking something important. Why isn’t the council exploring how to stop dependence on trajection altogether?”
Ahilya turned to the sungineer and shook her head imperceptibly. Airav looked up from his muttered conversation with Chaiyya.
“Perhaps you didn’t hear me about the urgency of the situation,” he said mildly.
“I heard,” Dhruv said. “But Ahilya andI—well,mostly,I—have been working on a solution. On a battery. To reduce reliance on trajection. If she’s working with Senior Architect Iravan, then I should be on their team. They’ll need a sungineer.”
“They have Umit,” Kiana said, before Airav could reply. “And I would not spare you, Dhruv. You created a device that might charge itself over long ranges. That’s our biggest angle; it’s why you’re here. We’ll need to discuss that with the sungineers of the other ashrams, in case we need to use their energy to sustain Nakshar.” The Senior Sungineer glanced at Iravan. “No offense, Iravan, but what I have on my hands is more urgent and immediate.”
Dhruv sent a beseeching look toward Ahilya. She shook her head again. Iravan winced, remembering how he had flung away the sungineer’s work.I’d have decided to leave you even if none of this had happened.
“Allow him, Kiana,” he found himself saying. “If he finds anything relevant to your team, I’ll send him to you.”
Kiana frowned for a long moment, then nodded reluctantly. She, Laksiya, Dhruv, and Umit drew their heads together in urgent conference, no doubt discussing the logistics of this change. Airav’s team had already begun, their holograms floating above the mahogany table. Kiana would go to the lab. Iravan studied Ahilya and Naila.
“Where do we go?” he asked.
“The library?” Naila suggested. She still couldn’t meet his eyes. A dark, humorless laugh echoed in Iravan’s mind.
“No. Not privateenough—andit’s in no shape after Bharavi’s Ecstasy.”
“Our—myhome,” Ahilya said, in a low voice. “We can use that.”
Surprised, Iravan nodded. Someone touched his elbow, and he turned to see Kiana there. “Iravan? A word?”
He glanced back at Ahilya. He could see in his wife’seyes—hiswife still, and even that thought was mirrored inher—howneither of them had been distracted from their marriage by the things Airav had said.
Ahilya opened her mouth to speak, but Kiana was already leading him away toward a corner of the chamber where the other councilors were waiting.
“We need to talk about your recent transgressions,” Laksiya said, her voice cool.
“Does that really matter at a time like this?” he asked.
“It matters more than ever,” Chaiyya replied, a deep line creasing her forehead. “You brought a citizen into the sanctum, Iravan. You broke the healbranch vow you took as a Maze Architect. It has pierced you and begun poisoning you, hasn’t it? And you don’t evencare. What’s to stop you from broadcasting everything we’ve discussed today to the rest of the ashram?”
“I won’t apologize, Chaiyya. I did all of those things knowing the consequences, so either pass a vote of no confidence or let it go.”
“You know we can’t release you from the council, not rightnow—”
“Thenlet. It. Go. If you thought I wouldn’t keep my mouth shut, you would never have put me in charge of one of the units. What is this truly about?”
“It’s about you and Ecstasy,” Laksiya snapped. “You’re still a danger.”
A blaze of anger stabbed at Iravan. “Are you serious?” he hissed. “You tested me not two days ago, and Ipassed—”
“You turned out ambiguous at best,” Laksiya said bluntly. “Under ordinary circumstances, we’d be doing another test right away, continuously, until we had a clear answer.”
Iravan opened his mouth to retort, but Chaiyya beat him to a reply.
“We can’t afford for you to be in Ecstasy,” the Senior Architect said, her voice breaking. “Please,Iravan—notafterBharavi—Weneedyou—Youcan’t leave us to handle thisalone—”
Her eyes filled with tears, and Airav put his arm around her, though he said nothing.
Iravan’s anger dissipated as soon as it had arisen.“I—Chaiyya—”
His gaze swept over them, the four councilors who had been preserving Nakshar while Bharavi had been consumed by Ecstasy, while Iravan himself had been distracted by his own troubles. Chaiyya was openly crying, but Kiana looked tired, the sparkle gone from her gray eyes. Laksiya’s anger was plain on her face, and Airav’s hand around Chaiyya’s shoulder shook.
