“You must go to Arhan, those who adopted your father. ”
Sihvaaro had learned the truth of Ronan’s parentage. But only upon his death had he revealed the secret he had concealed even from his beloved student: his own telepathic abilities.
There are others like me, Sihvaaro had said. The rest of his knowledge, like his devotion and serene courage, had died with him.
But the Kinsmen must also know what had become of Ronan’s parents. Constano had been the enemy of Arhan, and Arhan was Jonas Kane’s adopted Line. If the Arhani still bore any loyalty toward Kane and Kori Challinor, hope remained.
All Ronan had to do was reach this vessel’s com station and send a message to the Arhan ship Sihvaaro had summoned.
He laughed. Cynara regarded him impassively across the cabin. The door opened.
“Come,” the armed Kinsman said, jerking his rifle. “Constano wants to see you.”
Cynara got to her feet and walked past Ronan without a glance. The Kinsman, joined by a second guard, herded them back down the corridor to a larger cabin that could only belong to the First of the ship.
A man rose from his chair behind a broad desk. Ronan knew him immediately.
Artur Constano VelRauthi—the man whose face and name he had for so long forgotten, traitor to the Concordat, the Kinsman who was behind the assassination plot, Sihvaaro’s death, and Cynara’s present danger.
The guards set Ronan and Cynara before the desk and took up stations to either side of the cabin. VelRauthi smiled behind his dark beard with all the ease of a man certain in his power.
“I see that you remember me, Ronan,” he said, “though I’d hardly expected to meet again. Ronan Kane VelKalevi—what irony in that name.” He chuckled. “Or do you prefer Lord Achilles Challinor?”
“I did not carry out your bidding,” Ronan said. “The Archon still lives.”
“So I understand.” VelRauthi moved an object on his desk to a new position as if it were of great importance. “Bravo. Your mind is far stronger than even we suspected when we sent you. But it seems you still cannot control your thoughts or your emotions. I feel your hate.” He glanced at Cynara, who had neither moved nor spoken. “And I feel something more… Is it possible that a human raised by shaauri can love?”
“You are not interested in my emotions,” Ronan said, holding VelRauthi’s gaze. “You came to Aitu when you learned I had returned, though I was not meant to survive your mission.”
“And we discovered that you had a very interesting companion,” VelRauthi added. “Sit, Cynara D’Accorso, captain of the Alliance ship Pegasus.”
Cynara remained standing. “What do you want?”
“Admirable directness, Captain,” he said. “Perhaps you will tell me why you were watching us at the landing field?”
“We had no choice,” Ronan said. “After the Challinors discovered my purpose and sent me from Concordat space—”
“Curious that they let you go.”
“—I returned with Cynara D’Accorso to share what I had learned with my House. But circumstances on Aitu have changed since I left. It was necessary to escape by any means possible.”
“Indeed—Lenko is an old enemy, isn’t he? Of course you had no intention of contacting us until you were driven to it.”
“I regained my full memory and recognized what you had done to me. I am no assassin.”
“Nor, apparently, are you ever to be anything but an outcast among shaauri.” He clucked with mock sympathy. “Lenko was most eager to be rid of all human presence—he was not so amenable to our mutual goals as the previous First of Ain’Kalevi and had no interest in what we had done with you. He allowed you to think that you might buy safety with the knowledge you promised, while all the time he was waiting for us to take you away.”
“What will you do with us now?” Cynara demanded.
“I sense a certain chagrin, Captain. Though Ronan would have us believe he took you hostage, it is clear that you accompanied him out of sheer devotion, having supposedly saved his life from the shaauri striker. It must make a fascinating tale.”
Cynara laughed. “Look a little deeper, Constano, and you may find that my feelings are not as tender as you suppose.”