Damon looked acutely uncomfortable. “I assume your memory has fully recovered? The Kinsmen took your bait?”
“Effectively, yes—after a few interesting turns of events. Ronan didn’t betray the Concordat or his own people. He risked his life several times to preserve mine and thwart Kinsman plans, which were very much what we suspected.”
“Where are the Kinsmen now?”
“Constano VelRauthi and his cohorts are in custody aboard the Arhan ship. I make no promises that the shaauri will let you question them. It’s enough that Arhan hasn’t opened fire.”
“The Arhani were once human allies, the Line of Jonas Kane. Is that why they have cooperated?”
“The situation is complex and will require lengthy debriefing, Lord Damon. In the meantime, we have to get out of shaauri space. I’ve had some opportunity to observe their culture from very close quarters. Even the most peaceable shaaurin can be driven by perceived challenge and territorial instinct.”
Damon nodded and opened the com to the corvettes. “As soon as you’re ready, Captain. How do you wish to proceed?”
Cynara cast Ronan a glance of amazement. She must sense more of Damon’s thoughts and feelings than Ronan could, but she was confounded by his uncharacteristic behavior.
“You still haven’t told me why you came, Lord Damon,” she said.
He dropped his gaze to the deck and shifted his feet. “You may recall that I had a vision of Ronan attacking our Archon,” he said. “It was one of many that made me believe that he was our enemy in spite of his Challinor blood. However, during your absence there’ve been certain… alterations to my perspective.” He looked directly at Ronan. “I never fully accepted my precognitive abilities. I didn’t want them, even when they proved accurate. But then I saw Ronan giving his life for Concordat interests, abandoning what he had always wanted to serve those who’d rejected him. I saw him die.”
Ronan did not look away. In Damon’s eyes he saw the impossible: apology, understanding, and acceptance. Brotherhood.
“You would gladly have seen him dead on Persephone,” Cynara said coldly.
“Yes. I was wrong.” He lifted his head as if he could salvage some part of his pride. “I did not perceive how I could change Ronan’s fate, but I realized that I had to try, even with only the most ill-conceived and superficial of plans.”
“Lord Miklos agreed?”
Damon smiled, an expression both startling and sincere. “I’m also operating outside orders.” He sobered and glanced at the central screen. “One other thing I saw, Captain—that both you and Ronan are essential to any future hope of peace between shaauri and humanity.”
Ronan felt Cynara’s gaze and the returning awareness of shared emotion. Her feelings were in turmoil, and he was afraid to seek beyond them. Afraid of the price yet to be paid.
He spoke the words Cynara would not. “Did you see what would become of me, Lord Damon?”
“I know only what I hope,” Damon said. “That you will return to Persephone and rejoin your family.”
“After what I have done?”
“I blamed you for what was beyond your control,” Damon said. “If we had questioned the reports of our parents’ deaths, if we’d looked for you, none of this would have happened.”
Our parents. “Our mother and father are still missing and believed dead,” he said. “I could not learn anything more.”
Damon crossed the space between them. ‘There will be time for that, and for the forging of new bonds, even between enemies.” He offered his hand.
Ronan took it slowly. Over Damon’s shoulder he saw Cynara turn her head to hide her face. But she was happy—happy for Ronan as she was afraid to be happy for herself.
“Will you come back with us?” Damon asked.
“You saw that Captain D’Accorso and I were necessary for any future peace between shaauri and humans,” Ronan said. “I would not see either species harmed by endless war.”
“I know you’re not a traitor.”
“But unlike any other human, I understand shaauri ways and thought.” The words dammed behind his teeth, and he forced them through. “I am accepted among the Arhani, and even by some who hate the Concordat.”