***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***

***Astra***

Magnus and I retreated to our quarters while we went over what had just happened in my mother's office. It wasn't accurate to say we had 'planned' for the humiliating exposure of Dad's derelictions like Magnus put it.

I would have preferred for it to happen in a much different way, but sadly, it wasn't to be.

Ever since Etan had given my partner the ridiculous 'quest', we had been searching for solutions. Right from the beginning, it was obvious to me that this wasn't one of the rational tasks which my father gave me on occasion.

The family had more than enough advisers on hand to ease someone like Magnus into a leadership role, but Etan hadn't appointed anyone. It was indifferent neglect at best, malicious intent at worst.

Unfortunately, I didn't believe my recent bonding experience with my mother was enough to make her act appropriately if I approached her directly with the problem. Sure, she would have talked with Etan about it, but he would have simply assured Mom that everything was fine.

The topic would have been laid to rest and allowed to fester without solving anything.

I knew my parents well enough to tell Teresa wouldn't put some real thumb screws on her husband without him fucking up big time – preferably in front of her. Or at least by openly revealing his hatred for Magnus.

In our society, mutations and population distribution allowed women to take a far more prominent role than back on Earth. For example, Teresa was a born Aerie, while Etan was an exile who had married into the family when Teresa had taken him as her partner. If put to the test, it was far more likely people would follow Mom's orders instead of Etan's.

Yet, Teresa was very restrained when it came to wielding her power over her partner. During all the time I had been in this household, I had seen her doing so only once. At least in front of me.

Whether it was a concern for Etan's feelings as the man in the family, or Mom being a little timid when it came to her relationship, it was inconvenient in this situation. Etan wasn't the type to learn from his lessons or change his ways if he wasn't forced to.

I hoped it would never come to a similar confrontation between myself and Magnus. The few small disagreements we had so far were easy to work out.

So, given Etan's obvious hostility towards Magnus, we came up with multiple scenarios of what to do if things went down one route or the other.

Magnus intentionally provoking Etan into giving away his feelings in front of Teresa was one of them. Of course, this required an event that sufficiently justified an emotional outburst, and Magnus had played his role well.

Maybe a little too well. I would have to be on the lookout in the future if I didn't want to be manipulated by my partner.

“I haven't thanked you yet,” Magnus commented once we reached our quarters.

“Thanked me for what?” I asked, with my train of thoughts interrupted.

Magnus suddenly took my hand and kneeled in front of me, kissing it. “For being on my side. Not everyone would go against her parents for someone like me. This thing between us felt like jumping into cold water – or a shotgun marriage.” He laughed. “I simply want you to know that I wouldn’t give you up for anything in the world now.”

I tried to suppress the stupid smile which stole itself onto my face, combined with the fluttery feeling in my belly and the tingle in my hand where Magnus was touching me. “Oh, please. We are partners, married for life. We have to hold together because there won't be another chance for either of us. Besides, I don't see it as going against my parents per se. Dad is a knucklehead when it comes to his 'projects', like the alliance with the Mora. And Mom is too restrained when it comes to him. She needed the eye-opener. I just hope she can drill some sense into his stubborn head. I don't like it when they are fighting, or I with them.”

“Even more reason to spoil you!” My partner grinned and kissed my hand once more.

I snorted and used a finger on his forehead to push him away. “Stop that. You are aware you still look horrible? Take a bath and get rid of all that grime and blood.”

Magnus suddenly hugged my waist and lifted me.

“Hey!” I found myself hanging over his shoulder.

“Tell me, my queen!” Magnus intoned playfully. “Where can this humble servant carry you, and more importantly, what can he do to make it up to you?”

“We shouldn't- hiii-” I let out a suppressed shriek when one of his filaments moved out from beneath his clothes and snaked between my legs. To add one embarrassment to the other, he ran another along my spine, entwining his filament with mine while using his electricity to set my nerves alight.

Ooh, he had gotten too good at using them!

It was enough to turn me into a stiff log of tensioned muscles, balanced precariously on his shoulder. Somehow, he knew exactly which buttons to press, providing stimulation without actually hurting me.

“Don't stop!” I managed to hiss out the words while I searched my memories for something we hadn't tried yet. Given the state he was in, there was only one acceptable locality. “Bathtub! Bathroom! I wanna sit on top! Now!”

I couldn't prevent myself from sounding a little needy, but I couldn't complain when the sound of my voice enticed Magnus to serve my wishes as quickly as he could.

The next morning, we got a visit from Sullivan.

Uncle Sul had gotten an appointment with a weapon and armour smith he trusted, which likely meant Magnus would be getting nothing short of the best the clan had to offer. I already had my personalized equipment in the works, so I said nothing when they departed on a shopping trip to the fourth.

My parents had suggested we stay out of the public's eye until the altercation with the Patels was dealt with.

But having Magnus go out with Sullivan should be fine. Not only was Sullivan a well-known member of the family, the fourth's leaders, Annie and Gilbert Kline, were one hundred per cent on our side. There was little to no chance for something unfortunate to happen to them while they were in the Kline's territory.

Meanwhile, I got to accompany my mother on a trip to the Hall of Law. Normally, I should have been joined by both my parents, since we were supposed to sit in on official council business, but Etan was suspiciously absent when Teresa entered the carriage.

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“Mom, where is Dad?” I asked once the carriage started moving, removing the chance of Etan jumping in at the last second.

Teresa only smiled at me cryptically. “He isn't feeling well today. It will take him a few days to recover. Till then, I am going to vote in his name. The necessary documents have been signed in blood, so the other elders will have no reason to complain.”

I blanched, feeling a little guilty as I envisioned how yesterday's imagined tongue-lashing between Teresa and Etan might have gotten out of hand. Just what had she done to him?

Teresa noticed my reaction and tilted her head. “Are you feeling unwell too? You don't have to start work right away if you aren't ready yet.”

“N- no!” I stammered and collected myself. “Everything's peachy. After all, I was the one who asked this of you.”

For a moment, my imagination went ahead of rationality. Teresa wouldn't do something too horrible to her beloved partner. At least, that was what I was trying to convince myself of till we arrived at our destination.

The council between the elders started a little awkwardly when we ran into the Patels in front of the hall.

Bruce glared daggers at us while Travis seemed more bemused than hostile – which had me a little confused. At least they didn't initiate the encounter with a call for my partner's blood.

“How is your son in law doing?” Bruce asked my mother.

Teresa forced herself to smile. “He looked worse for wear the last time I saw him. It honestly surprised me you didn't catch him.”

Travis patted her partner's shoulder. “I let him get away after I allowed my partner to work out some of his frustrations. It wouldn't have looked so good if he had torn off your new pet's legs. I imagined it would have created even more complications between us.”

Teresa wasn't irritated by the notion. “I am sure it also wouldn't have looked good if it became public knowledge that you tried to influence a member of another strata.”

Bruce shrugged. “The whelp was playing outside his sandbox. I felt justified to take him in, but it was quite rude of him to kill one of my people.”

Teresa tilted her head. “A lesson for the future then? Tulkas seems to dislike psychic powers. Why don't we bury the hatchet? Mistakes were made on both sides. It isn't necessary to drag each other through the mire of the other stratas' attention.”

I shifted next to my mother, afraid to make it worse by saying something. It wasn't like there hadn't been plenty of witnesses, resulting in word getting around no matter what the involved parties wanted.

Travis smiled amiably and turned her partner away from us towards the Hall of Law, like handling a loaded crossbow. It looked like they weren't interested in creating a public affair out of this.

They walked away slowly and deliberately without another word, their backs turned towards us.

Then I remembered the strange question Magnus had asked me yesterday. I couldn’t get it out of my head, so my eyes involuntarily flickered back to Travis Patel, the blonde, angel-like elder.

“You look concerned...” Mom leaned over while we walked into the Hall of Law. “You don't have to worry about the Patels. They won't turn this into more trouble than it already is. They would look incompetent.”

“Right.” I let out a sigh. “It's just that Tulkas asked me something yesterday. And I realized, I didn't know.”

“What is it?” Teresa asked.

“It's probably better to delay it to a more private setting,” I pointed out. All the elders likely had abilities that allowed them to listen in on conversations like the one we had right now.

“Out with it,” Mom refused to let the matter rest. “It doesn't behoove my attaché to be ignorant. Don't worry about listening ears. These schemers around us should be old enough to know when it's best to pretend they heard nothing. Might as well be a good test of their self-control.”

“Well, Travis is a guy's name...” I reiterated Magnus's question from yesterday. “But Travis is a woman. I thought it might be a strange joke of her parents, like naming her after a relative. But when I looked up our bloodline records, I found Travis Patel is... listed as a boy.”

The elder who we were talking about turned and looked at me with a grin before she used her hand to give additional support to a chest far larger than mine, unfairly so. It was, without doubt, a generous and quite real cushion of fat. Travis winked and mimed comparing her size with another's.

Bruce made it a point of not looking in our direction at all.

Travis had heard me and somehow knew how to rub it in! I looked down at my chest and resisted the urge to run over and start a catfight with the angel-like elder. I certainly wouldn't win, but maybe I could pluck a few feathers before I went down.

Teresa coughed but didn't back down from her earlier words. “There are mutations for everything in this world. Many are wondrous, some strange and bizarre, others... unfortunate. Eating the flesh of a sun-eagle not only grants you wings, it has a certain probability of switching a Y chromosome to X… and the other way around.”

My eyes flicked back and forth between Travis and my Mom.

The other elder seemed untroubled by this revelation as she blew me a kiss, apparently proud of herself.

Then it clicked.

Travis was a guy who had managed to make me envious of her womanly features. It just wasn't fair! I really wanted to start a catfight now, but I drew in a deep breath instead and controlled myself.

Travis tried a few more times to goad me, but she gave up when the first topic of the day was announced. The rest of the meeting thankfully passed without further embarrassments involving the Patels.

As promised, today's main concern was the replacement power generator. We spent half the day coordinating matters which the different stratas wanted to be solved in this joint project.

Next on the list were some minor infractions between stratas that weren't within the Mora's curtain of responsibility, so they fell to the elders to solve. Preferably to everyone’s satisfaction.

The day dragged on until Juliana Rumen declared the meeting as finished.

People began to pack their things, but I stayed seated, pretending to finish the notes for our strata's records.

“You can finish those at home,” Teresa commented as she stood.

“But I really want them done, while everything is still fresh in my mind,” I pointed out before I looked up to meet my mother's gaze and smiled. “Just go ahead. I will catch one of the public transports back to our strata.”

My mother shrugged, thankfully not reading anything into my reason for staying longer. For all intents and purposes, it looked like I was motivated to do well on the first day.

“Just don't be too late. They lock down the Hall at sunset.”

I smiled. “I am sure one of the nice guards will throw me out before they actually lock the door.”

Teresa left, as did the other elders. Some people from different stratas stayed behind in a similar fashion, making sure they had their documents in order, writing down some official orders, or simply finishing the administrative work the elders hadn’t lowered themselves to take care of.

Like in any government, the elders’ main job was to point a finger. How to accomplish the task fell to their attachés and scribes.

Before long, I was the last person in the Hall. Only the council guards at the entrance were a problem, but they were facing the outside, not so much intent on preventing someone from leaving the Hall, as to keep people out who had no business here.

I slowly packed my things and relying on the guards to keep facing away, I took the long route around the chamber. At the large podium which held the chairman’s desk, I touched the dark stone, just where Magnus had instructed me to.

It was smooth and cool to the touch, feeling like obsidian. I even softly knocked onto the surface, but it didn’t sound hollow at all. As long as I had believed it stone, I had never considered it. Only now, I realized it was far too black and without any intrusions or flaws for such a large piece of obsidian to be natural.

Of course, there was no reaction. Would have been too easy.

I ran my hand over the surface, figuring I might have touched it in the wrong spot, but nothing changed.

Feeling a tingle in my neck, I glanced at the guards, but they were still focused on the outside. Slowly, I billowed out my filaments and focused on my echolocation to know when they turned. Like this, I wouldn't have to look in their direction to know what they were doing.

Then I walked to the computer's far corner and knelt, running my fingers over its surface while I applied pressure.

When I didn't find it immediately, I began to feel stupid.

Maybe Magnus had gotten it wrong?

But then my finger found a slight give, and a button was pressed into the surface. It had been perfectly hidden.

With a soft click, a small panel released and folded out of the obsidian. It had been machined to perfection, hiding its existence with a seamless connection to the rest of the surface.

Now it revealed a few access ports and a computer screen. The panel itself was revealed to be a small keyboard. What had me almost scream and dance in joy was that the screen was lit, showing the words, 'Maintenance Access', and 'Power Saving Mode: 1000W' in dim letters.

My heart almost exploded when I sensed one of the guards move, and I slid the panel shut while I flashed to my feet.

But the idiot just scratched his ass.

I let out the breath I had been holding. It didn’t matter. I had confirmed the computer still worked.

Now Magnus only had to tell me what exactly I had found out.