Chapter Twenty-Eight

“Elara!” Aisu called excitedly the moment Rel and I entered the first floor of the building my team was staying in.

They all… My chest tightened with an unfamiliar emotion as I looked between Aisu and the rest of my team members. Each one had fully reverted to their Syldrari appearance—even Sarah and Amara. Yet I still only had patches, my forearms, and my hands.

We can discuss it later, Rel soothed me, running his hand down my back. “Is everyone settling in? We didn’t have many options for you on such short notice.”

“It’s great! Way better than HQ,” Amara responded with a broad grin.

“Hey, you in one piece?” Aisu probed, coming over to peer at me, frowning. “I hear that was a right nasty wound you had…”

“Yeah, I’m in one piece,” I confirmed half-heartedly. “I hear the doctors took good care of me. What about you all, though? How did you get permission…?”

“That is a complex topic,” Zafir groaned, slumping back in his seat. “One which requires tea.”

Rel summoned a pot of tea and numerous cups onto the nearest table, giving Zafir a knowing, triumphant look. “There. Your tea. Now, talk.”

“Urgh…thank you,” Zafir muttered, pouring himself a cup. Once he settled back again and took a sip, he spoke, “Eddard of the Imperator’s inner circle was responsible for the attempted murders within HQ, the hiding of vital information—such as queens coming to visit—and more.

“One of his accomplices, another member of the inner circle, gave the order for Elara to deploy in chase of Sydney’s team. They knew already that the cult was there, and the enemy forces that had invaded the ship. He saw this as a…trifecta, if you will.”

“He believed that one of the three clans was guaranteed to kill her.” Rel narrowed his eyes, his glow shifting to deep red.

“Yes. General Crowe received orders to execute the accomplice for the betrayal. Julien then gave him sole command over the Resonance Project.

“Crowe is close with Julien. It was a matter of brief conversation to convince the Imperator to allow us to evacuate away from Lucdra. My orders are to do as necessary to keep you, your team, Sarah, and Amara alive. Of course, with Erik and his squadron joining us, that shouldn’t be too troublesome.”

“And we have intensive security protocols within Clan V’shir,” Rel added, giving me a brief squeeze. “We urge you all to be cautious…but you should mostly be fine.”

Zafir shifted to look at me, his expression one of discomfort. “Due to your team fully changing, the empire is asking that you take on the burden of posing for a propaganda campaign, Elara. I’m not sure if we can safely say ‘no.’”

I sighed in agitation and crossed my arms. “Is that so? And who is running this campaign? What is it for, and why should I care?”

Careful, Rel warned as the eyes of everyone present went temporarily cloudy. Deep breaths. Calm your nerves as if you needed to lace your lightning through a gap without brushing the sides.

Zafir faltered, “I-I believe… Ambassador Nomusa recommended that you pose in Syldrari dress. Let me see…”

I raised an eyebrow. We’d barely heard a thing out of Nomusa since I first introduced her to the Syldrari Sector.

“Yes, here it is. Nomusa sent me an encrypted email detailing her thought process. She seeks to turn the propaganda on its head by normalizing Syldrari fashion and using you as the model. Lynir’s store would be credited for the designs appropriately.”

“Stupid, frivolous…” I grumbled, putting a hand over my face.

“It can’t be all bad,” Nikolai raised an eyebrow at me.

“Would be real hilarious to see their bullshit turned on it’s head,” Maelor added.

“Come on, it’s a good chance to show off your pretty face all around the capitol!” Aisu winked at me.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

That comment, for some reason, caught me off guard and uncertainty filled me. Pretty…? Like this? I…don’t know about that. Can I really be called that when I’m this chimeric…thing? It doesn’t seem…right.

Rel bristled beside me but said nothing. Great.

“I’ll consider it,” I stated. “But I think it’s naive to believe something so simple and frivolous will normalize Syldrari culture to the populous. I’m more concerned that it will be viewed negatively among the other, non-human, species.”

“It may not even come to that,” Zafir remarked with a shrug. “If Citomy fires her weapon, there won’t be an empire to go back to. Instead, we need to plan out some other options. Alas…we should keep up appearances in case the need for a fallback plan arises.”

“Before that, Zafir, we need a word with you in private.” Rel started toward the stairs, pausing just long enough to beckon me and Zafir both.

“Very well.”

I followed them up a few flights of stairs and into a room which Rel locked us in. He shot Zafir a sharp look, causing the other man to immediately drop his human disguise.

“Well?” I prompted.

“We need to discuss the matter of binding.” Rel turned to look at me.

“Oh…not this again.” I sighed in discomfort. “This…that really isn’t something I—”

“It is a necessity.” Rel backed me up until I fell butt-first onto a sofa. “I’m not saying you must do it right now, but we need to teach you how to correctly bind people. There’s no telling how this situation will evolve.”

“The one thing we do know is that Citomy will attempt to rope you into the Syldra government system the moment you’re free of the Creshe Empire,” Zafir spoke up, concern on his face. “Rel is right. You need an intimate understanding of what binding is, how to do it, and why it isn’t something you should fear.”

I crossed my arms defensively and eyed the pair. “…I’m listening.”

“Where to begin?” Zafir looked to Rel. “Considering you sprung this on us, you have some idea I hope?”

“Start with the purpose—the original.” Rel returned Zafir’s gaze with his own piercing one, making Zafir shrink in his seat.

“Yes…very well. Ahem.” Zafir turned to address me, “I believe you are aware of how, throughout human history, they have kidnapped and wed women against their will? I get the impression that you believe ‘binding’ is similar to this. It isn’t.

“Binding is the act of tying an individual to their clan. We have many rituals for newborns related to this, for example. Such bindings are not done by queens, but rather high members of the clan, such as elders.

“As our species became more matriarchal and queens became the clan leaders, binding came to have multiple meanings. The original persists, but it isn’t mutually exclusive with the binding queens can do. Ah… Rel? If you would?”

Rel sighed. “A queen’s ‘binding’ would more appropriately be called a seal or ‘binder.’ It doesn’t translate well into most languages. A queen can ‘seal’ away the freedom of thought and will. It’s an evolutionary leftover from darker times when iri and queens weren’t as revered as they are now.

“It isn’t something to be ashamed of. To be more precise…it is linked to clan binding and its power is on a sliding scale. What you’ve tapped into once before was at the far extreme end of that scale: the fight for survival.”

“Is this all a very long way of telling me that what you’ve been asking me to do is something different?” I asked dryly, causing them to exchange a look. “While I appreciate the history lesson, you aren’t doing much to calm my nerves or make me understand what it is you want me to do. Let alone the how, the why, or the when.”

Zafir flushed and scratched at his jaw. “Ah. About that. There are nearly a dozen words in Syldran that translate to ‘binding.’ We are struggling to find the correct words to convey our meaning.”

After a moment, Rel motioned with one hand. “Binding members to a clan could be compared to the process of knighting someone. While our ‘version’ is more ritualistic and leaves an aetheric imprint on the bound, it is similar in the sense that the bound pledges their loyalty and service to the clan.”

Zafir nodded quickly. “Then there’s the binding of royal guards, which is different from binding normal clan members. Ah, and that itself is different from binding members of the court. Which itself is different from binding members of your constellation—”

“All of which are not the same kind of ‘binding’ you performed on the criminal you dealt with,” Rel stated, his knowing gaze locking onto my face. “Rather than taking away from the person you bind, you would be giving them…a fingerprint of your aether, if you will. A small ‘blessing’ of your aether that serves as a symbol of a mutual agreement.”

I studied Rel for a moment, noting that he looked oddly uneasy. Not sure of the reason, I took a stab in the dark, “…and let me guess, that isn’t how Citomy and most of the other queens approach ‘binding?’”

“No…” Rel glanced away. “They bind by shaping the will of those who serve them, and paint it as a larger ‘blessing’ to do so. There are some clans who still revere the ‘true ways,’ V’shir being one of them.”

“We need you to be prepared to properly bind us the moment its necessary or that you’re comfortable. Whichever comes first.” Zafir stared at me, his expression firm. “We have reason to believe Citomy may try to rip Rel and Jysel’s clans apart so she can…so she can sell them at a cheaper price. We can’t predict when she’ll turn her attention to us again.”

I sighed heavily, letting my gaze drift to the floor. “…and you have some way of training me in this ritual to make sure I can do it?”

“Yes,” Rel stated softly, slipping his fingers under my chin. “We want to make sure you’re as prepared as you can be, and your evacuation here makes it all the easier. We should start now, before we return to the sanctuary for the day.”

Zafir motioned to the door with one hand. “Don’t worry about the team. You’ll have more time with them than you know what to do with soon enough.”

“Right…” I murmured skeptically, before shifting my gaze to Rel’s gentle, yet insistent, expression. “Fine. Train me.”

“With pleasure.”