Zodiac (Zodiac, #1)(79)
Amanta drops her bulky gear belt on the floor. “Please keep this information to yourselves for now. We can’t expose our covert agents in the field.”
I nod and look away, wondering where Ophiuchus fits in. Could he be funding the army?
After a while, Egon switches on the wallscreen, and while they watch a newsfeed about the escalating Sagittarian conflict, Sirna steps into the kitchen alcove to put on a kettle for tea. I follow her in and lean against the cooler. “Why don’t you believe me?”
She spoons tea leaves into a cast-iron pot. “Since the crash of our moons caught everyone off-guard, my agents have searched day and night for reasons. Your classmate’s messages steered us to Ophiuchus. We’ve investigated your story.”
“And?”
“And nothing. That trail is dead.”
My fingers curl tightly. “You mean you can’t see him.”
“Guardian, use your head.” Sirna lays down her spoon and faces me. “The secret army on Phobos is our real concern. Whoever’s funding them almost certainly hired those snipers tonight. They’re your enemy, not some big bad from a children’s tale.”
I have to struggle to stand still. Her sarcasm, like Mathias’s doubt, makes me too furious to form sentences.
“Forgive me, Guardian,” she says, setting out a row of teacups. “Duty demands that I speak the truth to you. Duty can be a harsh master.”
“Keep looking for Ophiuchus then. That’s an order.”
“As you wish, Holy Mother.” She gives me a curt bow. “I’ll look again.”
I start to leave. Then, grudgingly, I turn back. “Thanks for helping us tonight.”
She pours the boiling water. “I live to serve Cancer.”
? ? ?
The safe house clock says it’s early morning in the Ariean capital, two hours before the Plenum convenes. Mathias and his dad have gone up to street level to check for snipers.
Now, for the first time in weeks, I find myself in the company of only women. After living for so long with a pair of testosterone-driven males, I’ve almost forgotten what a feminine atmosphere feels like. Ambassador Sirna and I aren’t exactly two pearls in a nar-clam, but on the surface at least, we’re calm.
Amanta hums softly as she polishes my much-abused boots, while Sirna clips off the ragged ends of my fingernails. I wish they wouldn’t, that they would let me take care of myself, but they insist on keeping every tradition alive, even in these times. I think that to them, letting go of the little things means we’ve given up the big ones.
Sirna seems slightly less hostile to me this morning. She believes some of the ambassadors plan to blindside me at the Plenum, and whatever she thinks of me personally, she won’t tolerate an affront to our House. “Charon of Scorpio is stirring things up, but he’s just the talking head. Someone else writes his script. We don’t know who.”
“Why can’t I speak first thing? Ophiuchus could attack again any minute.”
“I don’t set the agenda.” Sirna puts her nail clippers away. She’s brought me a tailored azure court suit and a simple coronet with the Cancrian glyph outlined in silver. She had the coronet made overnight, and I know it’s not really for me. It’s to honor our House. She says the Guardian of Cancer should look the part.
I want to snap at her that I couldn’t care less about clothes right now—only I remember that I don’t represent just me anymore. I now stand for every Cancrian. So I sit still and let them dress me however they like.
The vault doors swing open, and the men come in, looking grim. “We’ve spoken with the local army unit,” says Mathias. “They’re sending us an escort.”
“Have you made notes for your next speech?” Amanta asks me. “You could rehearse with us if you like.”
I shake my head. “Thank you, but I don’t think anyone in this room wants to hear it.”
Sirna purses her lips. “I must speak the truth, Guardian. You’d be wise to retract certain points that seem . . . unreasonable. Say you were mistaken. Keep it simple.”
“You mean Ochus.”
Her ebony cheeks soften. “Guardian, you’re so young. You’ve barely trained. Can you honestly say you’re so certain of what you saw that you would gamble the reputation of House Cancer and let slide this opportunity to unite the Zodiac?”
A flash of heat surges up my neck, searing my cheeks, nose, and eyes, and I can feel the tantrum, the storm of tears, the meltdown I’m yearning to have at the unending injustice of it all.
I’ve done what they asked. I read the stars, and I swore to always act in the best interest of Cancer. That oath led me to sacrificing everything I would rather be doing—searching for my family, helping rebuild my home—and it’s sent me all over the galaxy on a crazy quest that’s made me the laughingstock of the Zodiac.
And now my own people want to turn me into someone I’m not.
I knew when I accepted the Guardianship that I would be giving everything up. But there are some things I have to hold on to, if only for the sake of performing my duties in this role. Integrity is one of them.
“I’m certain, Sirna.”
29
WE TAKE SIRNA’S ARMORED CAR, flanked by soldiers on hover-scooters, and I feel a rush of relief when I see Hysan already waiting for us at the hippodrome.