Read Online gaian consortium 06 - zhore deception by Christine Pope - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Christine Pope
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intrusive.
“What is it, Zhandar?” she asked after shutting the door behind her, then taking the chair in front of his desk.
In his mind, he had practiced myriad ways of broaching the subject to her, but now, with his assistant facing him on the other side of his desk of carved zhel , he could only push his handheld across the tabletop, the screen set to her hooded image with her information overlaid on top.
A small sigh escaped her lips, hidden behind the hood that drooped low to conceal her face. “Ah, so it was you.”
Was she really going to be that disingenuous? “Are you saying you did not know before this?”
Her gloved fingers twisted around one another. “I had thought…I had guessed.” A long pause. “I had hoped.”
How could he respond to that revelation? Her voice had sounded calm enough, but he heard the tremor behind it. Although his people were supposed to keep their emotions tightly controlled at all times, he could sense some of her worry, her doubt, seeping out from beneath those barriers. And even farther down, beneath the fear…a sense of relief?
“So you would allow yourself to be part of this experiment?”
The words had come out more harshly than he’d intended, and she seemed to flinch. But then she straightened in her chair. Although he couldn’t see her face, he thought she must be staring directly at him.
“Yes, if it meant a chance at having the life I’ve always wanted. A life with you.”
In that moment, he could only marvel at her bravery. He wasn’t sure he would have been able to be so forthright if their roles had been reversed. “How long?” he asked simply.
“Longer than you would care to know.” Her shoulders lifted. “I knew it was wrong. You were bonded to your wife. I knew I was not sayara with you. I did my best to put the attraction aside, to try to meet someone suitable. But no one was sayara for me, either. I thought I was doomed to be one of those who live their lives alone, unpartnered. And then after Elzhair….” Leizha let the words trail off, even as Zhandar felt his throat constrict, the loss seeming as fresh now as it had been a year ago. His assistant took a breath, then went on, “Once you were alone, I thought…I hoped…perhaps there would be some way for us to be together, even if we did not share the sayara bond. It is not entirely unprecedented, although rare.”
“And yet you said nothing to me.”
“How could I?” she said simply, but he could feel the embarrassment and the tension flaring out from her. “There seemed to be no end to your grief, and I would not intrude on that. But when the call went out from the Ministry….”
“Yes, about that. How precisely did that work?”
Again she shrugged. “There was a message on my handheld. I suppose they must have been tracking those of us who were of a certain age but who had not yet bonded with a partner. But all that message said was to arrange an appointment with my local branch of the Ministry. It wasn’t until I went and spoke with one of its agents in person that I was told what their true mission was.”
“And it didn’t shock you?” If it had, Leizha seemed to be recovered now. Despite those frazzled emotions leaking past her barriers, her voice was still measured, calm.
“At first. After all, how could anyone manufacture the sayara bond? It is one of the things we hold most sacred. But after I spoke with Jalzhin, I understood better how it all might work.”
Jalzhin again. Zhandar supposed it wasn’t that strange that he should be the one to speak with Leizha. There was a finite number of agents working at the Ministry’s offices here in Torzhaan, so the odds dictated there was a good chance he would also be assigned to Leizha. Even so, Zhandar had the distinct impression that more than the hand of fate was at work here.
“And then once you received your own list of possible candidates….”
This time she did look away from him, her hood swiveling
“What is it, Zhandar?” she asked after shutting the door behind her, then taking the chair in front of his desk.
In his mind, he had practiced myriad ways of broaching the subject to her, but now, with his assistant facing him on the other side of his desk of carved zhel , he could only push his handheld across the tabletop, the screen set to her hooded image with her information overlaid on top.
A small sigh escaped her lips, hidden behind the hood that drooped low to conceal her face. “Ah, so it was you.”
Was she really going to be that disingenuous? “Are you saying you did not know before this?”
Her gloved fingers twisted around one another. “I had thought…I had guessed.” A long pause. “I had hoped.”
How could he respond to that revelation? Her voice had sounded calm enough, but he heard the tremor behind it. Although his people were supposed to keep their emotions tightly controlled at all times, he could sense some of her worry, her doubt, seeping out from beneath those barriers. And even farther down, beneath the fear…a sense of relief?
“So you would allow yourself to be part of this experiment?”
The words had come out more harshly than he’d intended, and she seemed to flinch. But then she straightened in her chair. Although he couldn’t see her face, he thought she must be staring directly at him.
“Yes, if it meant a chance at having the life I’ve always wanted. A life with you.”
In that moment, he could only marvel at her bravery. He wasn’t sure he would have been able to be so forthright if their roles had been reversed. “How long?” he asked simply.
“Longer than you would care to know.” Her shoulders lifted. “I knew it was wrong. You were bonded to your wife. I knew I was not sayara with you. I did my best to put the attraction aside, to try to meet someone suitable. But no one was sayara for me, either. I thought I was doomed to be one of those who live their lives alone, unpartnered. And then after Elzhair….” Leizha let the words trail off, even as Zhandar felt his throat constrict, the loss seeming as fresh now as it had been a year ago. His assistant took a breath, then went on, “Once you were alone, I thought…I hoped…perhaps there would be some way for us to be together, even if we did not share the sayara bond. It is not entirely unprecedented, although rare.”
“And yet you said nothing to me.”
“How could I?” she said simply, but he could feel the embarrassment and the tension flaring out from her. “There seemed to be no end to your grief, and I would not intrude on that. But when the call went out from the Ministry….”
“Yes, about that. How precisely did that work?”
Again she shrugged. “There was a message on my handheld. I suppose they must have been tracking those of us who were of a certain age but who had not yet bonded with a partner. But all that message said was to arrange an appointment with my local branch of the Ministry. It wasn’t until I went and spoke with one of its agents in person that I was told what their true mission was.”
“And it didn’t shock you?” If it had, Leizha seemed to be recovered now. Despite those frazzled emotions leaking past her barriers, her voice was still measured, calm.
“At first. After all, how could anyone manufacture the sayara bond? It is one of the things we hold most sacred. But after I spoke with Jalzhin, I understood better how it all might work.”
Jalzhin again. Zhandar supposed it wasn’t that strange that he should be the one to speak with Leizha. There was a finite number of agents working at the Ministry’s offices here in Torzhaan, so the odds dictated there was a good chance he would also be assigned to Leizha. Even so, Zhandar had the distinct impression that more than the hand of fate was at work here.
“And then once you received your own list of possible candidates….”
This time she did look away from him, her hood swiveling
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