and Ty was going to be at the tarmac when she arrived. This exercise was just to take the edge off the tension she was feeling. Lynni had changed, and Ty was hoping that the changes were just cosmetic.
Her own changes had been happening while she was trapped in her burned body. She had known what she wanted to be when she came out of that gel bed. She had had quite a lot of time to plan.
Ty opened her arms wide and twisted toward the suns, welcoming them with her entire body.
She arced back and slowly began to circle toward the courtyard where an entire graduating class of Lrrko was waiting to meet her. The flight suits that fit her were located at the school, so that is where Brex had taken her. The agreement had been that she could use the suit as long as she agreed to meet and greet the graduating class.
The wings of the suit folded under her arms as she stood from her landing and walked across the yard with Brex behind her.
The flight-suit instructor looked a little dazed when she smiled at him. “Thank you, Instructor Maknoth. Your tips on how to move in the suit were impeccable.”
Brex put his hands on her shoulders. “Well, students, do any of you have any questions for Bride Tyanni?”
Hands shot up. Ty smiled and selected one at random. “Yes?”
“Why were your people lost? Why couldn’t you call for help?”
Ty nodded. “Ah, well, the ship apparently was destroyed upon landing, and there was no available technology on my home world to use for communications. By the time I came along, the only trace of the Lrrko in me was in my genes.”
“Why are you the only one here?”
She knew the answer. “The others are arriving soon. They had difficulty either in leaving Terra or in their transitions. Your physicians did some tinkering with our bodies, and it is a little hard to deal with.”
Another one raised his hand. “If you have been genetically altered, how can you be Lrrko?”
Ty put her hands on her hips. “How can you? Each and every one of you was grown from a previous generation. To stop degradation, they have had to engage in some major alterations.”
The boys looked at each other and obviously saw the sense in her statement.
Another one gave her a shy look. “Will your daughters be available to take on Familiars?”
“When they are decanted, yes. For now, we will have to wait until my next cycle before the clock can begin on their journey to the world.”
One of the young men put his hand up. “I have a question for Familiar Brex?”
Brex moved forward and put his hands on Ty’s shoulders. “Yes?”
“Now that you have met your Bride, would you still have gone through it all on the off chance that she would pick you?”
Brex chuckled. “The Familiar training is difficult, the sacrifices are great, but the reward of being with Bride Tyanni is worth it. In two weeks, she has gone from being an invalid to being a seventh-class fighter. If I had not gotten in early, I would have had no chance to keep up with her.”
The boys murmured in surprise at the mention of seventh level.
Ty muttered, “Is that when I can throw a knife from any angle?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, good. I thought it was the other thing that I did in your lap.”
His shoulders began to shake, and he squeezed her shoulders.
The instructor nodded. “We have begun to integrate history of the female Lrrko in preparation for the new generation.”
Ty grinned. That had been one of the non-negotiable parts of her agreement with the elders. The ancient women had to come into public awareness again. They had been impressive and frightening, but the new generation was going to be dealing with a whole lot of pushy and physically trained ladies. Knowing that it was the way things were supposed to be was going to make it easier on them.
“Well, Instructor, I hate to answer and run, but my sister is arriving today, and I need to meet her at her ship.”
One more hand went up. “Yes?”
“How can you have a sister
K. Sterling
Jacquie Rogers
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley
Shiloh Walker
Elizabeth Moynihan
Mary Balogh
Tara Fox Hall
Jonathan Maberry
Jane Hunt
James Kakalios