A Forest of Stars - Kevin J. Anderson [58]
Nira was startled when she saw a small silhouette appear in front of the largest window, a little girl, small enough to be Osira’h‘s age. Her heart thumped loudly in her chest, and she pressed closer against the fence. Nira concentrated, reached out with her mind, trying to snag the faintly telepathic connection that had always bound her to the worldforest. If only she could touch a worldtree…any tree! She desperately wanted to connect to her own child, blood of her blood.
Nira clenched the fence, not caring if she cut her fingers. Princess! Could that little form be her daughter? If only she could see her, send her a message, tell her the truth…
But she felt no answering tingle. Even if she managed to make a genuine connection, she doubted Osira’h would know what to do with it. Nevertheless, Nira’s spirit soared, just for having seen her. It was a start!
29
DOBRO DESIGNATE
The half-breed girl was remarkable, talented and intelligent beyond the Designate’s most optimistic expectations. This child might well provide the mental bridge between Ildirans and hydrogues, the unbreakable link that would bind the diverse races just as the soul-threads of thism bound all Ildirans.
If Osira’h succeeded in this unprecedented goal, it would make the many generations of effort worthwhile. This girl might save the Empire, their civilization, everything. She had to.
Inside the well-lit residence, the child looked at her mentor with a shining smile, willing to do anything he asked of her. Beautiful, innocent, perfect, a bright sunbeam directly from the plane of the Lightsource. Osira’h was admirable and wise beyond her years, and he guessed that he didn’t know half of her capabilities. Nor did the girl herself. He hoped it would be enough.
As the Mage-Imperator’s second son, Udru’h had always labored hard, doing necessary work unnoticed by his elder brother, Jora’h, who glided through life, paying little attention to the advantages of his station. The Dobro Designate was not jealous of Jora’h, had no aspirations of taking over his brother’s role as eventual heir to the PrismPalace. Instead, his attitude was focused and ruthlessly businesslike. He would do what was necessary…and sometimes such efforts were not pleasant.
Now he looked over at the half-breed girl, who stood at the windowpane gazing deep into the gathering darkness, oddly intent, as if she could sense something out there.
But the moment he thought her name, she turned to look at him. Osira’h had large eyes and feathery golden hair. Her cheekbones were high, her chin strong, showing a mixture of delicacy and grace along with noble breeding. The Designate could see a hint of Jora’h‘s features, given an exotic flair by the bloodline of the female green priest. The irises of Osira’h’s eyes swirled with an inner light, a glint of smoky topaz she had inherited from her father, darkened with shadowy hazel from her mother.
“You are thinking about me again,” she said, her voice small but clear. Osira’h was only five years old, but the combination of her superior breeding and intensive training and indoctrination had made her far more mature than anyone else her age. This girl never dreamed of spending afternoons at play.
“Can you sense my pride?”
The girl laughed. “It pours from you like heat from a fire.”
He stepped up beside the girl to put his strong hand on her shoulder. A year before, Osira’h had expended much effort, channeling her thoughts and her senses, just to read what the Designate was thinking. Now, though, she had begun to do it automatically, as instinctively as she drew breath. Remarkable.
None of her half siblings by the green priest woman—not even his own son, Rod’h—showed quite as much talent, though Udru’h still hoped for another breakthrough by interbreeding Nira Khali with various powerful kiths. The other mixed-race children were raised