Scattered Suns - Kevin J. Anderson [68]
If she was able.
Instead, Osira’h held herself back, though the Mage-Imperator had already seen the hungry look in her eyes. “Is that one of the worldtrees of Theroc?”
Jora’h glanced at Udru’h, then back at her, puzzled. “Yes, but how would you recognize it?”
Osira’h thought swiftly, not wanting to reveal anything of what she knew, not to anyone. “I studied many subjects on Dobro. The instructors and mentalists are very thorough—and the Designate tells me I am special because my mother was a human green priest.”
Udru’h himself seemed perplexed at the presence of the treeling. “I thought all of the Theron growths were dead, Liege.”
“This one was a recent gift from Queen Estarra of the humans.” Jora’h narrowed his eyes. “I intend to take good care of it. And keep it safe.”
Osira’h could feel her body trembling with a need to touch the treeling. She would find a way soon. The Mage-Imperator would not send her to the hydrogues for another few days, while the necessary preparations were made. Osira’h would have her chance...
Udru’h bowed formally. “Liege, I need to return to Dobro. The Designate-in-waiting and I must continue to train Osira’h’s siblings, in the eventuality of her failure.”
Standing beside his daughter, Jora’h glared at him. “Do you not have confidence in her?”
Though Osira’h was right there in front of him, her uncle’s answer was aloof and cold. “I devoted my life to preparing the girl. However, the fate of our Empire is at stake. I will not gamble on only one possibility.”
With that, the Dobro Designate, the man who had raised her and cared for her, the man who had shown so much love and hope—and also the man who had imprisoned and repeatedly raped her mother, then had her beaten to death—turned and left Osira’h without another word.
Chapter 32—RLINDA KETT
After Davlin Lotze departed for Earth in his commandeered vessel, Rlinda stayed on Relleker just long enough to help BeBob load the Blind Faith with the equipment earmarked for new Hansa colonies. Governor Pekar never seemed to run out of ways to complain about how long it was taking them, how much money she had lost on hospitality and supplies consumed by the unwanted refugees from Crenna, and how glad she would be to see them go.
With every insistent nudge, Rlinda lost even more motivation to hurry, and she would have been happy to find a nice dark hole where the governor could stuff her impatience. Once crammed aboard the overloaded Voracious Curiosity, the remaining Crenna colonists would be miserable; now that they were no longer fleeing certain death, the long trip would seem unbearably rough.
Still, it hadn’t taken the refugees long to recognize that Relleker did not want them around. After BeBob departed for the next stop on his supply run, Rlinda decided to stop playing games and get everyone aboard. They had higher hopes for a warm reception on Earth.
With little ceremony and only a few curt farewells, Governor Pekar shooed away the Curiosity. Though discouraged by the lack of human warmth on Relleker, Rlinda was not a spiteful woman (no matter what some of her ex-husbands said). She bore no ill will toward the inhabitants of the struggling colony; she just didn’t want to spend more time with them. A sense of freedom like being in zero gravity filled her as the Curiosity lifted off from the settlement—no bon voyage party here—and climbed to orbit.
“Good riddance,” she muttered, having no doubt the governor was saying the same thing from the ground.
She took her lumbering ship into orbit, beyond Relleker’s first moonlet, and then the second high moon. As she increased speed, Rlinda scanned the system around her while she projected the path to Earth. “There we go, can’t miss it.” She reached for the Ildiran stardrive, then toggled the intership comm. “Hold on, everybody. I’ll get