Allegiance of Honor (Psy-Changeling #15) - Nalini Singh Page 0,101
every moment of every day. “He never gave up and he never believed anything impossible. His courage was endless.”
Once, Vasic wouldn’t have comprehended the depth of his grandfather’s searing grief, or understood his infinite valor. Before Ivy. Before he knew what it was to be entwined heart and soul with another.
He reached for her with his mind, found her waiting even as her hand squeezed his tight, giving him the strength to continue. “But more than a great statesman,” he said, “Zie Zen was a great man. I am honored to bear his name. I hope I will do you proud, Grandfather.” It was too short an epitaph but it came from his soul.
A powerful silence fell, a hundred heads bowed in respect.
• • •
VASIC scattered his grandfather’s ashes the next dawn, Ivy by his side. “Good-bye, Grandfather,” he whispered. “I hope you find your Sunny.”
As Zie Zen’s ashes flew on the wind, so did the time of those who had been born in freedom, caged in Silence, only to see it fall. Now . . . now it was the time of those who had been born in Silence, fought for freedom.
It’s time for the mantle to pass. Zie Zen’s voice from a night when they’d walked the orchard together. The old must give way to the new.
Wisdom is never old.
Yes, but the young cherish what they’ve built. So build, Vasic. This is your time, Son. Gather your trusted allies, your gentle, fierce empath, and build your future.
“We will build,” Vasic promised. “Today and tomorrow and every day to come.”
Chapter 29
THE ARCHITECT OF the Consortium stared out a window, giving Zie Zen a silent moment of respect. Over the years, the man had been a thorn in the Architect’s side in countless ways, but he’d been an intelligent, brilliant thorn.
Had the Architect thought it possible the invitation would be accepted, Zie Zen would’ve been offered entry into the highest level of the Consortium. As it was, the Architect had sought to learn how to be a leader in the shadows by watching Zie Zen, who’d had decades more experience at being a power very few ever truly saw.
Zie Zen had fought for freedom, while the Architect fought for power, but only those without vision ignored the greatness in their midst.
“Good-bye, old enemy,” the Architect said as night fell beyond the window. “Let us see who attempts to fill your shoes.” Because the Architect needed to kill that person, as the Architect needed to kill Anthony Kyriakus. The PsyNet could have no more great statesmen respected by enemies and allies alike. Not if it was to fragment and unknowingly hand power over to the Consortium.
Changeling, Psy, and human alike believed Trinity protected them from the Consortium’s machinations, but the Consortium’s attempts to sow discord between various groups and promote general chaos had been just the first salvo. At their next meeting, the Architect intended to suggest the group move strongly and purposefully into phase two within the next six months, once the world was even more mired in the politics of Trinity.
That phase wouldn’t be scattershot. It had already been planned with clinical precision, its intent to purge the world of those who provided a foundation on which others could stand. Anthony Kyriakus was on the list for his charismatic ability to command attention from not just Psy but from humans and changelings as well.
In the Architect’s eyes, Anthony was more dangerous to the Consortium’s goals than Kaleb Krychek, because while Kaleb engendered fear in people that could be twisted if worked carefully, Anthony Kyriakus engendered heavily more positive emotions and responses.
He had become the trusted face of the Ruling Coalition.
Also on the Architect’s phase two list was Silver Mercant. No one much talked about Silver, because she didn’t seek the spotlight, but her quietly efficient management of the worldwide Emergency Response Network, or what the media had started referring to as EmNet, had gained her the trust of parties worldwide. There was also the little known fact that Silver Mercant was the scion of the Mercant family, Ena Mercant having skipped a generation when choosing her protégée.
The Architect had only recently realized the latter fact, after a passing comment by a Mercant who thought the Architect was an ally in a certain limited sense. And why not? After all, Ena Mercant herself considered the Architect a valuable connection and had maintained an open line of communication even when the Architect’s fortunes fluctuated over their decade-long relationship.