Allegiance of Honor (Psy-Changeling #15) - Nalini Singh Page 0,45
friend underneath a sunlit sky. Free.
A dark-eyed glance from his deadly commander before she took a deep breath, and he felt her muscles begin to unlock.
“I’m assuming you’ve had no success locking on to the Canadian Cheap Electric symbol?” he said to Vasic.
The other man shook his head. “Judd was right. There are too many identical hits on the CCE logo and I can’t zero in on Leila’s face because of the damage from the scarring.” The winter gray of his eyes held an arctic chill.
“Zaira’s point on this,” Aden told his best friend. “Get all intel to her.”
An immediate nod from Vasic. While the teleporter wasn’t aware of the details of Zaira’s childhood, he’d been with her during the last rescue, understood her hunger to free the trapped.
“Trinity,” Vasic said as sounds reached them from another part of the Valley, where it appeared a martial arts class was in session. “Holding?”
“Fragile. There’s too much divisive history in the mix.”
“A summit would be useful.” Vasic hunkered down to pet a small white dog who’d run back from his adventures across the Valley. As he did, the wedding band he wore on his right ring finger caught the light, creating a golden spark. “If not for the obvious risk.”
“Yes.” Zaira folded her arms, set her feet apart. “It would generate a sitting target for the Consortium or anyone else who might want to take out a large percentage of the major powers in the world.”
Aden considered Vasic’s words, thought about Zaira’s on-point risk assessment, felt the germ of an idea. “We turn the Consortium’s tactics back on them,” he said. “No big central summit but small ones that introduce the key people in each region to one another.”
“Limiting the spread of information about the meetings, while achieving cohesion.” Vasic nodded slowly.
“In Venice,” Zaira said, her eyes faintly narrowed in thought, “the Human Alliance and I had an understanding. It kept the peace.” She bent to pet Rabbit when the dog wandered over, tail wagging triple time. “Simply knowing that your neighbor is open to dialogue could eliminate a large number of localized problems.”
“I’ll start testing the idea,” Aden said, then glanced at Vasic. “How’s Tavish?” In keeping with the squad’s decision to place Arrow children into families with active-duty Arrows, the young telekinetic boy was now part of Ivy and Vasic’s family unit—a unit that included the dog who, at present, was lying on his back, tongue lolling in ecstasy and legs in the air while Zaira rubbed his belly.
“Settling into the orchard.” Vasic’s voice held a deep, quiet joy when he spoke of his home. “He spends a lot of time with Grandfather.”
Then, Aden thought, the child was in good hands. Zie Zen—who, in truth, was actually Vasic’s great-grandfather—had more wisdom in his bones than most people would ever gain, not even if they lived two lifetimes.
“Can you stay?” Zaira asked Aden. “We could spar.”
Aden loved pitching his wits and tactical skills against Zaira’s, but he had to shake his head today. “I have a meeting with Devraj Santos in five.”
The Forgotten had requested the squad’s assistance in dealing with the wild new psychic abilities cropping up in their children. Aden was certain the change had begun even earlier, specifically with Santos’s generation, but the leader of the Forgotten wasn’t giving away anything about his own abilities.
However, after his conversation with Ivy, Aden had another critical issue to discuss with Dev. The Forgotten’s psychic network was a vibrant, living thing in comparison to the deadly disintegration pulling the PsyNet apart at the seams. It was possible the other man had useful insights Aden could pass on to the Es. “Can you give me a lift,” he said to Vasic, “or shall I ask Nerida?”
“I’ll pick you up in three minutes.” Vasic ’ported out with Rabbit, leaving Aden and Zaira alone.
At which point the woman who was Aden’s hauled him close with a grip on his T-shirt and proceeded to kiss the life out of him. You’ve become an expert in that, he telepathed to her when his brain cells started functioning again.
We’ve been practicing enough. Inside his mind, she was black fire. In front of him, she was kiss-swollen lips and a possessive touch—and icy determination. “I’m seeing Miane later today.”
“Be careful.” Aden cupped the side of her face. So delicate were her bones, in stark contrast to the intensity of her will. “The Consortium might have gone under but they’re only hibernating, waiting for a chance—and they know how