70. Aru

As four o"clock neared, Aru got more and more nervous despite the operation going well. The queen had promised him an answer today, and he was afraid of what that answer would be. He"d been praying all day to the Fates that it wouldn"t be an order to kill the twins.

"What"s wrong?" Dagor asked. "You"ve been uncharacteristically quiet all day."

"Really?" Aru forced a smile. "I didn"t know I was all that chatty on other days."

"You know what I mean. You"ve been frowning, and I even heard you cuss a few times, which is even more unlike you than being all up in your head and not talking."

"I"m just worried about the operation," Aru said, trying to inject a note of casualness into his tone. "Kalugal is an inexperienced pilot, we have a Chinese military base that is probably in uproar because their radar is not working, and we are running against the clock to get what we can out of the pod."

It was all true, but he wasn"t really worried about that. The extraction had proceeded smoothly, with Aru and Dagor working in tandem to load the stasis chambers one at a time, securing each one with sturdy ropes before signaling for Negal to haul them up to the surface.

Above them, Negal was assisted by Yamanu and Edgar when the chambers were being sent up, and between the rounds, he was piling the equipment they were salvaging.

Kalugal had opted out of the manual labor, claiming that he had a business to run while he wasn"t piloting the chopper. He was always on his phone, but even if he was pretending, Aru had to admit that his contributions had been so invaluable in other ways that it was okay if he didn"t lend a hand. His connections and resources, greasing the wheels of bureaucracy and keeping the Chinese authorities at bay, were priceless.

"I"m also tired of sitting in this dark pit," Aru grumbled.

"Why don"t you go up top for a bit?" Dagor suggested, jerking his chin towards the mouth of the cavern. "Grab some sunshine, take a breather. I can handle things down here until the choppers get back."

"Thanks. I need it."

Aru needed to talk to the queen, and he needed a private spot to do that. Maybe he could lie down next to Norbu on the grass and pretend that he was taking a nap.

When he emerged, the crisp mountain air filled his lungs with a rush of invigorating cold. For a moment, he stood with his eyes closed and his face tilted towards the sky, letting the warmth of the light and the whisper of the wind wash over him. Then he found a patch of grass, sat down, and opened a channel to his sister.

Can you talk?he asked.

There was a long silence, a stillness that seemed to stretch on for an eternity. And then, like a cool breath of wind on a scorching day, he felt her presence, the gentle touch of her mind against his own. One more moment.

Aru waited, sweating from the stress and dreading the verdict but also wanting to be done with the uncertainty. Whatever the queen"s decision, he had no choice but to accept it.

The queen wants you to delay your report, Aria said. When the Kra-ell build the funeral pyres for their dead, you and Annani"s people are to stage a similar ceremony for the twins and record it, just as you will record the rites for the fallen. She leaves the trickery up to you and her granddaughter"s people and asks that you make it convincing. Naturally, that means not reviving the twins until after the recording of their funeral.

The relief was profound, but with it came the worry of how to pull it off. Any artificial manipulation would be immediately discovered. It had to be staged. The other problem was that he hadn"t informed anyone other than the queen that he had found the missing Kra-ell. Would his commander believe that he and his team had decided to perform the Kra-ell funeral rites?

The queen trusts in your judgment and ability to craft a convincing illusion with whatever technologies you have at your disposal.

I understand, Aru said. I have no idea how we will pull it off, especially since we are still supposed to be looking for the Kra-ell from Igor"s compound, but I hope the clan people will help us create a convincing illusion.

A long moment passed as Aria transmitted his message. The queen asks that you inform her if you have difficulty executing her directive.

Of course. Aru swallowed the lump that formed in his throat.

If he failed to find a solution, the queen might command him to kill the twins after all.