Ar’lissa’s jaw dropped, and her aim wavered as she saw hints of her younger sister’s face in the woman standing before her but it also looked somehow twisted, malevolent. “Va’lana? They told me you died in a hyperspace mishap!”
Va’lana’s expression turned to one of disdain as she slowly closed the distance, her measured steps echoing in the chamber. “Is that what they told everyone? Of course it was. They couldn’t reveal the seeker program was sending a precious resource into lesser space on an unsanctioned mission in the hopes they would find a way to stop them from losing Third Sight. The Syndicure would have lost their little self-serving minds.”
Ar’lissa started shifting her position, feeling slightly uneasy and still in shock as she lowered her rifle, “I can hardly believe it."
“Believe it. I still have my Third Sight as well as gaining other abilities from my time in Lesser Space.”
Ar’lissa tilted her head slightly in question, “Why didn’t you return? I mourned your death.”
Va’lana scowled, “They use us as a tool, and discard us once our powers go dormant. Why would I return to that? I would have become a slave to the military for the rest of my life or worse, be poked, prodded, and studied by the seeker program at some secret Shadehouse.”
Ar’lissa took a hesitant breath as she backed up, her thoughts whirling as lost and forgotten memories stirring to surface. “That’s not true. We are…”
“Nothing more than pieces of prestige for them!” The Va’lana angrily interrupted sending a shiver down Ar’lissa’s spine. “You know it to be true. Plus, the Seeker Program would have never allowed us to stay together.”
Ar’lissa tried to take a couple of calming breaths as she continued to back up nodding. “I agree some Patriarchs and members of the houses see it that way. But what is this madness you’re talking about? Shadehouse? Not letting us stay together?”
Va’lana smiled darkly at her. The expression sending another shiver down Ar’lissa’s spine, “They would have been afraid we would figure out their dirty little secrets and how they treat us. Oh, the things I learned from my ‘discussions’ with the Seekers who took me on my little ‘trip’. But we can change all of that, with the power I now have I can take control of the Syndicure and we can change things for the better.”
