Besieged
Lesley moved away from the living room window and lifted her mug from an end table. Sleeping on yesterday’s events hadn’t helped at all, especially since she’d tossed and turned all night. What had Mo said? It’s not like we’ll go to the notification meeting this afternoon and then it’s over. No, they were stuck with her—forever. Unless they decided to execute her.
She sipped her tziva and grimaced. Cold. She’d spent too much time gazing out the window, wondering if her life would ever make sense again.
Mo padded into the room, yawning into her hand. “It’s almost 10:00. Why didn’t you wake me?”
Lesley shrugged. “I figured you needed your sleep.”
“How long have you been up?”
“About an hour and a half. What time did you finally drop off?”
“I don’t know. Around 03:30, maybe? But then I woke up at 05:45, and 06:30, and 07:40.”
Lesley could relate; she’d managed about three hours of broken sleep. “Did you have the same nightmare I had, about ending up in a triad with an Adams, or did that actually happen?” Not expecting an answer, she raised her mug. “Do you want some?”
“No, I think I’ll get dressed and head home, see how Papa’s feeling.” Mo paused. “I’m not answering beeps today. I won’t know what to say.”
Yes, what would they say when their friends beeped to congratulate them? Everyone would assume that she and Mo were giddy with happiness and entering a new phase of their lives as Chosens. They were entering a new phase, all right, but not one to celebrate. At least their friends would be sympathetic and supportive. They’d know that she and Mo weren’t weak in the Way, that they’d ended up in a horrible situation through no fault of their own. What would happen tomorrow, when the Chosen Council announced the weekly notifications and their military peers found out? What would Rymellans who didn’t know them think?
Lesley slipped her arm around Mo and kissed the top of her head. “We’ll get through this,” she murmured, more to reassure herself than Mo.
Mo looked up at her. “How? And when will we be through it, exactly? I’m not seeing an end, here. Not one we can live with, anyway.”
“Depending on how things go, that could change.”
“Maybe,” Mo said, frowning. “But we can’t let anyone rush us into a decision. I know she’s an Adams, and if I could, I’d make her disappear, but that doesn’t mean I want us to present a sham case.”
“I don’t want that, either.” Lesley steered Mo toward the hallway, wanting to get to the kitchen so she could dump the cold tziva and prepare a fresh jug. She could at least have hot tziva; she hadn’t completely lost control of her life.
“Where are your parents?” Mo asked at the bottom of the stairs.
“Mama’s in the study, working out the details of tonight’s supper with the caterers.” Mo snorted, making Lesley smile. Even though Mama had just received the shock of her life and considered Jayne and her family to be beneath the Thompsons, she’d arrange a supper that would impress the Preeminent Ruler. “Papa had a case this morning. I doubt he would have scheduled it if he’d known what was going to happen.”
“What about Jason?”
“He’s out too, assisting on a case. Mama said he’s staying with a friend tonight.”
“Good. Tonight will be difficult enough without him coming home while they’re still here.”
She silently agreed.
“Anyway, I’ll go get dressed.” Mo patted Lesley’s arm and thumped up the stairs, sounding like an elephant despite her size.
Lesley stared after her for a moment, then headed for the kitchen. Her comm unit beeped; her fingers tightened around the mug’s handle when she read the name: Laura. She reluctantly pulled the unit from its holder and pressed the connect button.
“Good morning,” Laura said cheerfully. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“No, I’ve been up for a while,” Lesley said as she entered the kitchen, “though I did get up a little later than usual.”
“I figured you’d be up late celebrating, that’s why I waited until now to beep you.”
She’d been up half the night, but not celebrating.
“Anyway, congratulations again. I know you and Mo—”
“Laura, I—”
“—will have a wonderful life together. I’m beeping to invite the two of you to supper. You’ll be flooded with invitations, so I thought I’d ask before everyone else does.”
Lesley poured the cold tziva into the recycling chute’s liquid collector, set the mug on the counter, and desperately searched for the right words to tell Laura about the triad.
“I’d like to get to know Mo better,” Laura continued, after waiting for Lesley to respond. “I only really know her through you. Now that I can treat you like a couple, I’m hoping that will change. So would you like to come for supper sometime next week?”
If not for the triad and its third member, Lesley would have immediately said yes. Mo’s face tightened every time Laura’s name came up in conversation. Lesley wanted her to get to know Laura, in the hope that Mo would eventually stop blaming her for their separation. They were to blame; they’d forced Laura to abruptly split them up.
“Lesley?” Laura prompted, puzzled by Lesley’s silence.
“Um . . .” Laura knew about triads, but Lesley had no idea how she viewed them. Did she think they were unnatural and against the Way? “Laura, what do you think about triads?”
“What?”
“Triads. Three Chosens Joining. What do you think about them?”
Silence. Then, “Why are you suddenly asking me about triads?”
Laura’s voice was quiet, but hard. It set Lesley’s heart pounding. She already regretted asking the question. If Laura ranted about how awful triads were, telling her would be even more awkward and embarrassing.
“What have you heard?” Laura barked.
“Nothing,” Lesley said, confused by Laura’s reaction. “Just forget the question.” She hesitated, then forged ahead. “I have to tell you something. My notification meeting didn’t go as I’d expected.”
“What do you mean? Don’t tell me Mo isn’t your Chosen.”
“No, she is. But . . . I have another Chosen. I’m in a triad. We’re in a triad.”
“What?”
“Mo and I, we’re in a triad.” Silence. “We’re really shocked,” Lesley said, compelled to fill the void. “The Chosen Council gave us a historical treatise to read. Triads have been volatile and Rymellans have treated them with suspicion, so we don’t understand it. We’re strong in the Way. I just hope everyone remembers that.” Including Laura. “We’re just—honestly, it doesn’t feel real.” Still no response. “Laura?”
“Will you be home later?”