After the initial speech given forth by Vi’den, the Elders separated and dispersed amongst the team. Some wandered through the hall to the laboratories to answer questions and privately address individuals, while others remained in the hall to address questions to the group. I wanted to speak with Vi’den, knowing he was likeliest to provide me with the truth, but he was almost immediately occupied by a trio of A’li-uud healers.

It was Sevani who approached me.

“You seem displeased,” he noted by way of greeting. He came to a halt beside me, close enough that our conversation would be private but not so close that he was intruding on my personal space.

I considered lying if only to placate him, but he was staring at me suspiciously, and my temper got the better of me. “I would like to know why I am here,” I said directly.

He lifted a brow. “You are the Interplanetary Affairs Officer,” he said. “I assumed it would be obvious.”

“I am afraid you will have to enlighten me,” I retorted.

“It is your duty to handle interplanetary affairs. Seeing as this is an epidemic affecting an entire race upon our planet with whom we have allied, it seems only fitting you should be involved.”

Now it was my turn to raise a brow back at him, and I asked snidely, “Could that not be accomplished with the implementation of regular reports?”

“Oh, come now, Zuran,” he chided. “You and I both know reports do not provide the amount of intimacy required in a case like this.”

“I am not interested in bantering with you, Elder Sevani.” It pained me to include the term “Elder” as I spoke to him, not because I did not feel him a suitable enough Elder but because it was a show of respect I did not wish to give. “I have my own theories as to why I have been included amongst this team, and you are doing yourself and the Council a disservice by attempting to pretend my inclusion is for any other reason but what we both know to be the truth.”

“I am afraid you will now have to enlighten me.” He said it as if he was good-natured and enjoying our conversation, but his expression darkened, and threat flashed in his eyes.

My heart was beginning to throb with adrenaline. Whether I liked it or not, I would have to tread carefully or risk ending up in the very same place where Venan was now—though, for a different reason. “Did you not assign me to this team in hopes of limiting me in my freedoms until Venan’s trial comes to pass?” I asked.

Had this thought never occurred to him, I would have seen a flicker of surprise or perhaps even astonishment in his gaze. I saw neither. On the contrary, he pulled his cheeks back and drew himself up pretentiously with his eyes still storming as he replied dismissively, “Venan’s actions are not your consequences to bear.”

There were a number of things about that sentence that irritated me, not in the least the way he said, “Venan’s actions.” I bristled.

“I am not talking about taking responsibility in place of Venan,” I spat. “I am talking about the Council’s belief that I would prove a nuisance, if not a vigilante, should I be allowed to continue roaming freely whilst my brother is in your prison. And, while we are hovering near the topic, Venan’s actions were nothing more than an attempt to protect his Elder, which resulted in an accident.”

“It was quite an accident,” Sevani commented.

A snarl leaped from my throat, and I felt my lip curling. I had never cared much for Sevani, but I had never loathed him the way I did now. Rage was flowing through me as swiftly as my blood, and my ability to restrain both my words and my body was rapidly declining. Luckily, Vi’den chose that moment to extricate himself from the group around him and strode over to us.

“Zuran,” he greeted me with a downward tilt of his chin. I reciprocated in kind, though my lip continued to curl and I only briefly swung my gaze from Sevani to the kinder of the Elders.

“Hello, Elder Vi’den.”

“I trust all is quite well here?” he asked, looking pointedly between us.

Sevani swelled further, the chest of his robes puffing out and his shoulders rolling back. “Actually, Vi’den, it seems Zuran has concocted quite the story in his mind about why he was chosen to join this team,” he said icily.

Vi’den turned his attention to me. He did not look at me with anger or judgment or curiosity. Rather, his expression was one of open-minded understanding, a silent invitation for me to explain my thoughts without interruption or consequence. I shot Sevani a glower, bidding him to refrain from interjecting, and explained, “It occurred to me, at the suggestion of another, that I was assigned here to ensure the Council could monitor my actions while Venan is awaiting his trial. Maybe the Elders believed I would attempt to free my brother, or maybe they simply thought I would be infuriated about his arrest and wreak havoc on innocent civilians. I cannot be sure, and, as I have said, this is just a theory. It just seemed to me to be the most plausible because I have no medical education or experience.”

Unlike Sevani, Vi’den did not become indignant or flippant. He continued to look directly at me as he said, “It is not a far-fetched theory you have developed, Zuran. The Council agreed to your appointment for several reasons, the first and foremost being your position as Interplanetary Affairs Officer. It is critical you maintain a presence and have personal knowledge of the Novai status until we are able to rid them of this disease. Should it spread to the races of A’li-uud and human, you will be one of several public voices, and you must have a thorough understanding to address the Albaterran people.”

“That is reasonable, and I take no issue with it,” I told him. “But that is only one part of the Council’s decision. What were the other catalysts for my being here?”

“The Council felt Venan’s legal standing would be difficult for you,” Vi’den admitted. “And, as I am sure you will not deny, your own legal history is less than flawless, particularly in times of turmoil for your family. We felt it would be in your best interest, and ours, if you were provided a task that required great focus to relieve you from idle concern for your brother. I can assure you he is well-cared for while he is at P’otes-tat Ulti, but seedlings of doubts can often fester at the worst of times, and we did not want you to fall prey to those negativities.”

I felt a mixture of emotions at his explanation. The first was smug vindication for having guessed their intention before I could be told, despite Phoebe having been the one to make the suggestion for their reasoning in the first place. The second was anger and self-righteousness; what right did they have to preemptively decide how I would react? The third and most powerful was defiance, an emotion I was all too familiar with. In so many words, Vi’den had explained the Council’s decision was a choice intended to control me, to keep me under their collective thumb and prevent me from impeding them in any way.

I did not like to be controlled.

“Thank you, Elder Vi’den,” I said. My tone was polite, gracious, and I bowed my head for the first time. “I appreciate your candor.”

“Sevani, I believe we should speak to some of the humans before we gather everyone together again,” he said after smiling cordially to me. His aged fingers tugged on Sevani’s bell sleeve. “Come.”

As they walked away, I stared after them, focusing especially on Sevani’s tied ponytail at the base of his skull. I was not seething as I would have expected. Rather, my insides were churning, and the heat I felt was slowly simmering venom. I had flown against the Council before. More years of my life had been spent as a criminal than a supporter. Maybe it was time to revisit my past.