Facets of Revolution (The Firebird Chronicles, #4)

by T.A. White

It was amazing how a love of plants steeped in hot liquid was a universal concept that transcended boundaries of culture and species. From the seemingly infinite variations of tea and coffee you encountered while visiting human space to the Haldeel’s zier, an underwater flower that released a unique neurotoxin when exposed to hot water that made the lips, tongue, and throat tingle while stimulating the nervous system in much the same way caffeine did humans. And finally, the Tuann laug, the beverage Selene was currently enjoying.

Yukina was about as far from being the refined, gentle creature she was portraying herself as one could get. As the oldest Face of the Tuann emperor, she was someone who regularly swam in the shark-infested waters of some of the most politically dangerous arenas in both the Haldeel and Tuann empires.

There was a reason the forty-three had listed Yukina as one of the top ten Tuann to avoid under any circumstances. The other used deceit and manipulation the same way most breathed air. You could never trust what she was showing you on the surface. It made her a difficult opponent. Even for someone as experienced as Selene in the art of deception and misdirection.

Selene didn’t think there was anything Kira couldn’t do. But such methods would annoy her youngest sister. And an irritated Kira was rather dangerous.

Kira preferred to beat and batter the situation until it took the shape she wanted. She lacked patience. It was her defining weakness—and sometimes her greatest strength.

Selene was different. Patience was where she lived. Sometimes for too long. She would rather the m...

that words were a weapon every bit as dangerous as a blade. That it took a deft hand to shape and mold th...

Tuann oshota, an elite warrior class responsible for the protection of their chosen one, the person they called a sword. Known as synth armor, it was far more advanced than anything humans had created.

Despite his size, he was trying not to seem dangerous—and doing a bad job of it. Selene suspected that the reason for that was his eyes. They were the first thing you noticed about him. A gold that was striking against his light brown skin.

The revelation of secrets was a delicate thing. Too much and you risked destroying the very thing you hoped to help. Too little and nothing ever changed.

Selene needed change. They all did.

“And what happened to that boy?” Selene occupied herself with her cup and the liquid inside, done with this topic for now. “Some stones should be left unturned.”

“You’re very different from her.” “No one is like Kira. She is unique.” “You sound admiring.”

“Perhaps that is because I am. She is the best of us.”

the Tuann yearned for those they lost in an event they called the Sorrowing. It was a time when hundreds of their children were taken from them and hundreds more of their people were killed. It was a devastating blow for a people who reproduced extremely slowly. The mental bonds the Tuann made with their loved ones made it doubly so. When those ties were severed in such a traumatic fashion, it caused the slow decline of those left behind. Those Tuann who couldn’t recover perished as they faded away from sorrow.

It was a gift the Tuann would never walk away from. They didn’t realize the cost their former children had already paid for survival. The nightmares they still lived with.

The rest of the forty-three weren’t so lucky. They were broken. Monsters—better left alone.

who the forty-three had to become in order to survive—or what was done to them.

And the stolen children would never be bound again.

Gray-purple eyes that seemed like they’d seen all the pain this world had to offer

Warmth filled Selene’s chest. She’d come. Against all odds. Despite any arguments the Tuann would have thrown her way.

Kira’s face revealed a worry Selene knew she didn’t deserve. Not after all that she’d done. The wrongs she and the rest of the forty-three had turned their faces from. Determined not to see. Or feel. Or interfere with. Despite all the anger and hurt, Kira had set it aside to come to Selene’s rescue. Willing to risk everything.

It was why the forty-three loved her and Jin so much—though they made sure ...

Kira and Jin were the sun and the forty-three the planets that watched over them from afar. Only intervening when the worst possible outcome was as...

Her hands moved in an unobtrusive gesture Selene remembered from their childhood when any form of unauthorized communication would result in a beating. Roughly, the gesture meant, “Do you need assistance?” Selene ran a finger along the rim of her ear. “Do not interfere.”

“You’re welcome to try to move her,” Graydon rumbled with an amused look that said he looked forward to the attempt. It was strange. If asked, Selene would have said Graydon was far too loyal to his emperor and his position as the emperor’s Face to be here, helping Kira circumvent another Face’s will. Yet that was exactly what he was doing.

Hope was a fragile concept, and it was one of the first things their masters had beaten out of them. What was the use of wishes and dreams when your present was filled with nothing but survival at all costs? That loss made you forget that such a thing ever existed in the first place.

Kira was worried, Selene realized with a soft amazement. She shouldn’t be. She’d given Selene a gift beyond measure by convincing Alexander to come. Selene had always thought she was done with that fleeting emotion called hope. Kira had shown her she wasn’t. What a lovely discovery after all this time.

Kira shadowed him, keeping to the edges of the room. As if by doing so, she could keep her presence unobtrusive. Unlikely, but Selene appreciated the attempt.

Though tall, Alexander’s frame was leaner than either of the two men across from Selene, his well-tailored clothes hiding the dangerous man he could be. They made him seem harmless. Not giving a hint as to the true power that lay under them.

The wisest choice would be to take the exit Alexander procured and disappear. It would take time, but she could establish another home for herself and the children Kira had rescued. She would have peace in her life. Far from the threat of danger. Nothing would change. Particularly not her.

Relief replaced the tight feeling of that balloon. She’d done it. She’d taken that first and hardest step into the light.

Kira loomed over Selene in a manner Selene knew wasn’t meant to be intimidating. Her sister couldn’t help her nature. Even as a child, Kira’s stare could make others back down when she was angry. As an adult, that ability had only grown.

“You have obligations. Remember?” “I would never forget.” The children were Selene’s heart and soul. They were her salvation at a time when she’d contemplated ending the monotony of her existence.

Selene didn’t think Kira was aware of how close she’d been to the abyss when that first child was brought to her. Or maybe Kira knew, and the children were her solution. Selene had taken that first child and built a life around them and the others that followed. She would never leave them in danger.

Something inside her said Kira would have need of her soon. That her presence was necessary for the other’s survival. If that was the case, Selene planned to accompany her—whether the rest of the forty-three approved or not.

She wouldn’t allow herself to be swayed. This was her path. She would take it no matter the cost.

Alexander glared at their youngest sister. “She isn’t as reckless as some I could name.” Kira’s scowl deepened. “I’m not reckless.” A scoff came from across the table. The target of Kira’s ire shifted to Graydon.

“Not quite.” Alexander gave the emperor’s Face an unamused smile. “I’ll be accompanying Selene to your planet.” A choked sound came from Kira as she lifted her head to stare. “Is this a joke?”

Alexander lifted a hand, ki pooling his palm. Before the rest could react, he slammed his hand onto the table. A concussive wave erupted. For a split second, nothing happened. Then the table crumpled as if a giant had smashed it as flat as a thin piece of paper.

“Whoa.” Kira’s expression hinted at a jealousy Selene found amusing. If her sister wanted, Kira could do far more than flatten a table.

“What about now?” Alexander asked with a smile as polite as the one Yukina had just offered him. Yukina’s gaze lifted. “The Tuann welcomes the return of our child.”

the Tsavitee, an alien race obsessed with conquering the known galaxy.

“That’s kind of hard to do with your mountain’s lackeys making that impossible,” Jin grumbled. “Every time I moved; they were on me.” Ah. So, he had tried to eavesdrop. “Well played,” Kira told Solal, not missing the tiny tilt of his lips that said he’d enjoyed coming out the winner in their exchange. “Yeah. Yeah. They’re fucking awesome.

“Selene and Alexander have chosen to accompany the Tuann back to their home planet.”

Unlike the Tuann, she wasn’t satisfied to stand back and watch when she could act.

Himoto had been both their mentors. Losing him was a blow there was no time to recover from.

the oceans of their home world. A place whose landmass comprised one tiny island.

“As it is to see you, za na ri.” Lieven’s stance shifted in query. A silent way of asking if she had been well.

An interesting facet of the Haldeel language was that it went beyond the verbal, relying heavily on subtle, nonverbal cues of body language along with the e...