Page 95 of Rhuyin

“That…was the War Leader. He has directed me to include all of you in the mission briefing and has designated that we should plan to include all of you in the extraction,” he said. He turned his gaze on Rhu. “I don’t like being told how to run my missions, Katastrofis. Even by the War Leader.”

“Understood, sir,” Rhu responded.

“Even if, by including us, we significantly improve your chance of success?” Elex asked.

Something in his tone must have caught O’Fallon’s attention, because he turned his gaze on Elex, his eyes flicking from my brother to his phone in puzzlement.

“Can you take your hat off?” he asked, then added a belated “…please?”

Elex saw me watching and winked at me, grinned and slowly slipped the cap from his head.

“…you— you’re—” O’Fallon glanced at his phone, then back to Elex as if trying to figure out how he might have gotten a call from the War Leader while he was in the conference room.

“I am not your War Leader,” Elex responded. “I’m his brother. We’re twins.”

O’Fallon nodded thoughtfully, then looked at the rest of us.

“Any other surprises I should be aware of?”

I grimaced.

“Well, I’m a Tesseris Mageia. I…am also known as Lucien Alexus,formerPrince of Alexandria,” I sighed, emphasizing the former.

“Of course you are,” he sighed, leaning back in his chair. “The goddess is laughing her ass off at me right now, isn’t she? How about you? King of Nova Roma, maybe?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow at Elex.

“Well, actually—” Elex began, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes as O’Fallon’s jaw began to drop. “No, but I am Luke’s brother as well, and also a Tesseris Mageia.”

“That might actually be helpful,” O’Fallon responded thoughtfully, quiet for a moment. “Fine. Let’s get on with this,” he said finally. “The War Leader has instructed me to include you all in the mission planning.”

With a gesture the lights in the room dimmed and a holographic image of a person appeared. It was a man in their late forties or early fifties.

“This is—”

“Jozel,” Elex and I said at the same time.

“Yes. Jozel Stergiou. You know him?” O’Fallon asked in surprise.

“We met them. Him. Once,” I answered cooly. Jozel had not been especially helpful when we had been at the House of Eros.

“Jozel Stergiou was once the Chief Medical Officer of Alexandria. Approximately ten years ago, he and his spouse attempted to flee Alexandria with their daughter. They were captured and it was widely advertised that they had been executed.”

“Jozel was alive as of a few months ago,” I said. Jozel had been one of the eunuchs who had tended to Elex and I after the Calling at the House of Eros. O’Fallon nodded. The memory of those days made a small tremor run through my body.

“He and his family were instrumental in the creation of the DNA test that has been used to identify Somas at an early age. His great-grandfather created the original test. His grandfather and father developed the injection that has been used to mimic the symptoms of the Shaking Fever that has killed millions of Soma children in Alexandrian-controlled territories.”

The thought of the thousands of children who had been killed for no other reason than a few strands of DNA made my stomach roil. I noticed both Rhuyin and Elex’s fists clench at his words. Elex’s youngest sister had been a victim of the supposed-Shaking Fever, and it had been the same thing that had stolen Rhuyin’s hearing.

“Maybe you should let him rot,” my brother growled.

O’Fallon eyed him. “Maybe, but we need him. Our contact has shared that Jozel has, not only an antidote, but essentially a vaccine to the Shaking Sickness that would protect a whole new generation of Somas from being killed.”

“If we can show the world that Jozel isn’t dead, and he provides testimony about what his family’s been doing over the last hundred years, we may be able to convince Nova Roma and Greece to renege on their treaties with Alexandria.”

Luke nodded thoughtfully.

“It might work. The monarch of Nova Roma lost their twin boys last year to the Shaking Fever. If it was really because they would have been Somas, it could essentially be considered an assassination. Additionally, Greece will not take kindly to proof that their children have been murdered, either.”

“The last time I saw him, he was a eunuch in the House of Eros,” I said.