12-07-2025, 10:56 PM
Eliot finished speaking, the last of his idealistic appeals drifting away on the wind, and Nikolai found himself only half-listening. Words, so many words. He never thought he would yearn for Nox's tongue in comparison. Stacked, tangled, reaching for meaning like vines searching for purchase. The man spoke earnestly, yes. Boldly, even. But he failed to grasp the scale of the world he was proposing to reshape.
Helena, in contrast, required no such explanations. Her restraint was clean, sharp, and controlled. Her eyes held something approaching understanding. Not admiration nor fear, but something Nikolai could not quite place, but before he could weigh either of them properly, before he could dismantle their ambitions with the simple arithmetic of reality, there was another matter far more corrosive gnawing at the foundation of his control.
His gaze slid past Eliot and Helena, and settled on Nox.
“How,” Nikolai said flatly, “does he know so much about a secret government facility, Nox?”
He didn’t bother glancing at the Dominions. The idea that one of them might have spoken was inconceivable. They understood its secrecy and cohesion. Nox had always been different. So emotional. So impulsive. He would not put anything past Nox, but the fact that Nox might have shared such a secret with the Atharim, without so much as a simple request beforehand, was disturbing.
“You all presume,” Nikolai continued, now addressing the group now but keeping his eyes on his experienced assassin, “that I have not considered what to do with criminal channelers. As though the world begins only where the Atharim’s shadows end.” And all three of them forgot something incredibly important: Nikolai hated the Atharim.
“But before we discuss salvation, rehabilitation or grand visions of reconstructed systems…” His eyes targeted onto Nox’s, unblinking. “I want to know, Nox, exactly how many of my secrets you’ve told the Atharim.” He needed to know where the line between betrayal and stupid, reckless ignorance lay with him.
Helena, in contrast, required no such explanations. Her restraint was clean, sharp, and controlled. Her eyes held something approaching understanding. Not admiration nor fear, but something Nikolai could not quite place, but before he could weigh either of them properly, before he could dismantle their ambitions with the simple arithmetic of reality, there was another matter far more corrosive gnawing at the foundation of his control.
His gaze slid past Eliot and Helena, and settled on Nox.
“How,” Nikolai said flatly, “does he know so much about a secret government facility, Nox?”
He didn’t bother glancing at the Dominions. The idea that one of them might have spoken was inconceivable. They understood its secrecy and cohesion. Nox had always been different. So emotional. So impulsive. He would not put anything past Nox, but the fact that Nox might have shared such a secret with the Atharim, without so much as a simple request beforehand, was disturbing.
“You all presume,” Nikolai continued, now addressing the group now but keeping his eyes on his experienced assassin, “that I have not considered what to do with criminal channelers. As though the world begins only where the Atharim’s shadows end.” And all three of them forgot something incredibly important: Nikolai hated the Atharim.
“But before we discuss salvation, rehabilitation or grand visions of reconstructed systems…” His eyes targeted onto Nox’s, unblinking. “I want to know, Nox, exactly how many of my secrets you’ve told the Atharim.” He needed to know where the line between betrayal and stupid, reckless ignorance lay with him.