Little Lightning

Chapter 22

Lyrical stood, arms folded, in the cockpit. She wasn't the only one. Kace, Kalypso, Azalea, Kirtash, Lucas, Zyan, and Zaylee were also with her. The man who Zaylee had called her father stood in front of them, posture relaxed.

"What are you doing here, Dad?" Zyan all but spat. The man turned his cool gaze to Zyan, who stood to the right of Lyrical.

"My dear son, is that the way you talk to your father?" Zyan flinched slightly, but didn't back down. "Especially one who came all this way to visit you?" Lyrical leaned to Kalypso, who stood next to her on her right.

"Do you know this guy?" she whispered in Kalypso's ear.

"Not very well. He would come check our progress every once and a while, but every time I asked either Zyan or Zaylee about it they wouldn't tell me anything." Kalypso whispered back.

"I apologize, I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting you yet." Lyrical looked up to see Zyan's dad looking right at her. "My name is Ronas Sagitta, but you can call me Mr. Sagitta. It's nice to meet you." He stuck out a hand. Lyrical was about to take it, but something inside her made her forcibly pull it back. He only smiled. "I understand your discomfort. After all you've been through, it's to be expected." Lyrical sucked in a breath. She had a sense he wasn't just talking about what Yia had done to her.

Memories flashed in her mind. The dark house, the yelling... Almost subconsciously, Lyrical grabbed her shoulder as a ghost of pain flickered across it. She caught Kirtash's worried glance and knew that there would most likely be some sort of worried interrogation later.

"I have come to see how my two children are doing, and to deliver a message."

"A message?"

"You have been summoned before the Tribune in four days time." Kalypso and Lyrical exchanged a worried glance as Zyan and Zaylee seemed to stiffen.

"The Tribune?"

"Yes. So I suggest you take no more than a day to gather the resources you need to make the trip, as the trip there takes almost three days."

"Very well." Zaylee spoke stiffly, eyes cast at his feet. She bowed slightly. "Would you like Kalypso show you around the ship?"

"No need." The man dismissed, waving a hand. "All of the lower-ranking vessels look the same, and I saw all I needed to see." Did he mean the fight between Lyrical and Zaylee? "I only came to deliver the message. I will be heading back now." He turned to leave, then stopped in the doorway. "Oh, and Zyan, Zaylee?" They both looked up. "Don't be late. We don't want what happened last time to happen again." Last time? Lyrical wondered silently. What happened last time? They nodded almost bitterly. The door shut behind Ronas with a loud snap, leaving the room completely silent. After a few moments Zyan threw up his hands, letting out a frustrated stream of mutters. He paced back and forth, everyone's eyes following him. He turned to Zaylee.

"Are we really going to go?" He asked her. She stayed quiet, arms crossed. "I mean, you know what happened last time."

"What happened last time?" Lyrical finally asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"Yeah, that's what I'm wondering." Kalypso chimed in. "You never told us." Kace nodded from beside her. Zaylee sighed, suddenly looking a decade older. She sank into the pilots chair.

"They took away our true forms."

"The Tribune?" Lyrical asked at the same time that Kalypso said "Your true forms?" Zaylee smiled sadly and nodded to both of them.

"This isn't your true form?" Azalea asked, eyes wide, Lucas now standing next to her, arms wrapped around her leg. Lyrical smiled slightly at how cute he was. Zaylee shook her head.