Maeyune hated the pattern of waking, then losing consciousness, only to wake again. She thought sleep would have alleviated her nausea, but her headache told her: it hadn't.
As she stirred, she heard herself utter a groan. It was quiet in the room, and she still felt the frigid cold of the shackles that held her prisoner inside the alien machine. Nothing had changed.
So when she expected to be alone, she was surprised to feel something tugging at her hair. She cracked open her eyes, and she met a gaze that was as blue as the cloudless sky.
Jaysek was rubbing a lock of her hair in between his fingers, studying it like he would study the texture of a fine silk. He had unbound her hair from its usual high ponytail. Alarmed, she jerked her head back and pulled her hair from his fingers.
"Don't touch me," she snapped. The wind celestial merely dropped his hand, unperturbed.
"Where is Aerylis?" she demanded. Her eyes were so fierce she would have liked burning a hole into his head.
"I'm sorry, Maeyune," was all he said.
A quiet laugh started in the pit of her stomach and hummed its way to her lips. "Release me," she murmured, "and I will accept your apology in the form of your death."
Jaysek gave a disappointed twist of his lips, and for a long second, she could not believe she had been fooled by such a handsome face.
"Why?" she asked, trying not to sound beseeching. "How could you do this?"
"I did it for the human race," he answered. He scanned her face, pausing for a long moment on her lips. "I did it because without the Wobeck, we would never achieve our fullest potential."
Maeyune took in a slow, tired breath. "I suppose Ristoff has influenced you with his Iron Prophet teachings?"
She held his eyes, her insides boiling with enmity. She reached out to his mind, but before the machine's runes could hinder her power, she found nothing that hinted at treachery.
Confused, she asked, "How can I not see your deceit?"
Jaysek shook his head. "You can't. Telepath or not, Maeyune, you never would have been able to see the truth."
"No one can hide their thoughts from me," she said, the words sounding circumspect.
"Reo can, by default," Jaysek corrected. "Did you forget Ristoff, too?"
With that, Maeyune fell quiet. He was right. Ristoff had once managed to speak to her in her dream when she had been unconscious.
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
Jaysek tried to grab her hair again, but she moved her head aside. He clucked his tongue. "Who do you think taught me how to hide my secrets from the beautiful Moon God incarnate?"
He placed a fingertip in the center of her chest and trailed it down the length of her stomach. As much as the touch disgusted her, she refused to give him the pleasure of wincing in discomfort. She could only glare, and she felt meager satisfaction when she watched him frown.
"A few days after the Beran Council found Reo in Aburat, Ristoff sought me out," he said, removing his hand from her body. "He knew what I had suffered at Reo's hand. The death of my sister still haunted me, and I was in no hurry to forgive him just yet. So Ristoff offered me a chance to make things right, to change things for the better. Reo is too powerful, but what if we could all be like him? Like you?"
"Then how? How were you and the Head Councilor able to wield the power of telepathy?"
"Simple," he replied. "You know who else possesses the ability to wield minds? The Overlords."
He turned and took a few steps closer to the machine. He traced a finger across one of the rune-marked stones, tilting his head to the side as he gave it his silent observation.
In spite of his presence, Maeyune shifted her weight to test the shackles and see if by some luck they had loosened during their conversation.
She had no luck.
Without looking at her, Jaysek went on, "Right after the first war ended, Ristoff came across an interesting find. You see, the gods never actually killed the first Overlord. Ristoff found him buried underneath the remains of his ship, struggling to stay alive."
Maeyune ceased her struggling and stared at the back of his head, her brow furrowing into doubt.
"All I know is," Jaysek said, "the Overlord promised Ristoff knowledge and power."
She sighed. "Of course he did." Relenting, she relaxed her muscles, and her body once again accepted its imprisonment. "So? What did that Overlord show him that inspired you to betray us and murder Aerylis?"
He glanced over his shoulder at her, his expression apathetic.
"The blood of an Overlord," he said. It sounded almost like a declaration. "Drink his blood, and you can harness the power of telepathy."
It took Maeyune a moment to digest his words. "The Overlord told you to drink his blood?" she recapitulated, tone flat.
"I would imagine drinking yours would do the same," Jaysek said, turning away from the machine to face her entirely. His face wore a mask of indifference. "The first Overlord promised that the Wobeck would return, and in their second arrival, they would offer us even more if we helped them. So Ristoff drained him dry, drank every drop like wine at dinner. I had a few sips here and there. I wasn't as inclined to control minds the way Ristoff wanted to, but it was enough to prevent you from seeing my thoughts."
His words filled her with abhorrence. "You're insane," she snarled.
"Not really," he replied, matter-of-fact. "Ristoff, on the other hand, well...The Overlord's blood drove him mad with lust for power, and even though I tried to tone down his madness, he lost his mind. The day the Wobeck returned to Vaius, Ristoff tried killing you by using Reo, by using Tin. Didn't work, though. It made things worse, in fact, when you helped Reo unlock his ability to heal."
Jaysek's lips twitched in annoyance.
"Then what was all of this for?" Maeyune questioned in exasperation. "What have you achieved in betraying your own kind?"
"But I haven't betrayed mankind," he said, raising a finger to make a point. "This is all for a better future. I did it so that humans didn't have to depend on someone else. Did you know that the Wobeck were once able to wield the elements? They were once able to control magic?"
Maeyune glowered at him, her intense eyes unwavering. He began pacing back and forth in front of her, his strides placid and lazy. His long dagger materialized into his hand, and with one fingertip, he caressed the side of its blade as he spoke.
"The Wobeck used to be able to control all four elements at the same time," he explained. "Can you imagine how incredible that must have been? To be able to build fires, construct homes, ease windstorms, and even heal? And here we are--humans stuck with only the ability to conjure one element and its specific magic. If I knew how to heal, I would have been able to save my sister."
He stopped pacing, glancing back at her. "The Wobeck were once powerful, like you and Reo. They were once gods themselves, before some civil war took it all away. But with our help, they can be gods again. And they will show us how to be gods, too."
Maeyune chuckled, her mind repudiating what she was hearing. "And you actually believe them?"
Jaysek frowned at her. "Yes. They're not savages."
"You think the Wobeck will teach you how to be like them? To accept coexistence?" she asked. "They are here to destroy our planet. Our home! I believe that would result in our extinction."
"First of all, yes, they are here for Vaius," Jaysek said, offering a sideways nod of his head. "But I wouldn't say destroy. They want to convert it into some kind of consumable energy."
He moved to stand before her again and brought his face closer to hers so that he was only inches away. This time, she recoiled.
"Second," he whispered, "they agreed to let a number of us live among them, as long as we remained loyal servants to their grand cause--And I want you there with me. They will take your powers, of course, but they will let you live."
"Never."
Jaysek exhaled in frustration. He stepped away to pace in front of her again. "Let me ask you something...I never could understand it. You and Reo are gods, with all the power in the world. And yet, you choose to follow the orders of powerless men. Why?"
"Is it not obvious?" Maeyune said, wrinkling her nose. "To protect innocent lives from traitors like you."
"But wouldn't you protect them better if you ruled over them? As a celestial queen?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "You speak of ruling as a means to control them."
"Yes," Jaysek said. "And by controlling them, you can administer justice with your own hands. You can have everyone follow the rules that you set in place."
"And what happens when they break those rules?" she asked. "Do you suggest we use our powers to punish them? To inspire fear? Living in fear is not living."
She paused for a moment, lowering her voice that it nearly became a growl. "My friends taught me that.
"And you," she added, baring her teeth. "You are destroying what my friends and I believed in, what they died protecting."
Jaysek cocked his head to the side and watched her curiously. But he did not respond.
"There are far better men and women who have proven themselves worthy of leading mankind to peace," Maeyune said. "I do what I can to aid in the succession of that peace."
"You and Reo are just pawns," Jaysek interjected. "What happens when you are too busy caring for those underneath you that you turn a blind eye to those above you? You never expected Ristoff to be in league with the Iron Prophet, did you?"
He leaned his back against the machine, still playing with his dagger. He appeared composed, as if he were merely holding an entertaining debate with a friend.
"As much good as you think you do, Maeyune," he said, "there will always be someone there who will disagree with you. What happens when you and Reo don't approve? You exercise your powers as gods."
Maeyune's brow furrowed. She churned his words over in her mind, and then without realizing it, she reflected on their entire conversation. It finally occurred to her how long they had been talking. "You've put quite a lot of thought into this," she murmured.
He shrugged a shoulder. "I just don't think it's fair. How do you think everyone feels when they watch you and Reo dance around with the power of the Moon God and Sun Goddess? Afraid, worried--"
"Envious?" she retorted, eyebrow twitching up.
Ignoring her, he continued, "Did you ever wonder what would happen when no one could trust you anymore? Reo with his fire, and you with your shadows. Yes, you're both human, so mistakes are bound to happen. But you are also gods, so you can't make mistakes.
"Even though the sun is a magnificent power," he continued, "everyone fears you more. Sure, Reo can burn an entire city to the ground when someone makes him mad. But fire is a sad, catastrophic event that brings people together. You, on the other hand--you can tear them apart. You can turn friends and family against each other with only a single thought. Secrets and mind games are much more destructive than fire."
Maeyune made no reply, but she could not stop herself from considering what he had said.
"I can't imagine how many people feared you while you were growing up," he uttered, his voice carrying a note of sympathy. "It must have been lonely."
"I managed," she grumbled through clenched teeth.
Jaysek offered her a smile. In a different time, it might have made her insides flutter. Now, it made her skin crawl.
"You have too much respect, Maeyune," he said, peering at her with pity. "Mankind doesn't deserve you. Once the Wobeck have what they want, they will send a select number of us to live among them, to share the ability of wielding all four elements and their magic. And you will be there with me, beside me."
"You are delusional."
A grin spread across his face from ear to ear. "And you are both beautiful and frightening when you're mad," he remarked. For a moment longer, he bit the inside of his cheek--appearing excited--and his eyes roved down her body.
"Now I know why Reo's always on edge around you," he went on, and his gaze flew back up to meet hers.
She did not have a chance to ponder his words. Right after he spoke them, the ship shook, and she heard an explosion somewhere off in the distance. An alarm rang--the sound of a dozen horns blaring all at once.
Jaysek's eyes dashed across the ceiling, but his grin never disappeared. "Speak of the devil. Looks like the cavalry has arrived."