46
A silence so ferocious, even a pin drop might be lost to its heaviness, settled over the room. None moved, not even a Soldier watching with vigilance, twitched.
It was Dee who broke the silence, voice quiet, eyes focused on hands clasped in her lap. “What am I?”
Regina leaned forward. “The Ophiuchus’ war put everyone’s life on hold. No children could be born while we struggled to bring our world back to harmony. Only harmony wasn’t what it meant before. The short peace wasn’t peaceful, instead a time when we were forced to examine how much had changed. How we had changed. Sown seeds don’t always spring as we’d like.”
Regina’s hand went to Zosma’s. Dee watched it move, the two appendages coming together as if it was their natural place.
Empathy swept over Dee, wonder at what it woul
