Elena didn't have to be told twice as she hurried toward the stairs that would take her to the exit, passing the bank of cryopods in the process.
She slowed.
"Elena, you need to get moving," Uncle Jin warned.
"In a minute. This might be the only chance I have to meet them."
These individuals who'd inspired her egg donor to go to such lengths to protect them. Her siblings.
Elena didn't know what she was expecting to find as she stopped in front of them. Maybe a sense of connection. Some spark that would help explain why Elise couldn’t abandon them.
There were five in total. One full grown. Another close to it. The rest were Elena's age or a little younger. Not all of them looked Tuann or human.
The oldest looked most like Elise, scales running along the edge of her forehead and the side of her neck. Sharp claws tipped her fingers and there was a rather lethal looking tail floating in the tank with her.
Three of the children were curled into a fetal position. As if hoping to protect themselves from what awaited them outside the tanks.
"Some of them are older than me.”
"Are you sure?" Uncle Jin asked.
Elena nodded even though she knew he couldn't see. "How is this possible?"
The egg donor had only been missing for twelve years. According to Auntie, any children born of the forty three would grow as slowly as a Tuann. It should take them decades to fully mature.
Take Joule for example. He was older than Elena by nearly forty years, but physically looked her age.
From appearances though, it looked like two of her siblings broke that mold.
The bug set in Elena's ear canal started moving. "Excuse me, Elena. I need to see this for myself."
Elena held still as the bug crawled out of her ear and onto her cheek.
"No, no, this shouldn't be possible," Uncle Jin said as the bug moved back and forth restlessly.
"Evidence suggests otherwise, Uncle Jin."
Elena looked around, catching sight of a tank whose shape was different than the rest. A sphere. The top half transparent, the bottom covered in thick cylinders that looked like roots.
Elena moved closer to it. "What's that?"
Inside was a boy. A little younger than the rest. His skin a light brown. His hair floated around his head. Wires cradled him, attaching to his arms and back as he slept.
Elena set a hand on the tank. "Do you think he's one of them?"
"No."
Elena blinked at the abrupt reply.
"Leave now. He doesn't concern you."
Elena's mouth moved, the words getting stuck in her throat There was rage in her uncle’s voice. A suppressed anger that felt all the more dangerous for it.
Whoever—whatever—this boy was, his presence had greatly disturbed her uncle.
"He's not your mother's," Uncle Jin said, sensing her reluctance.
"Who is he then?"
"Someone thought long gone."
Knowing her uncle was unlikely to expand any further, and deciding her time here had run its course, Elena shot the boy one last reluctant look before turning to leave.
She froze an instant later. "Kai."
The Sye stood between her and the stairs. An enigmatic smile on their face.
Elena looked around the room in search of an escape. "What are you doing here?"
The Sye's eyes glittered as they looked Elena over before tilting their head, the movement predatory. "I could ask you the same."
With her exit cut off, Elena backed toward the walkway that had led her into the rotunda. "I got lost and somehow wound up here."
Kai tracked Elena. Only the Sye's eyes shifted to follow her in an uber creepy move that left her on edge.
"Were you not listening when you were told to remain in the main cavern?"
Elena's laugh sounded awkward in the room. "Must not have been."
"You must also not have heard of the labyrinth's true nature."
Nope. Elena somehow missed that too.
"If you had, you would know the labyrinth has a mind of its own." Menace crouched in Kai's eyes. So at odds with the soft smile gracing the Sye's face. "For it to lead you here, it must believe the exalted one has a use for you."
Elena took that as her cue, whirling. Time to go.
"Uncle Jin, I think we're going to need to revisit my ship commandeering plan,” Elena said.
The little bug clung to her cheek. "This is why I told you to leave immediately."
Elena should have listened. She really should have. Too late now.
"Where are you going, little girl? There's nowhere to run."