Elise's lip curled. "Blame your contact for that. He was useless. Not even able to arrange a proper distraction. He tipped off not only the Phoenix but the Tuann as well. Because of that, I was compromised. It was either abandon the planet or face capture."
"Our masters won't be pleased to know you've once again failed in your assignment."
Elise's scoff was scathing. "They should have let me do things my way. Targeting anyone in Kira's vicinity was bound to alert her to our presence. You know the lengths she'll go to protect her own."
The general looked unmoved. "That is why we suggested you kill her."
Elena's small sound of protest attracted the general's intimidating stare.
Elena fought the urge to duck her head and hunch in on herself. Auntie always said when up against a bigger predator you couldn't show weakness. You had to bluff so they didn't decide you were prey and attack.
Elise made a restless move, somehow making it seem like an accident as she blocked his line of sight. "We had an agreement. Touch the Phoenix and this alliance is over."
Lothos made a noncommittal sound as he moved his attention back to Elise. "This reflects poorly on your record. They will punish you."
"Nothing I haven't faced before."
"Where is my nephew?" Lothos made a show of looking around the room. "I do not see him with you."
"You'll have to talk to him about that the next time you see him. I broke him out of the prison where he was being held. He is the one who decided to return to their custody."
Lothos pinned Elise with a penetrating stare. "That's difficult to believe. Aeron knows the stakes."
Elise's shrug was careless. "I created the opportunity as you requested. His subsequent decisions are his own responsibility."
"Aeron is of vital importance to our cause. My other brothers won't look kindly on his continued absence. You want them on your side."
"You're not telling me anything I don't know."
That response seemed to satisfy Lothos as his attention shifted to Elena. "Who's this?"
"She's nothing. Nobody important."
Heat flooded the back of Elena's neck as embarrassment and something worse filled her.
She’d spent years yearning for the woman in front of her. Nights and days dreaming about their first meeting.
And this was how her egg donor described her. As nothing.
Elena felt her heart breaking. Cracking into tiny little pieces as her girlhood dreams shattered around her. It was one thing to refer to Elise as her egg donor in her head. Another entirely to hear her mother dismiss her so casually. It didn't matter that Elise had already warned her not to trust anything out of her mouth from here on out. Her words rang with a note of truth that Elena had a hard time denying. Elena really was nobody to her. That was certainly more believable than her egg donor’s claim of love.
Elena kept the pain those words caused off her face. Survive. That was the only thing she needed to do. Just survive.
Lothos's gaze remained locked on Elise's face, his expression considering. "Then it won't matter if we dispose of her."
"I considered that," Elise admitted. As if it wasn't her child's fate up for debate. "But she was seen in Kira's company on more than one occasion. She has ties to the Phoenix that we might be able to exploit."
"You want me to protect her." Lothos's face left no doubt as to how much he disliked that suggestion.
"You know how Kira is. She won't abandon a child she feels responsible for. She'll come for her. You can use that opportunity for your plan."
Lothos looked like he was considering. "It would be better to give her to the masters. They can vent their anger on her instead of you."
Elena's stomach curdled. Her breathing stuttered for a brief second before she caught herself, forcing it to resume a normal cadence.
She knew how bad that would be for her. She'd overheard Aunt Kira and Uncle Jin talking one night. They were two of the strongest people Elena knew. Anything that could put that amount of pain and fear in their voices was better off avoided at all costs.
"I disagree. We need the Phoenix's cooperation. If the child is harmed, she will not bargain," Elise said. "I can take anything the masters throw at me. The child can't say the same. She's far too weak to survive their anger."
Lothos narrowed his eyes at her. "You're not trying to hide something from me, are you?"
"Of course not," Elise answered lightly. "I learned my lesson the last time."