Psy & Changelings 01 - Slave to Sensation by authors_sort Page B

were starkly beautiful against the stillness of his expression.
    â€œWe’re considered adults when we turn twenty.” Conditioning was officially complete at eighteen, though in reality, most Psy were fully conditioned by sixteen. Two more years were given to allow any slipups to come to light.
    â€œThere’s quite a difference between being considered adult and being adult.”
    â€œYou don’t think twenty is old enough?”
    â€œOur juveniles have to prove their maturity before they’re accorded adult status.” Lucas was convinced Sascha had meant to tease Kit. Her expression betrayed nothing, but he wasn’t Psy and he didn’t disregard his feelings.
    As he’d suspected from the start, this Psy was different, very different. Different enough to be dangerous . . . unless her own people hadn’t picked up on her uniqueness. It wasn’t impossible—in some matters the Psy were quite blind, blinkered by their belief in their own superiority.
    Lucas’s gut said that Sascha was the key to everything. If he solved the mystery of her, he might come close to shattering the closed walls of the most inhuman of races.
    â€œA harsh law,” she said.
    â€œOur world is harsh.” Especially with the Psy in charge. Without changeling heart and human spirit, the world would’ve been hell.
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    Lucas called Clay into his office after Sascha had returned to Duncan headquarters. “What did you think?”
    â€œShe’s smart. Those eyes miss nothing.”
    â€œThat’s a given with cardinals.”
    To his surprise, Clay shook his head. “Some of them are so cerebral that they barely notice anything physical.”
    â€œYou’ve had contact with them.” It was a statement, not a request for information. Clay’s past was shrouded in mystery but Lucas trusted the leopard to tell him anything he needed to know.
    â€œSome,” Clay confirmed. “I’m no expert but the one thing I can tell you for sure is that something about Sascha doesn’t fit.”
    The confirmation of his own instincts added impetus to his determination to solve the mystery that was Sascha. “What did the background check turn up?”
    â€œShe’s what she seems—a cardinal Psy who hasn’t been co-opted into their power structure.” Clay rubbed at the stubble on his jaw. “That in itself ’s weird enough to make her stand out. Every other adult cardinal we’ve tracked works for the Council in some way.”
    Lucas rocked back on his heels, thinking. “Which means it’s either all a front and she’s a Council spy . . .”
    â€œ. . . or there’s something wrong with her,” Clay finished, verbalizing what Lucas didn’t want to admit. “If she’s been shoved out of the inner circle, she’s of no use to us.”
    The panther inside Lucas flexed its claws—there was nothing wrong with the female who’d caught its attention.
    â€œLet’s give it a few more days,” he said, fighting the animal. “We don’t have any other option at this point. The other Psy won’t even talk deals with us.”
    â€œWe could let the SnowDancers do what they want.”
    â€œIf they start taking out high-level Psy, any hope of ending this without massive loss of life goes out the window.” The SnowDancers wanted to torture information out of those they blamed for condoning the killings, including Nikita Duncan. “The Psy will retaliate against all of us and they won’t spare the cubs.”
    Clay nodded. They’d been through this before and the same thing had swayed them back then. DarkRiver was a powerful but young pack. They had a lot of cubs and juveniles under their protection. If the Psy struck back after a SnowDancer attack, the entire next generation could be wiped out in one bloody wave. Even Dorian’s thirst for vengeance had been