Day 89-90 Post-Impact
Elena's conversations with the wives had been illuminating.
She'd spoken with five of them over two days, each session arranged by Sarnav but conducted without his presence. He'd kept his word about that, at least.
Nisha had been first. The nature user, the first wife, the emotional core of the network. Elena had expected jealousy or possessiveness. Instead, she found a woman who genuinely wanted to understand her.
"He sees something in you," Nisha had said. "He wouldn't have offered if he didn't. Sarnav doesn't collect people. He builds family."
"And you're okay with that? Sharing him with eight other women, potentially more?"
Nisha had smiled, something complicated in her expression. "I struggled with it at first. But the network... it changes things. You feel what they feel. Their love for him doesn't diminish mine. It amplifies it."
Ishani had been more direct. The light manipulator sat across from Elena with the coiled tension of a predator evaluating prey.
"I don't trust you," Ishani said flatly. "I may never trust you. But Sarnav does, and I trust him. So here's the deal: you get one chance. One. If you betray us, if you hurt him, I will personally ensure your death takes weeks."
"Noted."
"Good." Ishani's expression softened marginally. "For what it's worth, I was hostile when I joined too. Not an assassin, but not exactly friendly. He won me over. He has a talent for that."
Jade had been the most interesting conversation. The hacker studied Elena with calculating eyes that reminded her uncomfortably of her own reflection.
"You're analyzing escape routes," Jade observed. "Calculating threat vectors. Assessing which of us you could take in a fight."
"Old habits."
"I know. I do the same thing." Jade leaned back in her chair. "Here's something the others won't tell you: I killed someone to protect this network. A spy who got too close. I didn't hesitate, didn't feel guilty. Some of us aren't soft, Elena. Some of us understand that family means being willing to do ugly things."
"Is that supposed to make me feel welcome?"
"It's supposed to make you feel understood." Jade stood to leave. "You're not the only monster in this house. The difference is, we chose to be monsters for something worth protecting."
Now, on the morning of her third day in custody, Elena sat in her cell and processed everything she'd learned. The wives weren't brainwashed or coerced. They weren't competing for scraps of attention from a man who didn't care about them. They were partners in something genuine, bound by emotion and choice rather than force.
It was so far outside her experience that she still struggled to believe it.
The cell door opened. Not Sarnav this time, but the guard who'd been bringing her meals.
"You're being moved," he said. "Commander's orders. Less restrictive quarters, supervised movement privileges."
"Why?"
"Above my pay grade." He stepped aside to let her exit. "Follow me."
The new quarters were in the main residence building. A small room, but with a window, a proper bed, and a door that locked from the inside rather than outside. Still monitored, obviously, but the message was clear: she was being treated as a potential ally rather than a prisoner.
Elena stood at the window, looking out at the compound. People moving with purpose, training, working, living. A community that functioned because they believed in each other.
She'd never been part of anything like that.
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. She opened it to find Jade standing in the hallway, expression tense.
"We need you," Jade said without preamble.
"For what?"
"The Ascendancy sent backup. Another assassin, lower rank than you but specialized in infiltration. She got past our perimeter somehow." Jade's jaw tightened. "She's in the compound right now, and she's not here for Sarnav."
"Who's the target?"
"Me."
The situation became clear as Jade briefed her en route to the command center. The second assassin was named Vera, a B-rank shadow user who'd trained under Elena years ago. Specialization: targeted elimination of support personnel. The Ascendancy wasn't trying to kill Sarnav directly this time. They were trying to cripple his infrastructure by eliminating his intelligence asset.
"She'll go for isolated targets," Elena said, her mind shifting into operational mode. "Somewhere with shadows, minimal witnesses. Where were you scheduled to be?"
"Server room. Alone. I was running diagnostics on the communication network."
"That's where she'll be waiting."
They reached the command center, where Sarnav was coordinating with Ishani and Chen Wei. He looked up as Elena entered, surprise flickering across his face.
"She knows the assassin," Jade explained. "Trained her."
"Can you find her?" Sarnav asked Elena directly.
"Probably. Vera's good, but she's predictable. She'll stick to her training, which means I know how she thinks." Elena met his eyes. "But I need to be unsupervised. If you send guards with me, she'll hear them coming and reposition."
"You're asking me to trust you."
"I'm offering to prove you can."
The silence stretched. Elena could feel the tension in the room, the other wives' skepticism, Chen Wei's hand drifting toward his weapon. This was the moment. Either Sarnav believed in his own philosophy, or he didn't.
"Go," he said finally. "But if Jade dies, so do you."
"Understood."
Elena moved through the compound like a ghost, drawing on skills she'd honed over fifteen years of wet work. Vera would be in position by now, waiting for Jade to arrive at the server room. Standard ambush protocol: concealment, patience, single lethal strike.
But Vera didn't know Elena was here. Didn't know her mentor had switched sides. That was an advantage.
The server room was in the basement of the administrative building, accessible by a single stairwell. Elena approached from an alternate route, using maintenance corridors that Jade had shown her on the compound map. She moved in absolute silence, controlling her breathing, masking her presence with shadow manipulation of her own.
She found Vera in a ceiling alcove above the server room door. Classic positioning, perfect sightlines to the entrance. The younger woman was focused entirely on the door, waiting for her target.
Elena could have killed her. One strike from behind, shadow blade through the spine, over before Vera knew she was there. It was what her training demanded, what the Ascendancy would have expected.
Instead, she spoke.
"Vera."
The younger assassin spun, blade materializing in her hand, eyes wide with shock. "Elena? What are you..."
"The mission is compromised. Abort."
"I can't. Orders are..."
"Orders from people who sent me to die." Elena stepped closer, keeping her hands visible. "Think about it. They sent an S-rank assassin against a target with nine awakened wives and a network that detects hostile intent. They knew I'd fail. They were using me to gather intelligence at the cost of my life."
Vera's blade wavered. "That's not..."
"They're doing the same thing to you. B-rank against a fortified compound? You were never meant to succeed. You're expendable, just like I was."
"Shut up." But doubt had crept into Vera's voice.
"I'm offering you what I was offered. A choice. A real one." Elena extended her hand. "Come with me. Join something that doesn't treat people like ammunition."
For a moment, she thought Vera might accept. The younger woman's expression softened, blade lowering slightly.
Then her eyes hardened, and she lunged.
Elena was ready. She caught Vera's wrist, redirected the strike, and drove her knee into the younger assassin's solar plexus. Vera gasped and stumbled back. Elena followed, disabling her with three precise strikes that left her conscious but immobile on the floor.
"I didn't want to do that," Elena said quietly.
"Traitor." Vera spat the word. "The Ascendancy will..."
"The Ascendancy already abandoned you. Just like they abandoned me." Elena secured her former student's hands with zip ties from her own tactical vest. "Maybe you'll figure that out eventually. Maybe you won't. Either way, you're alive. That's more than they planned for you."
She reported in via the communication device Jade had given her. Within minutes, security forces arrived to take Vera into custody. And behind them came Sarnav and his wives, Jade at the front with something that might have been gratitude in her usually cold eyes.
"She's alive," Jade observed, looking at the bound assassin.
"Killing her would have been easier." Elena shrugged. "But you people seem to prefer redemption over elimination. I'm adapting."
Sarnav studied her for a long moment. Then he nodded, something shifting in his expression. Not quite trust, but the beginning of it.
"Welcome to the family," he said.
The aftermath took hours. Vera was secured in the same cell Elena had occupied, though with significantly heavier restraints. Perimeter security was reviewed and reinforced. And Elena found herself fielding questions from wives who now looked at her differently.
She'd proven herself. Not completely, not irrevocably, but enough to matter.
By evening, the compound had settled back into routine. Elena was given permanent quarters, no longer supervised, with full movement privileges. She was still an outsider, still viewed with suspicion by some. But the door was open now.
Sarnav found her on the roof at sunset, watching the last light fade from the sky.
"You could have killed her," he said without preamble.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you?"
Elena considered the question. "Because you wouldn't have. And I wanted to see what it felt like to make that choice."
"How did it feel?"
"Strange." She turned to face him. "Good, I think. I'm not sure. It's been a long time since I did something that wasn't about survival or mission completion."
"Get used to it." He moved to stand beside her at the railing. "That feeling? It's called being human. You'll remember how eventually."
They stood in comfortable silence as the stars emerged overhead.
Later that night, Sarnav found Sana in the medical wing, finishing her rounds. The day's events had left several guards with minor injuries, all of which she'd healed with her characteristic gentle efficiency.
"Sarnav-kun." She smiled when she saw him, warmth flooding her features. "Is everything okay?"
"Fine. Elena's settling in. Vera's secure." He crossed to where she stood, taking her hands in his. "I wanted to check on you."
"I'm fine. Just tired." She leaned into him, resting her head against his chest. "Today was scary. When they said there was another assassin..."
"I know." He stroked her hair. "But it's over now."
"Is it?" She looked up at him, those warm brown eyes full of concern. "Elena-san saved Jade, but she's still dangerous. They all are. The Ascendancy won't stop."
"No. They won't." He cupped her face in his hands. "But we're stronger than they are. And getting stronger every day."
Sana's cheeks flushed slightly at his touch. "Sarnav-kun..."
"When did you last take care of yourself?" he asked. "You spend so much time healing everyone else."
"I'm fine. Really."
"That's not what I asked."
Her blush deepened. Even after months together, she still got flustered when he focused his attention entirely on her. It was adorable.
"The examination room is empty," she said quietly. "We could... if you wanted..."
He kissed her instead of answering, soft at first but building steadily. She melted into him with a small sound of pleasure, her hands clutching his shirt.
They stumbled into the examination room, Sarnav locking the door behind them. Sana's back met the edge of the medical table as he pressed against her, his mouth trailing down her neck.
"We shouldn't," she breathed, even as she tilted her head to give him better access. "Someone might..."
"Then you'll have to be quiet."
Her response was a whimper that suggested quiet might be difficult.
He undressed her slowly, savoring each revealed inch of soft skin. Her medical coat fell to the floor, followed by the simple dress beneath. When he reached her bra, she caught his hands.
"Wait. I want..." She bit her lip, still shy even now. "My chest. Please."
He smiled. She was sensitive there, more than anywhere else. Some nights he could make her cum just from breast play, though she always seemed embarrassed by how responsive she was.
"Whatever you want."
He unclasped her bra and lowered his mouth to her nipple. Sana gasped, her back arching off the table.
"Sarnav-kun... motto..." More, in Japanese. The word slipped out when she was too aroused to think in English.
He obliged, sucking gently while his fingers teased her other breast. She squirmed beneath him, small desperate sounds escaping her throat. Her nipples were already hard, flushed pink, so sensitive that every touch made her whole body shiver.
"Kimochi ii," she moaned. It feels good. "Don't stop... please..."
He switched sides, giving her other breast the same attention. His free hand slid down her stomach, over her underwear, feeling the damp heat already gathered there.
"You're soaking," he murmured against her skin.
"I can't help it." She was bright red now, embarrassed and aroused in equal measure. "When you touch me there, I just..."
He pressed his palm against her through the thin fabric, and she cried out, immediately slapping a hand over her own mouth.
"Quiet, remember?"
She nodded frantically, eyes squeezed shut. He could feel her trembling, already close just from this.
He pulled her underwear aside and slid two fingers into her. She was tight, wet, her inner walls clenching around him as she struggled to stay silent. His thumb found her clit while his mouth returned to her breast, and Sana came apart.
Her orgasm was almost silent, just a high-pitched keen that she muffled with her own hand. Her body convulsed on the examination table, legs wrapping around his waist to pull him closer. The pleasure seemed to go on and on, wave after wave crashing through her.
When it finally subsided, she lay there panting, completely boneless.
"Suki," she whispered. I love you. The word she only said in Japanese, when she was too overwhelmed for English.
"I love you too." He gathered her against his chest, holding her while she recovered. "Feel better?"
"Mmm." She nuzzled into him contentedly. "Sarnav-kun always takes care of me."
"Always."
They stayed like that for a long time, wrapped in each other, while the compound settled into peaceful night around them.
[DAY 90]
[WIFE COUNT: 9/32]
[ESSENCE: 967,100 / 1,000,000]
[+8,000 ESSENCE: COMBAT/ASSASSINATION PREVENTED]
[ELENA VOLKOV: PROVISIONAL ALLY]
[VERA: CAPTURED]
[NEXT: THAW]