I couldn’t quite say when I started letting go of my hurt and anger. My gut said it had been watching Myriam’s poise and quiet acceptance of what had been inevitable. Like with me, Legion had been honest with her that anything between them would never go beyond a fling as she wasn’t his soulmate. In truth, I’d been shocked he’d even consented to any kind of intimacy with her as she’d obviously been in love with him. But he had understood her better than I’d given him credit for and had known she would be able to handle it, as proven by history. Watching Ayana change the face of the Vanguard and putting herself in danger to save our people also made me look with new eyes, first at her, and then at her relationship with Legion. They were truly soulmates. No one had the right to stand in the way of such perfect love.
Unlike Myriam, I’d made quite a spectacle of myself and made Violet’s life pure hell for three years. Over the recent months, forcing myself to also look at her and Rage’s relationship with new eyes hurt, but turned out to be greatly healing as well.
I made a beeline to the workstation I’d started using of late. I had a small closed office for the times when peace and quiet was required but having a bit of company didn’t feel so bad anymore. Except all the other stations were empty. It took me a moment to remember they’d scheduled a meeting about some system upgrades Jenna—the head of department—wanted to do, preferably with everyone onboard. For a second, I considered joining them. But since they were already halfway through the discussion, jumping in at this point didn’t make much sense.
I buried myself in work. Between missions, all the women of the Vanguard contributed to the war effort in some form or other. As an analyst, my job was to sift through the various reports from our allies and scouts patrolling both peaceful areas and hotspots to attempt to detect any anomalies that could hint at an ongoing or impending invasion.
It had been some time since my previous mission, and I couldn’t deny feeling the itch to be in the field again. It made me feel so alive: the adrenaline rush, the knowing that any minute could be our last, but also protecting our Warriors from the enemies and sheltering their souls when they’d fallen. However, above all, it was the face of the people we’d saved that truly drove me. Growing up, I’d seen recordings of the Battle for Earth and the look on people’s faces as they gazed upon the Xian Warriors who’d just pushed back an attack on their city. I’d wanted to bring that kind of joy to people.
When that whole mess had gone down on Earth, I’d barely been three and couldn’t remember the war itself. My earliest memories of the Vanguard were videos that played non-stop in the years that followed, encouraging people—mainly women—to join the psychic program. Initially, taking the alien enzyme that helped develop psychic abilities had been optional. But in the five years that followed Earth’s liberation, it had become compulsory worldwide, with the enzyme being added to our water and food sources. Joining the psychic training program remained voluntary, but the schools then—and still today—couldn’t manage the overwhelming numbers of volunteers.
Thinking back on the three-year-old I’d been, watching those videos featuring Legion and Chaos—the faces of the Vanguard—it still struck me as odd that, thirty years later, I would now be Chaos’s Soulcatcher.
Slumping back against my chair, I sighed in annoyance, glaring at my monitor as if it was to blame for me failing to find anything juicy to sink my teeth into. The biggest excitement we’d had—okay, make that the biggest shit storm that had truly terrified me—dated back eight months ago during that mess on Janaur. Since then, the General had remained fairly quiet, with the usual small invasion here and there, or random kidnappings of unusual and mostly peaceful species.
Something didn’t add up. Or rather, all this pointed to the fact that Khutu was up to no good. Whatever it was, it would hit us hard once it did. And that was the scary part. The twisted way in which he genetically manipulated other species to turn them into war machines spoke volumes about the extent of his insanity. I couldn’t even begin to fathom how he came up with such demented ideas, which made it difficult to anticipate his next move.
Still, I held the record for the highest number of accurate predictions and being able to find patterns others failed to see. I intended to further increase my lead.
The soft swish of the door opening in the otherwise deafening silence of the room startled me. My head jerked up to find Violet standing in the doorway, staring at me like a deer in headlights. Her blueish-purple eyes—which had no doubt inspired her name—flicked around the room as if looking for protection. I couldn’t actually recall us ever being alone together, so her fear didn’t surprise me.
“Hello, Violet,” I said in a courteous voice, sensing her about to flee. “Can I help you with something?”
I waited in vain for the old anger to come, feeling both relieved and proud when it didn’t. That didn’t suddenly make us bosom buddies—we probably never would be—but it confirmed I was finally getting a grip and moving on.
She slightly recoiled, visibly taken aback by the absence of aggression in my voice or demeanor, then approached my station with hesitant steps.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know everyone would be out. I just wanted an analysis done before we leave on our mission,” Violet said with a nervous laughter.
“Jenna has them locked up in a meeting,” I said with a shrug. “I would have been dragged in it, too, if not for the newbie guided tour. I can take a stab at it if you’d like,” I offered, pointing with my chin at the data key in her hand.
She looked at it and then back at me as if I’d grown a second head. That made me chuckle, which had her eyes widening further.
“That… that would be very kind of you,” she said, extending the key towards me. “It contains the scan reports and communications from our allies in the Stromland region. There has been some Kryptid activity there, but we just want to make sure we’re not walking into something bigger since we’re only going with a small team.”
“Gotcha. When do you need it by?”
She scrunched her doll-like, pretty face, with high cheekbones and slightly puffy cheeks that had never fully lost their baby fat. “Yesterday?” she said apologetically while nervously flicking her long, dark-brown hair over her shoulder.
I snorted and shook my head. “What else is new? I’ll get on it right away and try to get it back to you ASAP. I’ll poke you when it’s ready,” I said with a smile.
She gaped at me, no doubt waiting for the other shoe to drop. In that instant, an odd sense of peace settled over me.
“I’m over it, Violet,” I said in a voice devoid of the hard edge that had almost become standard for me since my heartbreak. “It’s taken me long enough to accept reality and move on. You no longer need to avoid me or fear my wrath. This woman has finally gotten over getting scorned.”
Violet’s eyes misted. I didn’t quite know if relief, guilt, or something else had triggered it. “I’m sorry,” she said in a slightly trembling voice.
“For what? Finding your soulmate? That’s silly,” I said in a teasing tone, shocking myself by the apparent ease with which I was indeed letting go after all this time.