Free Laura Jo Phillips by The Bearens' Hope: Book Four of the Soul-Linked Saga

gloating.  Xaqana-Ti had sensed the moment Xitura-Re wondered if this was a trap, had almost heard her elder sister discard the idea.  What a fool Xitura-Re was.  Did she not realize that the ultimate prize was at stake?  That the position of Supreme Queen was worth any risk? 
    Xaqana-Ti nearly laughed, but she swallowed the urge.  Even here, deep within her own lair, there was always the possibility of spies.  In fact, she had spies in all of her sister’s hives.  Which brought her to the question of what to do about her brood.
    Yes, she had planned for Za-Queg to fail.  She had hoped he would succeed in obtaining the Dracon’s Arima and the berezi , but no matter.  He had provided her with the first big failure she needed to put her plan into motion.  She had felt some regret at destroying Za-Queg, but it was a sacrifice she had been willing to make. 
    Then there was Za-Linq.  Foolish little male that he was, to not realize she had maneuvered him into volunteering to replace Za-Queg, his best friend and idol.  And it had to be Za-Linq.  No one else would do as he had the special, most secret makina . 
    That had been the riskiest part of her entire plan, hatched so long ago.  It had taken great patience on her part to wait for just the right time to set her plan into motion.  But the Xanti were nothing if not patient.
    Her biggest concern had been how to ensure getting that specific makina into the Jasani’s hands.  She had thought she might need to kill Za-Linq herself, which would have been risky.  But this was better.  Much better.  So long as no one ever found out that Za-Linq had been the Xanti inside that particular makina .  That would be a problem. 
    She wriggled a little, searching for a more comfortable position as she considered her options.  Those aboard Za-Linq’s ship were the only ones aware that Za-Linq had gone down to LI-Hach-Cor, and not returned.  They had told her of course, but their transmissions to her were inviolable.  Once they reached home, however, they could be captured by any one of her three sisters and forced to talk.  Under no circumstances could that be allowed to happen.  She sighed a little, regretting the loss of a ship.  They were so expensive to replace.  But if the ship were destroyed in space, it would be a simple matter to include Za-Linq’s name on the list of those lost on board.  Luckily there were not very many warriors on board that ship.  There had been more, but Za-Linq had owned a very ugly temper.
    She wondered if she should allow the ship to transfer information to Xitura-Re’s ship first, and quickly decided not to.  There was always a risk that one of the males on board the ship would let something slip about Za-Linq’s capture.  Males could be so gossipy.  No, it was better to destroy the ship now. 
    Xaqana-Ti dug in the wall beside her and removed a control board.  She held it with two legs and used the tips of her other eight legs to tap the keys, pulling up a menu.  She entered her pass code, then scrolled through the list of her ships.  When she had the correct one she entered another pass code, then pressed the activation key without a moment’s hesitation. 
    That done, she checked her incoming messages.  She spotted a status report from Xi-Kung on Onddo, and wondered if it were time to set her plans concerning the Brethren and the Narrasti into motion.  She tapped one leg idly against the control board as she reviewed her options, and came to a decision.
    Typing rapidly, she sent a message to Xi-Kung that, if intercepted, would seem to be little more than a discussion of equipment and supplies for Onddo.  She reviewed the message twice, making minor changes.  When she was satisfied, she sent the message with a little thrill of excitement.  Then she slipped the control board back into its place and closed her eyes.  Her last thought before falling asleep was that soon, very soon, Xitura-Re would remove herself