(Reah, I know you''re not happy with us right now, but we didn''t order the firebombing. RAA moved without consulting us.)

(And I''m supposed to believe that?)

(Reah, you''re being disrespectful with a superior.) I didn''t answer him. If he knew how disrespectful I wanted to be-I was staring at Xiri''s bones, after all. I sobbed. (Reah? Reah, are you still there?)

(You be respectful, Vice-Director, the next time a friend''s bones lie beneath your hand.) I cut off the communication. Lendill didn''t try again.

The Drakus seed trade is threatening to destroy the Alliance as an old enemy reemerges. Reah is placed in the thick of that battle, with no experience and little help from her superiors. Unexpected betrayals and alliances are formed, and Reah must use every bit of her strength and wit to protect those she loves.