His tone didn’t reflect any of the emotions she’d sensed. Instead, he looked relaxed and even offered her an indulgent smile. The bastard.
Alec turned once more to the chef. “Thank you for giving my fiancée a tour, Chef Nicolas. I suspect she enjoyed it as much as she’ll enjoy the meal.”
“Oh, it was my pleasure,” the chef replied, bowing deeply. “You’re always welcome in my kitchen.”
Alec dipped his head in acknowledgement and held out his hand to Kayla. She hesitated for a moment before accepting and letting him lead her out of the kitchen. The moment they were outside, she dropped his hand and whirled around to face both him and Brant.
“What was he talking about? Why the hell did he call me your fiancée?”
Alec winced at her furious expression and answered her silently. To any random observer, it would appear as though they were just staring at one another. It probably looked strange, but it was handy for keeping conversations private.
“We declared our formal intention to marry and for you to become my wife and partner at the High Council hearing. It’s a matter of public record.”
She shook her head in denial. That situation had been resolved with the destruction of the security bracelets. ”You know that was just a trick to get me out of wearing the High Council’s leash. We’re not getting married. I left the towers to go back to live on the surface with Carl.” The thought of Carl made her pause, a hint of worry creeping into her thoughts. “Wait a minute. Does Carl know about this public record?”
Alec didn’t reply right away. After a long moment, he sighed and gave a brief nod.
“Call it off. Right now,” she demanded.
He held up his hands in a passive gesture. ”If that’s what you want, I will. But I’d appreciate it if you’d let me explain first. I hope that once you hear my reasons, you’ll leave the engagement standing.”
Kayla blew out a breath, unwilling to make any promises. At the very least, she no longer felt guilty for hitting him earlier. She was sick and tired of people manipulating her for their own purposes. ”You can say whatever you want, but it won’t change anything. I only agreed to play along to keep that damn bracelet off of me. You had no right to let people keep believing we’re going to be married. I won’t ever tie myself to anyone like that.”
Alec appeared genuinely remorseful, the weight of his guilt pulsing through their bond. ”I’m sorry, Kayla. I didn’t want you to find out like this. I was hoping to have a chance to tell you about this privately. You have my word that I would never force you to do anything.”
Approaching footsteps interrupted them, and Kayla turned to find Seara and Carl entering the hall. Seara looked back and forth between them.”You were gone for a long time. Is everything all right?”
Without looking away from Kayla, Alec replied, “The chef mentioned our engagement.”
Carl crossed his arms. “I warned you she’d be upset.”
Her suspicions confirmed, Kayla whirled around to look at Carl. She didn’t bother to hide the hurt in her expression. How could Carl betray her like that? She’d been worried about his reaction, but he was just as guilty as Alec if he knew about the engagement and didn’t say anything. “You knew about this and didn’t tell me?”
“No,” Carl protested and shook his head. “I just learned about it before dinner.”
Seara interrupted, “Kayla, why don’t we go take a walk? I think there are some things you should know.”
Kayla was to argue, but the determined expression on her mother’s face gave her pause. Instead, she scowled and grudgingly agreed. Seara turned to the two men. “Alec, why don’t you and Carl go back to the table? We’ll be along shortly.”
Without waiting for a response, Seara led her out of the restaurant. The last thing Kayla wanted to do was go for a leisurely stroll. It would be more therapeutic to kick something or leave the towers completely. She didn’t sign up for any of this. What the hell was she doing here anyway?
Fuming silently, she continued to follow Seara down the unfamiliar thoroughfare. They approached a gurgling fountain and her mother took a seat on the edge. She motioned for Kayla to join her.
Kayla sat and leaned forward, tapping her fingers against the metallic edge of the fountain. Her entire body was coiled with energy just waiting to be unleashed. She wasn’t used to sitting around when her emotions were riled up.
Her thoughts went back to Carl and she bit back a curse. A little warning would have been nice, but it definitely explained his attitude. Given that he’d heard about the engagement and then walked in on an intimate moment, Kayla was surprised he hadn’t actually gone after Alec. She shook her head. What a fucking mess.
Seara’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “You remind me a lot of your father.”
Kayla raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by Seara’s words. She’d been expecting to hear something about the little scene in the restaurant, not her father.
“Your father was a brilliant and charismatic man. When he was younger, though, he could be somewhat impulsive and reckless. Strangely enough, I think those qualities actually drew me to him. He was so… alive. He believed his convictions so vehemently. It seemed like he could bring anyone around to his way of thinking by sheer will alone.”
Seara smiled at the memory as her eyes took on a faraway look. “We had some rocky times in the beginning, but we managed to find a balance between us. I taught him the value of patience and temperance. In return, he shared with me his passion for life.”
Kayla frowned and didn’t reply. She wasn’t sure what to say. Although part of her was curious, she had mixed feelings about being compared to a man she didn’t remember. Another part worried that if she fully accepted her lost heritage, she’d also be forsaking the memory of her life as a ruin rat. Being a scavenger was a huge part of her identity and she wasn’t sure she was willing to embrace this other world yet, not without losing something of herself in the process.
Kayla leaned back against the fountain wall and looked out at the surroundings in front of her. The scene contrasted sharply to the dirt and grit of life outside. She couldn’t help but feel a twinge of contempt for the people milling around the commercial area. Some of them stared and whispered to each other as they passed. Others gave her and Seara more covert glances before looking away.
They were oblivious to the struggle for survival occurring right outside these walls. Kayla felt caught somewhere in the middle. She didn’t belong to this new world, but she didn’t quite fit into the world she’d grown up knowing either. Not anymore. One of the passersby halted in his tracks and a set of blue eyes met hers for a split second. Almost as quickly, the man turned and hurried down an adjacent corridor. Kayla sighed and rubbed her arms at the chill that went through her. She was tired of people gawking at her.
Her gaze fell on Brant, and she scowled at the sight of the security officer. As usual, he was standing nearby and casually leaning against a storefront wall. She’d been so angry when she’d learned about the engagement that she hadn’t noticed he’d followed them from the restaurant. That wasn’t like her. She was usually more aware and sensitive to her surroundings, but everything here seemed to be throwing her off.
She studied Brant and wondered about his true purpose. He stood close enough to keep an eye on them but far enough away to allow them a measure of privacy. His uniform and stern expression seemed to be enough to discourage people from coming too close to the fountain.
On the surface, he appeared relaxed, but his eyes were sharp. In some ways, he reminded her of some of the hardened ruin rats she’d known, ready to spring into action at the slightest provocation. There was something different about him though. She leaned forward to try to study him more intently and nearly gasped. All of the energy threads she’d come to sense around everyone and everything seemed to avoid him. They were completely absent.
Her eyes narrowed. There was no way he was a simple security escort. One way or another, she was
going to find out more about him the first chance she got.
Seara clasped her hands in her lap, the movement drawing Kayla’s attention.
“You know, I’ve lived in these towers my entire life. This is my home, and it’s all I’ve ever known. I can’t even begin to imagine how different this must be for you. I keep hoping you’ll wake up one day and love our home the same way I do.”
Kayla doubted it. In a strange way, she identified with the fish in the restaurant. They were both on display, outside their native habitats, and dependent on OmniLab for their survival. The cage might be pretty, but it was still a cage. “I don’t belong here, Seara.”
The older woman sighed and nodded. “I can understand why you’d feel that way. In the meantime, I’ll just keep hoping to change your mind.” She turned to face Kayla, her green eyes sparkling with moisture. “I’m glad you decided to come back and give it a chance, even if it’s only temporary. I know I can’t force you to feel something you don’t feel. I wouldn’t want that even if I could. But I’m so afraid of doing something or saying something that will push you away and the chance to know you will be lost.”
She gave Kayla a sad smile. “When you were born, your father and I were so excited. Watching you grow up and explore this world we helped to create was the greatest gift we could ever imagine.”
Seara paused as her expression grew haunted. “When you were five, I found out I was pregnant again. I was supposed to have gone down into the ruins that day with you and your father. But your father insisted I stay behind because of the pregnancy. Catherine, Alec’s mother, offered to take my place.”
Kayla self-consciously reached up to touch the emerald necklace. She’d always wondered about the woman from her memory who’d saved her life. When she was young, she’d mistakenly believed it was her mother. “Alec’s mother wasn’t supposed to go?”
“No. It was a last-minute change. Then, when we learned everyone had been killed, I fell apart. In less than a split second, I lost everyone I cared about. I kept thinking it should have been me down there with you. Then, a few days later, I had a miscarriage.”
Kayla closed her eyes, imagining the pain Seara must have gone through. She’d experienced enough loss to know words didn’t mean much, but it was all she had to offer.
“I’m sorry.”
Seara reached over and squeezed Kayla’s hand. “Finding out you were alive and seeing you again has brought me more joy than you can imagine. It’s also made me fearful I could lose you again. I don’t want you to be unhappy here, Kayla. I don’t want to lose you again. I’d do just about anything to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“I’m not upset with you,” Kayla admitted. She wanted to reassure her mother, but at the same time she didn’t want to get swept away by circumstances either. “I enjoy spending time with you and would like to get to know you better. It’s just everything is so different here. I don’t want to be controlled or have someone else make decisions for me. I won’t be pushed into anything.”
Seara nodded and spoke in a voice too low for anyone to overhear. “I can understand that. Kayla, no one is asking you to marry Alec. The announcement was just that. A declaration. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
“Then why did the guy in the restaurant seem to think I am? Why not just tell everyone it’s not true?”
Her mother sighed. “After Catherine died, Alec was angry, upset, and felt very alone. Edwin was always standoffish and hard on him. I saw a young boy who had lost his mother because she agreed to take my place. Alec turned to me because I was the closest thing he had to a mother. He became like a son to me. When he realized you were alive, part of the reason he was so determined to protect you was because of me.”
Kayla picked at the hem of her dress. She knew Seara was right. Alec could have walked away and left her to her own fate, but he’d stood up and defended her. She might be grateful to him, but she wasn’t going to just roll over and sign away her life either. In a way, it felt like she already had with their bond.
“So, what then? Are you suggesting I marry him as a thank you for keeping that damn bracelet off me?”
“No, of course not.” Seara looked offended. Kayla wrinkled her nose and looked away. What was it about mothers that allowed them to instill guilt with one sharp look? Veridian’s mother had possessed that ability too.
“Alec made up that lie to protect you. After you left the towers, things fell apart. A lot of people no longer trust his family name and that, coupled with Alec’s age and lack of experience, has created quite a bit of unrest in the towers. Alec doesn’t want to worry me, so he hasn’t said much, but I see and hear more than he realizes.” Seara’s eyes lit with a strange light and Kayla wondered if her mother was as fragile as everyone believed. She recalled the way Seara stood up against Edwin at the council meeting and suspected that, under that delicate façade, the woman had a steel core.
“I believe one of the reasons the High Council hasn’t gone after Alec is because I’m co-leader and fully supporting him. The fact you two are technically engaged is another reminder to everyone that our families are united and intent on doing whatever is necessary to protect the people in the towers.”
Kayla’s mouth dropped open. “You think the High Council wants to remove him?”
Seara gave a grim nod. “I’m sure some do. I believe there are dangerous politics at play and some of the councilors want power to shift to other families. If you remain engaged to Alec, their hands are somewhat tied. At least for the time being. Alec has already proven to be an excellent leader and has the best interests of the tower at heart. He just needs to be given more time so everyone else can see what I’ve known for years. If you end the engagement now, they could interpret it as friction between our families. I’m afraid some older members of the High Council will use that as an excuse to act against him.”
“What do you think they would do to him?”
“I don’t know,” Seara admitted and looked away, but not before Kayla caught the raw pain in her expression. “But the last time someone moved against the High Council leader, I lost you and your father. I don’t want to risk anything like that ever happening again.”
Kayla felt the blood rush out of her head at the thought. She hadn’t realized things were so serious. OmniLab was one fucked-up place. “You think they might try to kill him?”
“I would hope not, but I’d rather not take any chances. Alec is like a son to me.” Her eyes pleaded with Kayla to consider the consequences.
Kayla frowned. She wasn’t willing to risk it either. For all his arrogance, she still felt a strong connection with Alec. Her feelings for him went deeper than she wanted to admit. If pretending to be engaged would help prevent some sort of political maneuver against him, she’d agree to play along.
She sighed and watched the people passing by as they stared into the shop windows. Political intrigue, window shopping, and fancy clothing weren’t part of her world and she felt ill-equipped to deal with it. Survival had been everyone’s focus in the ruin rat camp where she’d grown up. But here, they willingly played political games and wandered aimlessly through the towers shopping for frivolous items. The whole thing disgusted her.
“If your High Council spent a fraction of their time looking at making things better for people rather than plotting against one another, they could make so many lives better both inside and outside the towers.”
Seara sat up a little straighter and gave her a proud smile. “That’s what your father used to say and why he expanded the trading districts.”
“He did?”
“Yes. We used to just have outposts set up to look for new resources. Your grandfather started the outposts and began trading with some of the surface dwellers for information. Your father took it a step further, wanting to do more to help the people living on the surface. We don’t have the resources to bring all of them into the towers with us. He figured by hiring them to locate artifacts
and giving them a way to trade for supplies, we’d be giving them a better chance at survival.”
The knowledge that her family had been the ones to create the trading posts floored her. She felt a wave of respect and admiration for these unknown individuals. “I didn’t know that.”
Seara nodded. “At first, there was a lot of resistance to the idea, but your father pushed through all of it. Many of the artifacts discovered by the surface dwellers are sent to our pre-war museum. Some of them end up in stores as curiosities for the people here to buy. Others are recycled and used to create new technology.”
Kayla wondered where some of her camp’s findings had ended up. She’d never given much thought to what happened after she turned the items over. No one did. They were just the means to purchase food, supplies, and keep the sun from burning them to a crisp.
As though sensing the direction of her thoughts, Seara leaned toward her. “I know how much the people on the surface mean to you. Protecting people is something that’s in your blood. If you had the inclination, you could easily use your position to make things better for the people here and on the outside. Many people in the Inner Circle already respect you because of the way you stood up to Edwin and freed them. You could do so much more.”
Kayla cocked her head. “What are you saying?”
“If you accept it, you have the power to make things better for everyone.”
Kayla fell silent. Emotions and thoughts flooded through her as the enormity of Seara’s words registered. She remembered all the senseless injuries and deaths she’d witnessed while living in Leo’s camp. If they had access to the same type of medical care here in the towers, many of them could have been avoided. Veridian’s mother would probably still be alive. Maybe Seara’s right. If I can help them, I need to do it.
Seara had been watching Kayla’s expression, and she reached over to gently squeeze her hand in understanding. Standing up, Seara said, “I know this is a lot to think about. Why don’t we head back to the restaurant and get something to eat? I’m sure the men have had enough time to agree to some sort of temporary truce.”
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