“Chris before you—”
“I think we should sell the blueprints to the Hadron Collider.”
Eden’s mouth hung open like a fish on a hook. She stared at Chris for a moment, trying to figure out what just happened and how she should respond.
“Sell the blueprints?” she said. “To who? Why? For how much?”
“Well, to a lot of people,” said Chris. “To scientists and politicians all over the world. You didn’t think you were going to go around with the collider and close every portal yourself did you?”
“No, I guess not, but…” She realized her fists had tightened around the sheet covering her legs, balled up with nerves. “I guess I just hadn’t given it much thought. For years I’ve been so secretive about my machine. It seems really strange to think about just letting anyone see my research. Building their own Hadron Colliders.”
“You could make a fortune.”
Eden frowned. “I don’t care about that.”
Chris nodded. “I know, I know, and that’s very noble of you, but you wouldn't even have to sell them for that much. I’m not saying we jack up the price and make it so needy people can’t afford them—I’m a capitalist, not a monster.”
“I don’t see why we can’t just give the blueprints away for free?”
“Why don’t we split the difference?” Chris countered. “You sell them for twenty bucks a piece, which anyone who needs one will be able to afford, and then you’ll probably still stand to make… about two million thousand dollars.”
Eden’s breath caught.
“No way,” she said. “That can’t be right.”
“Scientists estimate that there are somewhere between 500,000 and 600,000 portals open on the planet currently. If you sell one machine, at twenty bucks a pop, for every five portals, ball park, then you would make at least two million dollars.”
Eden wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Two million dollars was more money than she would be able to make in a lifetime. Hell, then she’d be able to make in ten lifetimes.
Chris patted her hand. “Just think about it. I better let you get some rest. I’ll come by tomorrow. Goodnight.”
“Right, yeah,” Eden said, trying to pull herself out of the day-dream she was having of swimming in a pool of money. “Goodnight.”
Once Chris was gone, Eden started to really ponder what she should do. A part of her felt morally opposed to selling the blueprints. She hadn’t busted her ass for years, working on the collider, because she wanted to make money. She did it because she wanted to help people, and because she wanted to do her father proud.
On the other hand, twenty bucks was a really good deal considering how much time and effort she’d put into drawing up the blueprints. And if she had two million dollars, she could do… well she could do anything.
Which begs the question, what did she want to do?
Did she want to stay in the castle with her new witch friends and her two royal lovers? Or did she want to finally go home and get back to normal? With two million dollars, she could fix up her shop, maybe even move to a safer location. Or she could retire, get a cottage in the woods somewhere and spend her days honing her magic and writing letters to Isaac.
No, that wasn’t an option. She knew that, deep down. She couldn’t leave Leo and Chris. She loved them too much, and even though she wasn’t sure exactly how everything was going to work out between the three of them, she knew she had to stick around to find out. She would regret it for the rest of her life if she walked away from them now.
She decided she would decide for sure about the blueprints in the morning. She closed her eyes and tried to will her subconscious back into the dream she was having before Chris came to visit her, where the three of them were walking together, planning their future.
Chapter Fourteen
A Better Future for All
Eden’s doctor kept her on bed rest for the rest of the week, but by her sixth day in the infirmary, she was getting pretty antsy. She snuck out one morning, early, before the nurses were scheduled to come check on her and provide her painkillers. She just wanted to walk around a little bit, maybe get a cup of coffee, and she desperately needed a change of scenery.
There was no one in the kitchen or the dining room. Eden put the coffee pot on and walked through the sliding glass doors which separated the kitchen from the back patio. It was a crisp autumn day. She felt like the seasons had changed overnight. During the battle, it was still sunny and hot—summer still had a stronghold on the area. But now, there was a chill in the air and she spotted the first orange-ish leaves appearing on one of the trees in the castle’s orchard. Although it had only been a few weeks since she was purchased and brought here against her will, Eden felt like it had been a lifetime. She felt like a brand new person.
There was a scuttling noise behind her, but Eden didn’t turn around, or flinch when tiny metal legs tickled the back of her calf. Cricket crawled up her back and rested on her shoulder.
“Security breach,” he said in his soft, robot voice. “Security breach.”
Someone had broken into her shop.
Panic gripped Eden’s whole body, for just a moment, and then a cool breeze caressed her skin, and she remembered where she was. She relaxed and whispered to Cricket.
“Turn off the shop’s security system remotely.”
“Security system will turn off in five, four, three…”
She let the timer run out and drew in a long breath as Cricket reached one and said, officially, that the security system to her shop was turned off. Whoever it was who had gotten inside her shop was probably pretty desperate. Whatever he or she may find in there, Eden didn’t need anymore. She might go back someday soon, to see what’s left after the scavengers picked it over, but for now, she was content leaving it all behind. She had everything she needed right there in the castle, and if she ever wanted to open a new repair shop, she liked the idea of starting out fresh.
She had asked Leo to have his security team put out feelers, see if anyone could find contact information for Isaac. If not, she’d leave a note at the old shop, telling him where she was and that he was welcome to visit her any time.
“Ehem.”
Eden glanced over her shoulder and saw the castle's head chef stood behind her, in the doorway.
“Oh hi!” She turned around and smiled.
“Hello,” he said. He was carrying a mug. Steam was coming off the top. “I brought you some coffee. I figured it was you who turned the coffee maker on.”
“Yes, thank you!”
He walked toward her and handed her the mug. “Careful,” he said. “It’s hot.”
She took the mug by the handle and smelled the coffee. He had added some cinnamon to it, if she wasn't mistaken, but no milk. He knew by now that she drank her coffee black. She hadn’t said more than fifty words to the man her entire time being there—he wasn’t much of a talker. When she said good morning, he would respond with a nod. When she asked if he could make her something specific for breakfast or dinner, he would nod, sometimes say “yes,” but that was about it. She didn’t even know his name but he knew how she took her coffee and what type of toast she liked with her side of eggs, and somehow that felt like its own sort of connection.
He stood in front of her, not saying anything as she blew on the coffee and took small, tentative sips.
“Thanks,” she repeated lamely, unsure of what else to say. “The cinnamon in here is a great touch.”
The chef nodded and cleared his throat again. “Do you, uh, er, want something to eat? I can make you anything you want.”
Eden was touched by the gesture, but she didn’t really understand where it was coming from. “Sure,” she said. Then she remembered her medication and how it often made her feel queasy. “Maybe just something light though,” she added. “I have to take my painkillers soon and they make my stomach feel weird.”
“Maybe just some toast then,” he suggested.
“P
erfect.”
“I’ll get right on it,” he turned on his heel and headed back inside. He stopped short of the door and spoke without looking at her. “Thank you. For closing the portals.”
“Oh, yeah. Sure,” said Eden. She laughed awkwardly. “It was no big deal.”
“It was a huge deal.” The man faced her again. “I don’t know if you know this but my wife works here in the castle as well. She is Chris’s assistant.”
“Yes!” said Eden. “I believe I’ve met her. She’s, uh.” Eden bit her lip and wondered if she should say what she was thinking, for fear she may be mistaken.
“The pregnant one,” the chef said. “Yes. Eight and a half months as of yesterday. Before you came along with your fancy machine, she and I were thinking we’d have to quit. It was getting to be too dangerous here. We didn’t know where else we would go, or what we would do for money once we got there, but we knew we couldn’t stay here… It was a terrible time, full of doubt and terror. And then you came and you made the castle safe again.”
Eden looked down at her feet and dug her toe into the ground. She had never been very good at accepting compliments, especially from strangers. And especially when it was such a heavy, emotional compliment.
“I’m happy to help,” she said. “And it wasn’t just me, by the way. Chris and Leo were a huge help, and I couldn’t have done it without the other witches.”
The chef nodded. “Yes. I know. But if it weren’t for you, my wife and I wouldn’t be here anymore. We’d either be on the run, holed up in some horrible motel on the outskirts of town… or we’d be dead.”
“Right,” Eden said. “Well, um, how about you make me that toast and we can just call it even?”
He laughed. “Okay,” he said. “That seems fair.”
“I think so.”
They smiled at each other and Eden followed him back inside.
She spent an hour or so, drinking coffee in the dining room, taking small bites of her toast, in anticipation for her medicine. As the castle staff started to file in, having their own coffee breaks before work, each of them stopped when they saw her and thanked her. Some of them actually said it, tears in their eyes and their voices cracking. Others, the more stoic staff members, would simply nod in her direction, a few asked if there was anything they could do for her, anything she needed.
She would politely decline and say she was perfectly fine. She hoped it wouldn’t be like this for much longer. She just wanted everything to get back to normal—whatever that looked like.
A few minutes past eight, Amira came in. Her hair was dripping wet, and her shirt and pants were soaked through.
“Oh my god!” said Eden. “What happened to you?”
Amira laughed and waved a dismissive hand in Eden’s direction. “Nothing to worry about, just a little water spell gone wrong. I thought I translated it right from the book, but I guess not.”
“You should have asked me for help.”
“Well I know that now,” said Amira. “But I was trying to give you some time to relax.”
Eden sighed. “I’ve been relaxing for days. I don’t want to do it anymore.” She muttered a spell under her breath and wiggled her fingers in the air, sending soft heat waves in Amira’s direction. Her clothes dried after about fifteen seconds.
“Thanks,” she said. “Now I don’t have to change. I’m going to head back down to look over the translation again if you want to come.”
“Sure!” said Eden. “Let me just grab another cup of coffee and I’ll meet you down there.”
Amira nodded and left.
Eden went to the kitchen to fill her cup and then walked through the dining room towards the basement stairs. Leo and Chris walked in just as Eden was walking out.
Damn. They caught me.
“Hey,” said Chris. “You’re not supposed to be out of bed.”
“I was just grabbing one cup of coffee!” said Eden. “I’ve been up for like five minutes, tops.”
She flashed a smile in the chef’s direction. He had entered, carrying a plate with a second piece of toast in case she was still hungry.
“Did the doctor say you could have coffee?” said Leo.
Eden laughed. “I’d like to see him try and stop me!” She took a sip from what was now her third cup of the morning. “Besides, I feel fine. Better than ever, actually.” She hopped onto the balls of her feet then put her heels back down on the ground, demonstrating just how healthy and alive she was. “I’m a witch, remember? We heal faster.”
“But Doctor Daniels—” Chris started to say.
“What about me?” The doctor came waltzing into the dining room, wearing his lab coat and a weary, just-woken-up expression.
“Doctor!” said Eden. “Just the man I wanted to see. I am feeling much, much better. No pain or anything. I was hoping maybe you could take me off bed rest… and also maybe I could stop taking the painkillers. My wounds don’t really hurt at all anymore and I need to eat some real food soon or I think I’m going to actually die.”
The doctor looked her over, up and down, and felt her forehead with the back of his hand. “You seem fine,” he said. “As long as you say you are feeling better, who I am I to argue?”
“Uh, you’re her doctor!” said Chris. “You’re exactly the person to argue those kinds of things.”
Doctor Daniels laughed. “If it makes you feel better, I will require Eden to come in three times a day so I can check her vitals and make sure everything is fine.” He looked at Chris, who didn’t appear very happy but who agreed to the terms anyway. “Good,” the doctor said. “Eden, come find me when you are done eating breakfast.”
“Yes sir!” said Eden. She turned to the chef, who was still holding the plate of toast. “No more toast for me!” she said with victory. “I want pancakes.”
“Pancakes it is!” said the chef, and he disappeared into the kitchen.
“Did you two have any plans for breakfast?” Eden asked, grinning.
Leo looked at Chris. “I’m free.”
“Me too,” said Chris. “But, for the record, I want it known that I do not approve of you going off bed rest so soon and that if anything bad happens, I reserve the right to say ‘I told you so.’ Got it?”
“Yes,” said Eden. “We agree that you are a major party pooper and you will act totally lame if anything bad happens.”
She and Leo both started laughing. Chris gave them a look, which quickly broke into a smile.
After breakfast, Eden went down to visit the doctor, received her clean bill of health, and then she went to find Amira. The two of them worked on the latest spell for a few hours, and when they needed a break, Eden went to find Chris and Leo. She found them both in Leo’s office, looking over some travel plans for the next month. She asked them if they perhaps wanted to accompany her on a walk around the castle grounds.
They said yes, with the condition that Eden take it easy and say anything if she was feeling faint or any pain. She rolled her eyes and told them they worried too much, but also that she would be careful.
“I’m not exactly interested in injuring myself again,” she said. “There’s a lot of work to be done, finding and closing all the portals in the surrounding area, and I plan on being at the forefront of that action.”
“We have a team already working on most of the portals,” said Chris. “You don’t have to do anything. You’ve already done enough.”
Eden shrugged. “Maybe, but I want to help. It’s not like I have anything better to do with my time.” They were walking down the gravel path, leading out of their backyard, and into the orchard.
“Have you given any more thought to my idea about selling the blueprints?” Chris asked.
“I have,” she said. “And I want to give them away for free.”
“Are you sure?” asked Chris.
“Yes,” said Eden. “I’m sure. I don’t need the money.”
Leo perked up when she said this. “Does that mean you are planning
on staying here?” he asked hopefully.
“If you two are okay with it,” she said. “I would like to.”
“Of course!” said Leo.
“We would be happy to have you,” Chris added.
“Good,” said Eden. “Now that that’s settled, Chris, go ahead and get the word out about the Hadron Collider. Send the blueprints to everyone you know and tell them to send them to every person they know.”
“Will do,” said Chris.
“This is great!” said Leo.
“And the best part is I can join the team you guys established to help close the rest of the portals around here.”
“You could do that,” said Leo. “Or, you could help me with my latest project.”
Eden raised an eyebrow. “Which is?”
“It’s something I’ve been working on pretty much since we got back from the market the day we, uh,...”
“Bought me,” said Eden. “It’s okay, you can say it.” She laughed.
“Since the day we bought you,” Leo said. “Right, so since then I’ve been working to put together a task force, with the help of local officials and my security personnel.”
“A task force for what?” asked Chris.
“A task force to crack down on the illegal selling of humans and witches. The police know this is going on, and some of them really want to do something about it, they just have no idea where to start. They are mostly humans, who are afraid to go up against big, powerful shifters. That’s where we come in. I have a group of dragons who are interested in helping, and well… we need someone who knows a lot about security.” He glanced at Eden. “According to a man I know who is working undercover as a black market vendor, these guys keep their merchandise under severe lock and key. If we want to have a chance of busting them and saving these innocent people, we need someone with your skillset.”
Eden felt her face break into an uncontrollable smile. She was crying. In fact, she had started tearing up the second he mentioned the idea of helping black market victims.
“That’s amazing, Leo!” she said. “I would be honored to be a part of the task force. I want to help any way I can.”
Auctioned to the Werewolf Princes Page 15