"As you wish. If you're doing better, I'm going to go check on Leto. I haven't seen her since getting back here. If you need me, just call. Use this instead of your cell phone." Zodiac places a gold communication sensor on Troy's forearm. "It's much more reliable. I'll be back later to talk to you some more."
* * *
Orion glares at Dion from across the one queen sized bed. "Remind me again why I have to share a room with you."
"Because you're my brother."
"Sort of."
"Why do you keep saying that?" Dion asks as he places the folded clothes into the dresser.
"Because it's true, isn't it? You are sort of my brother."
Dion falls back onto the bed and stretches out. "I don't know what you are talking about."
"Your mother. That's what I'm talking about."
"Don't bring her into this. Let the dead rest in peace."
"Why should she have peace?" Orion asks.
"She's our mother. Show some respect."
He scoffs. "She's your mother, not mine."
"Orion . . . don't do this here."
Orion sighs and pours a cup of coffee. "I know. It is harder for me, being adopted, you know? After Daedalus sold me, my master tried to instill manners into me. You weren't constantly criticized for every little mistake. I was slapped with a leather strap for not doing my chores quickly enough, for eating too much, or for speaking when the adults were talking. Don't you remember that? You got to play outside all day with the other pure Nymphs while I was scrubbing the floors of my master's house. When the master would try to teach me a lesson by making me sit in a bathtub of ice water or left me locked up in a shed in the backyard during the summer, your mother didn't do anything to stop it. You would have been in the same position if Daedalus hadn't bleached your hair and eyebrows to make you look like you were a pure Nymph. It was to save his own skin and ensure that no one found out about this affair with his impure slave."
"I thought you said your owner was kind to you and didn't view you as a slave."
"That was after your mother died in that accident. He felt so bad about hurting her that he cared for me more. Then you were given your own house when Daedalus left again. He never stayed around for more than a year or two at a time. And not once did he do anything for me. To this day, I still don't know why he adopted me."
"Because you were left in the ditch outside our house as a newborn." Dion says. "He found you and thought I would be better off growing up with a brother."
"Then why did he sell me and your mother?"
"You really don't remember, do you? I'm not surprised. You were four when it happened."
Orion sips his coffee, grateful for the much needed caffeine after such a tiring day. "Please tell me. I have been trying to get answers, but no one tells me anything."
"You would have random rage-fueled outbursts. You would throw things and break the windows. Daedalus was afraid you would hurt me so he sold you. As for my mother, he sold her as well to further distance himself so no one would suspect they were involved romantically."
"So it was my fault?"
"Don't beat yourself up. You were four. It's okay." Dion stands and takes Orion in his arms. "You will always be my brother, no matter how many years go by."
* * *
Zodiac's room is dark when he opens the door, but a lamp switches on by the bed. The woman smiles at him from the window where she is pulling on a pair of leather gloves. "Leto!" Zodiac runs to her and takes her in his arms. He spins her around as he kisses her. "You're alive."
"Barely. We were down in the bunker area looking for any sign of a break-in when it happened. Turns out these walls are lined with a two inch thick sheet of lead. It blocked the nanobots, but I wouldn't advise going around licking the wallpaper. The nanobots vanished quickly, but left so much destruction in their wake. We listened to the screams. It was the single worst sound of my life."
"What about Isidore? Were you able to find any sign of him?"
"No. Mistress is afraid he was taken to Athens by Paris's men for some project. Speaking of Athens, we will be moving everything to Pax."
That wasn't mentioned at the meeting. "How do you know this?"
"We had a discussion about it before you got back from Athens." Leto pins her hair up on top of her head and slips something into the top of her dress. "I'll go tell Troy the news. I've been wanting to talk to him anyway."
He kisses her lips and caresses her hair. "I don't know if that's the best thing right now."
"Sure it is. I'll be gentle."
As he looks her over, he notices the strange way she is dressed. "Why are you wearing pants? You never wear pants. Wait. Those are my pants."
She places her finger on his lips. "Shh. I need your cooperation. You know that I am much more than just a slave girl, right? Well, I have some important details to clean up in order to complete my mission."
"What mission? I haven't given you any orders."
"I don't get all of my orders from you, Zodiac."
He was sure he hadn't told her his real name yet. "Why did you call me that?"
"It's time we both stopped playing games. Let me do my job. You will be a lot better off if you look the other way and pretend to not hear anything. Now, I'm going to go speak with Troy about some very important matters that have come up. Maybe I can help him forget all about his pain . . . permanently."
8
"You are even more beautiful after you wake up." Paris smiles at Nova then wraps a blanket around her bare shoulders. He looks like he has been up for a while. "I brought you a dress. It's nice and warm so you won't freeze when we go outside. I wanna show you around and get some breakfast. Doesn't that sound fun?"
Nova rubs her eyes as she squints in the golden morning light coming through the open windows where cardinals are perched on the holly bush outside. She feels surprisingly well rested for being handcuffed to the headboard all night long. She is shocked when Paris removes the handcuffs and delicately kisses her wrist.
"I'm sorry for keeping you chained up last night. I didn't want to lose you. I didn't want to be lonely again."
"Are you that lonely all the time?"
"Yes. My only friends are the snakes." He looks down at the floor for a few seconds then he sighs and kisses the back of her hand. "That's a story for another day. Please get dressed. I had the servants prepare a special breakfast for you. I hope you like waffles."
"Thank you, Paris. I love waffles."
Paris's face lights up as he grins from ear to ear. "Great! I'll be waiting downstairs. Oh, your ring is in the box. I designed it myself for you. Please wear it."
Nova waits until he leaves the room and closes the door before standing and stretching. She finds her clothes folded on top of the dresser and dresses. The black long-sleeved dress fits perfectly. She slips the white heels she wore yesterday to her wedding on her feet and brushes her hair. Looking in the mirror, she wipes away her mascara that has smeared below her eyes. Nova tells herself that she can do this. She has to remain strong.
Nova opens the red ring box to see the wedding ring Paris designed specifically for her. She takes the black hematite band in the shape of a cobra with rubies for eyes and slips it on her finger. There is no mistaking who picked this ring out. It's not exactly her style, but she will wear it for her husband. If she makes him happy by doing what he wants her to do, maybe he will let her go back to Himmel to be with Troy. Even as she thinks it, she knows that isn't going to happen, not while Paris is alive. He seems to have developed an obsession with her. How long has he been planning to marry her like this? He already had the ring and a dress for her. There's nothing she can do except to play along and maybe try to convince Paris that he can't keep hurting people.
She walks down the hallways of the palace that should belong to Troy. Nova is the queen here, but not married to the correct king. The burgundy walls are trimmed with gold and white filigrees. Her heels click on the dark wooden floors until sh
e stops when something catches her eye. This hallway is lined with portraits of the royal family. Why are they still hanging here? She finds Troy's mother, the late Queen Helen. On the opposite wall are all of Troy's half-siblings, including Atlas. Nova finds an empty frame where Troy's picture should be. They weren't joking. When a Nymph is labeled as a Forgotten, they truly are removed from everything.
Despite her melancholic mood, she knows that she has to play the role of a loving wife and perfect queen. She continues on down the hallway. When she reaches the dining room where large crystal chandeliers light the pale blue walls and ivory curtains, Nova looks around at the quiet room. This is the right place, isn't it? The table is set and a pile of waffles sits on the tray in the middle surrounded by assorted toppings and syrups. Where is Paris?
Nova jumps when someone grabs her ankles from under the table. "Paris?"
"Boo!" Paris giggles as he wraps his arms around her. "I scared you!"
"Yes, you did."
He leads Nova to her chair. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to have some fun. Come on! We have waffles to decorate."
"Decorate?"
"You didn't think these would be plain old boring waffles, did you?"
As Nova watches Paris pile sprinkles, whipped cream, caramel sauce, and maraschino cherries on top of his large stack of chocolate chip waffles, she realizes that he is still very much a kid. He's a man who never had a chance to fully experience a childhood free from abuse and pain. Can she be afraid of him? In this moment, she only feels pity for him.
"Nova, what do you want on your waffles?"
"I . . . I don't know."
"I know!" Paris slides his chair over next to her and drops a handful of coconut shavings on her plate. "Do you like coconut?"
"I guess I do now."
He holds up her hand and smiles. "You're wearing my ring."
"You told me to."
"I'm glad. I want you to be happy here until the end."
"The end?"
"We need to live the last few days of our lives happily together and do everything we want to do before I destroy the galaxy."
"Why would you want to destroy the galaxy?" Nova asks. "You would be hurting many people."
"It's a secret. I will show you more later. It will fix everything and solve so many problems. No one will ever have to suffer like I have. I will be the Savior. The nanobots tell me these things and I listen. I know they're right. They have to be right."
"What if they aren't?"
"They are. You will see in time."
"Why did you take me away from Troy? If you want me to be happy, then why force me to marry you instead?"
"I can make you happy. I know I can. Give me a chance. You're so pretty." He finishes his waffles and stares at her. "Why aren't you eating? Are you sick?"
"I'm not very hungry."
"We can eat later, if you want." Paris wipes the chocolate syrup from his lips and takes Nova's arm in his sticky hands. "Come with me. Wear your fur coat I bought you. It's in the hall closet."
"You bought me a fur coat?"
"Yep. You had to have a coat. Think of it as an early Christmas present. I love Christmas. Do you like Christmas? Maybe we can have a party and stay up all night."
Just like a child. This is quite a curious situation. Could Paris be mentally and emotionally still twelve years old?
"Here." Paris leads her to the closet and retrieves a long white fur coat. "It's made of wolf pelts. Isn't it soft?" He slips it onto her shoulders. "Come on. The servants should have finished working by now."
She follows him through the large glass doors and out to the gardens. The cedar trees have been sculpted into various twisting shapes around the outskirts of the hedgerows where the bright crimson cardinals hop around on top of the inch of slowly melting snow. Icicles hang from the edges of the fountain and drip onto the half-frozen pool of water that glistens in the sunlight. Red berries grow on the bare brown bushes by the empty flowerbeds and pots waiting for spring before the bulbs can blossom anew. The servants shovel the slushy snow off of the path. For that, Nova is grateful. Her heels aren't the best footwear for traversing snow and mud.
Paris goes over to a rosebush and clips one of the deep red blossoms. He spins it in his fingers then tucks it behind her ear, nestled in the black curls of her hair. "There. I promise that my wife will have fresh flowers every day. Do you know why these survive the snow? Nanobots. Nanobots control and regulate so much in our daily lives. There are unlimited uses for them. Nanotechnology like we have here is the single most important invention in history."
Nova follows him to a marble bench underneath the limbs of a dogwood tree on the outskirts of the dense forest behind them When he motions for her to join him, she obeys.
Paris puts his arm around her waist and rests his head on her shoulder. "Isn't it pretty out here, Nova?"
"Yes, it's beautiful."
"I hope it snows more. I especially want it to snow on Christmas. You should smile more."
He wants her to smile? He does all this to her then he expects her to smile? How out of touch with reality is this man? It's almost as if he doesn't see anything wrong with his actions . . . just like a child. As long as they are out here alone, she might as well try to convince him that the way he is doing things is wrong. "Why me? Out of all the women you could have, why choose me? I was happy with Troy. Surely you could have done some experiments on other women who could handle the nanobots like I can."
"I can't do this alone. I was scared and had to do something. Uriel told me that I had to have you before any of the plans could be completed. So I did what I had to do."
"You don't have to do this, Paris. Uriel is gone. It's not too late to turn back and apologize for what you've done. Yes, people will be angry, but at least you will be able to tell them who was really in control. Uriel made you do those things. That evil side wasn't you. You were under his control. With Troy as king, he can show you mercy and pardon you. You won't have to live in fear any longer. No one else has to die."
"I wish you were right. I honestly do. There's one problem, though. The nanobots won't let me go. You were able to suppress them with medication, but I can't. Uriel designed me to have to listen to their demands. I'm struggling to keep my sanity even now. If this kind of evil can exist in the galaxy, then there doesn't need to be a galaxy anymore. Too many people have been abused. Too many live in this exact same state of eternal fear. I have to end this before it goes too far."
"Why is this the only answer?" Nova asks.
"It just is, okay? You will have to wait until I give my big bad guy speech later."
"You don't have to be the bad guy. We can work together with Troy and Mistress."
Paris stares down at the melting snow under his boots. "I was always destined to be the bad guy, you know? Haven't you watched superhero movies? I had a troubled childhood and I'm covered in burns."
"Those are fiction, Paris. This is real."
"Don't you believe in fate? You used to read people's fortunes, didn't you? Was all that a lie?"
"That's different. I've always believed that people can change their fate."
"What about horoscopes?" Paris asks "Those things have to happen."
"That's not true. You can't believe everything you hear. I want to help you. You are a good man, Paris. Deep down, you are still hurting. Let me help you before you do any more things you end up regretting."
"Like Silver."
Silver? "What did you do to Silver?"
"I don't wanna talk about it."
"Oh my gods. Where is he?" Nova asks. "Did you kill him?"
Paris's eyes brim with tears as he buries his face in her chest. He breaks down weeping, soaking the front of Nova's dress. "He used to be my friend!"
"What did you do?"
"The nanobots made me do it. I didn't want to. I tried to stop, but I had to do it. I hurt him like I've been hurt so he would know."
"What did you do? Answer me."
&
nbsp; "No." Paris pulls away from here and continues crying as he runs off into the woods.
* * *
"Look at who it is. I didn't think I would see you in here. What happened to your silver tongue, Jarred Cunningham?" Blice McSage asks as he wipes the sweat from his forehead in the corner of the cell. "Couldn't talk your way out of this one?"
Silver crawls over to the opposite wall and lies down on the dusty floor. He watches as the guards who brought him here shut the gate and leave down the long dark corridors. Wiping away the blood from his nose, Silver stares up at the stone ceiling and listens to his pounding heartbeat. His muscles ache from bracing himself through the last brutal beating he took from a wooden staff. Bruises spot his upper legs and torso. It feels like he has been here a lot longer than half a day.
"You getting too old for his?" Blice mocks him.
"Shut up."
"That's no way to speak to an old friend."
"Friend? You were never my friend. I dealt with you because I had to."
"You're bleeding through the back of your pants."
Oh, that. "I got . . . injured."
"Injured?"
"It's private. I'm sure as hell not gonna discuss it with you."
"Oh, I see. Who did it to you?" Blice asks, sounding a bit more concerned now.
"Drop it. I was shackled to the wall and couldn't fight back."
"It was Paris."
"What? Why do you think that?"
"Because I can see it on your face. I may have been locked down here for years, but I have my ways of getting information. The only reason you won't tell me is because he completely humiliated you. So, are you going to kill that brat you loved as your own son?"
Paris . . . he can never love him again. "That demon is no longer the same little boy I loved beyond anything else in my life. I would have done anything for him. I tried my hardest to give him the best of everything. Look at what good that did. In the end, it didn't matter how much love I gave him. He wasn't strong enough to overcome his hell of a childhood. I take that back. I believe he could have been a wonderful man if not for Uriel's influence. Paris used to have a strong will to do good and he managed to preserve his innocence for so long. Uriel took advantage of that and exploited his weaknesses. Paris is dead to me."
Paradise Forgotten Trilogy Page 48