by Zaires, Anna
Mia felt like her head would explode. “Implant something into my body! Perform a medical procedure on me without my knowledge or consent!”
“I gave you a gift, Mia.” His eyes were almost purely yellow at this point. “It’s not like I stole your kidney –”
“You stole my free will!” Mia was vaguely aware that she was yelling, but she didn’t care right now. Her vision was hazy with rage, and she could feel herself trembling with the force of her emotions. All the frustration of the past few weeks boiled to the surface. “You stole my ability to make any decisions in my life! Yes, I love you, but that doesn’t give you the right to treat me like a possession. Don’t you understand, Korum? Don’t you realize how that makes me feel, knowing that you can do something like that to me?”
He stared at her, and she could see the muscle pulsing in his tightly clenched jaw. “I did what was best for you. I gave you immortality, Mia. Wasn’t that what you were worrying about? Our future together?”
“The future where I’m treated like a slave for centuries to come? The future where I don’t have any say over my own body, my own life? That kind of future?” Mia asked bitterly, too furious to think about what she was saying.
She heard him inhale sharply. “Get in the car, Mia,” he ordered, his voice low and cold. “You’re being irrational.”
“Or what?” she said defiantly. “You’re going to force me in? You’re going to make me?”
“If I have to. Now get in.”
Shaking with helpless anger, Mia got in and watched as he shut the passenger door and walked over to the driver’s side.
“We’re going back to the house,” he said, pulling out of the parking lot with the sound of squealing tires. “I don’t think a theme park is the best idea right now.”
* * *
The ride home passed in tense silence, with Mia looking out the window and Korum concentrating on driving. It took less than thirty minutes to make the drive back, with the speedometer pushing a hundred-and-thirty. Thankfully, they weren’t stopped by the police. Mia had a strong suspicion that any state trooper unfortunate enough to confront Korum in this mood wouldn’t have fared well.
As much as she’d wanted to have some time to herself, the silent drive accomplished nearly the same thing, giving her time to think. With her temper slowly cooling, the full implications of what he’d just told her dawned on her. He’d made her immortal – or at least as close to immortal as a biological being could get, she mentally corrected herself. She could still die if her body was damaged beyond repair, just as Korum could – but not from aging or disease, like the rest of humanity.
Did that mean that she would now live for thousands of years? She couldn’t begin to comprehend that length of time. She was only twenty-one now, and even thirty seemed far away. A thousand years? It was like something out of a fairy tale. Never aging, never getting sick . . . He was right; it was every human’s dream come true. It was her dream come true.
But the way he’d done it . . . Mia stared at her palms, where she still had tracking devices implanted from the time he’d shined her. Why had she been so surprised that he would do something else to her? He obviously regarded her as “his” – his charl, his to do with as he pleased. Yes, he’d given her an impossible, priceless gift, but he had also taken from her any semblance of an illusion about the true nature of their relationship. He wasn’t her boyfriend or her lover; he was her master. She didn’t have any say when it came to her own body, her own life, and he clearly saw nothing wrong with doing whatever he wanted to her.
For the past couple of weeks, she’d lived in a dream world, reveling in being with him, in the phenomenal opportunity he’d given her, in the way he’d interacted so well with her family . . . And all this time, she hadn’t known that he had fundamentally changed her, that she was no longer the same Mia she had always been.
Immortality. It seemed so crazy, so impossible . . . For millennia, people had searched for that elusive fountain of youth, and yet the Ks had had it all along. A shiver ran through her as she fully understood what that meant: the Krinar had the power to indefinitely extend human lifespan, and they chose not to.
The non-interference mandate.
That had to be the only explanation. The Krinar had created her kind, and they continued playing God with them. Humans were nothing more than an experiment to them, and Mia realized how foolish she’d been to hope that Korum would ever see her as an equal. He might love her in his own way, but he didn’t see her as a person, as someone who had the same basic rights as he did. How could he when his species regarded humans as nothing more than their creations, the result of their grand evolutionary design?
The car pulled into the driveway, and Mia got out as soon as it stopped, rushing into the house. She couldn’t look at Korum right now, couldn’t talk about this rationally. Not yet, not until she’d had a chance to digest this further.
To her relief, he didn’t follow her, giving her some much needed space.
She ran upstairs and locked herself in one of the guest bedrooms. The lock was beyond flimsy, of course; it probably wouldn’t deter a human man, much less a Krinar. But it still made her feel a tiny bit better, having that barrier between them.
Sitting down on the bed, Mia looked down at her hands, clenched so tightly on her lap. On her right thumb, there had always been a tiny scar; she’d cut herself with a kitchen knife when she was seven, trying to peel an apple. The scar was now gone. Why hadn’t she noticed that before?
Getting up, she walked over to the large mirror hanging on the wall near the entrance. The image reflecting back at her looked remarkably normal. Same pale face, same unruly dark curls. Yet upon closer inspection, she could see the subtle differences. Her skin, usually lightly freckled, was completely smooth and white, without even a hint of any blemish. The minor sun damage she’d accumulated in her twenty-one years seemed to have disappeared. Her hair looked healthier as well, without any split ends – yet she hadn’t seen the inside of a salon in over six months.
Lifting her arm, she flexed it slightly, watching the small muscle moving beneath her skin. Even her body had changed slightly; she’d always been thin, but now she looked a little more toned, as though she’d been exercising regularly. She remembered how she’d been able to swim for an hour, how she’d fought Leslie and won . . . It appeared that improved fitness was one of the benefits of this procedure.
No wonder Ellet had seemed so familiar to her. Mia recalled the dream she’d had when she first arrived in Lenkarda – a dream where a beautiful woman was touching her with her elegant fingers. Ellet. It had been Ellet. Korum had brought Mia to her lab for the procedure, and Mia must’ve been semi-awake for at least part of it.
Walking back to the bed, Mia lay down and curled up into a little ball, bringing her knees to her chest. She felt nauseous, and she knew that it was all in her head. She couldn’t get sick now; it was a physical impossibility. But the unpleasant sensation in her stomach lingered, her insides twisting as she imagined Korum drugging her and bringing her to his former lover. She pictured Ellet performing the procedure on her unconscious body and shuddered.
How could he have done this to her? How could he have given her something so precious, something she hadn’t even dared to hope for, while at the same time destroying her trust? And how could she be with someone who could do something like that, who could completely disregard her will?
Yet how could she not?
Mia tried to imagine a future without Korum, and the years stretched in front of her, grey and empty. If she’d never met him – if she’d never experienced his passion, his caring – she would’ve been content, but now . . . Now he was as necessary to her as air. Even though they’d only been separated for a few minutes, she felt his absence so acutely it was as if a part of her was missing. If he ever left her, she wouldn’t be just devastated; she would simply cease to exist, to function as a person. She would be nothing more than a broken empty shell, a m
ere shadow of her former self.
Was that how he felt about her too?
Tears burned in her eyes at the thought. Was that why he’d done this, because he couldn’t wait, couldn’t bear the possibility of any harm befalling her if he delayed the procedure by even a couple of weeks? Had he taken away her freedom of choice because of the strength of his feelings for her?
She tried to imagine how she would’ve felt if someone she loved was weak and fragile, prone to illness and injury. Korum had always been so strong, so invulnerable; other than that time on the beach – and before, when she’d been working with the Resistance – she’d never really had to worry about his health and wellbeing.
But he worried about her constantly. She knew that.
He went out of his way to take care of her, to make sure she was warm and well-fed, to heal all her injuries, no matter how minor. Knowing how important school and career were to her, he hadn’t tried to limit her in that regard. Instead, he’d provided her with an incredible opportunity, giving her a chance to feel happy and fulfilled in that part of her life. He’d even made sure that her family was comfortable with their relationship. He’d given her everything – except the ability to make her own decisions.
No, she couldn’t imagine a life without him – and now she didn’t need to. For better or for worse, they could be together forever, and her foolish heart filled with joy at the thought. She didn’t know if she could forgive him for doing the procedure without her consent – not quite yet, at least – but she could try. She would have to try. She loved him too much not to.
After all, they now had centuries to figure it all out.
Chapter 24
Ten minutes later, Mia headed downstairs, ready to talk. She had a million questions for Korum, and she couldn’t wait to get the answers.
To her surprise, she found him standing in the living room, staring out the window at the ocean beyond. Hearing her footsteps, he turned around to face her, and Mia froze on the stairs, shocked by the remote look on his face.
His eyes seemed empty, as though he was looking straight through her, and the expression on his face was hard and shuttered, giving nothing away.
“Korum?” Mia was aware that her voice trembled slightly, but she couldn’t help herself. She’d seen him cold and mocking, she’d seen him angry and passionate, but she’d never seen him like this before. It was as though a stranger was looking at her right now, a stranger with the familiar features of the man she loved.
“The car keys are over there,” he said, gesturing at the coffee table. His voice was flat and unemotional. “I’ll make sure that Roger sends all your things to your parents’ house. For now, I transferred money into your bank account, so you can buy some basic necessities until your luggage arrives.”
“What?” Mia whispered inaudibly, feeling like all air had left the room. Her chest felt like it was getting squeezed in a giant vise, and she couldn’t seem to get her lungs to work.
“The guardians will continue to watch over you and your family for now, until we’re sure that Saur was acting alone. You should be safe enough now that he and Leslie have been caught.”
Her brain couldn’t seem to process what he was telling her. “K-Korum? What are you talking about?”
He turned away then, looking out the window again. “That’s all, Mia. You can go.”
Hardly aware of her actions, Mia slowly walked down the stairs, a cold sensation spreading throughout her body. “Go where?” she asked, unable, unwilling to understand. Pausing a few feet away from him, she stood there trembling, desperately needing him to turn around, to look at her with that warm smile of his.
But he didn’t. He was like a statue, completely still and unmoving. “I assume to your parents’ house,” he finally said. “Isn’t that where you usually spend your summers?”
“You want m-me to leave?” Mia could barely choke out the words through the constriction in her throat. A black pit of despair seemed to yawn underneath her, ready to engulf her at any moment. Surely he couldn’t mean that, surely he didn’t really want her to go . . .
“Take the car,” he said, still looking out the window. “You know how to drive, right?”
“I don’t have my driver’s license with me,” she said numbly, staring at his back.
“If any cops stop you, I’ll take care of your ticket. Your license and the rest of your things will be delivered to you this week.”
Her throat closing up, Mia wrapped her arms around herself, trying to contain the agony within. “Why?” she whispered hoarsely. “Why do you want me to leave?”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?” he asked coldly, turning around to look at her. His face was completely expressionless; only the faint yellow flecks in his irises gave away any hint of emotion. “Isn’t that what you’ve been fighting for all these weeks? Your freedom? Well, you have it.” He turned away again, effectively dismissing her.
Feeling like she was suffocating, Mia desperately sucked in air. “Korum, please, I don’t understand –”
“Is my English not clear enough for you?” His words lashed at her like a whip. “You’re free to go. Leave, get out of here.”
Almost choking on the sob rising in her throat, Mia backed away, the pain of his rejection nearly unbearable. The back of her knees touched the coffee table, and her hand automatically closed around the car keys lying there. Grabbing them, Mia turned and ran out of the house, her vision blurred by tears streaming down her face.
She got as far as the car before sinking down to the ground. Her entire body was shaking, and she could barely draw in enough air through the compression in her chest. For some reason, Korum didn’t want her anymore. He wanted her to leave. After everything, he was letting her go.
It didn’t make sense; none of it made sense. Leaning against the car, Mia sat on the hard ground, hugging her knees and rocking back and forth. After a couple of minutes, when the initial shock of agony had subsided, she tried to gather her thoughts, to attempt to understand what had just happened. Surely, there had to be a logical explanation for this. Why would he bother making her immortal if he was planning to walk away from her all along? Why would he have gone so far as to make her family like him if he didn’t care about her? Why would he have told her that he loved her? Had it all been a lie? Had he been toying with her all along? The thought was so excruciating that Mia had to push it away for the sake of her sanity.
Or was it all her fault? Did her reaction to his revelation make him change his mind about their relationship? Perhaps he was beginning to tire of her already, and this had been the last straw for him. Mia raised her fist to her mouth, biting down hard to contain a moan of pain. She couldn’t imagine her life without him, and he didn’t want her anymore. She’d lost him; for whatever reason, she’d lost him . . .
She should get in the car and leave, try to salvage some pride instead of crying in his driveway, but she couldn’t make herself move. If she left now, she might never see him again. He had no reason to be in New York anymore, and there was no guarantee she would ever be allowed in Lenkarda again. If she drove away, the person she loved more than anything would be gone from her life.
She couldn’t allow that to happen.
Her face wet with tears, Mia resolutely got up, brushing the dust and gravel off her dress. If Korum truly didn’t want her, she needed to hear him say so. He would have to explain himself because she wasn’t leaving without a fight. He had forced his way into her life, into her heart, and now he thought he could walk away without an explanation? She might have been too afraid to question him in the beginning, but she wasn’t anymore. If he wanted to get rid of her, he would have to physically remove her from the premises. She wasn’t leaving until they talked about everything.
And wiping her cheeks with the back of her wrist, Mia headed back into the house to confront the only man she’d ever loved.
* * *
Korum was standing in the same spot, still looking out the windo
w. Hearing her approach, he turned around. For a second, a flash of something appeared on his face before it smoothed into its expressionless mask again.
“You didn’t leave,” he said quietly, studying her dispassionately. She knew his sharp gaze didn’t miss the remnants of tears on her face or traces of dirt on her legs.
“No,” she said, her voice rougher than usual. “I didn’t leave.”
“Why not?” He inquired, looking mildly curious, as though they were talking about nothing more important than a movie she didn’t enjoy.
Mia’s eyes narrowed. “Why do you want me to go?” she countered, her chin lifting. “Yesterday, you said you loved me, and now you don’t want to be with me?”
His expression darkened, and his eyes turned that dangerous shade of gold again. “Mia, if you don’t walk away right now, you won’t be able to. Ever. Do you understand me?”
Her heart hammering in her chest, Mia stared defiantly at him. “No, I don’t. I don’t understand you at all.” And instead of walking away, she took a step in his direction.
In the blink of an eye, he was next to her, moving so fast that she jumped in surprise. His hand flashed toward her and closed around the front of her dress, holding her in place as he loomed over her. “What don’t you understand?” he said softly, and she heard the barely controlled rage in the velvety smoothness of his voice. “You want me to beg you to stay? To tell you how much I love you again?”
Her chest rapidly rising and falling with every breath, Mia swallowed to get rid of the obstruction in her throat. She’d never seen him in this kind of mood before, and she was almost frightened. Almost – because she now knew that he would never hurt her. Not physically, at least.
“Why didn’t you leave when I gave you a chance, Mia?” he whispered harshly, jerking her toward him until she was pressed against his body, feeling the heat radiating from him and the hard bulge growing in his jeans. “Don’t you know how much it cost me to let you go?”