Awakening

by Rebel Miller

  “I was hoping we could reconnect and pick up where we left off,” she all but purred. “There was so much left unsaid, so many promises unfulfilled.”

  I really needed to leave.

  “Excuse me,” I mumbled, turning on my heel. Ignoring Gannon, who called after me sharply, I headed for the exit.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  I had reached the main lobby before I realized that Tai had followed me.

  “Is this what you want, Kira?” he spat, stalking me down a hall and into a blessedly empty antechamber. He disengaged the door, sliding it shut behind us.

  “Tai, please leave me alone.”

  “That’s what you’ll be facing,” he said. “Political, opportunistic, calculating people. Women throwing themselves at your senator while you can only stand by. Condescending relatives who have no problem exalting themselves over you.”

  “Shut up,” I said, shoving past him to stare out the wide window. “You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know.” Light snow had started to fall, sleepy and dreamlike, completely contrary to the riot of emotions inside me.

  “Then why? What is it about him that you would put yourself in this position?” He came to stand beside me and I felt his gaze on me, searching my profile.

  I was saved from responding when the door slid open and shut again just as quickly. Gannon strode over and pulled me to him. He held my face firmly as he moved his lips over mine in a deep and demanding kiss. When he broke away, he looked directly into my eyes.

  “I’m so sorry,” he said. “My father … What she said …”

  I pursed my lips, not wanting or prepared to have this conversation, especially with our present company. I glanced furtively at Tai to see him clench his teeth before he turned away.

  Gannon cut a look at Tai before gathering me to his side. “Let’s go,” he said, but I pulled away.

  “Wait. I need to speak with him,” I said, emphasizing each word. I hoped he would understand I needed to speak with Tai privately.

  Gannon either ignored it or was clueless. “Tell her what you need to now,” he ordered Tai.

  “No,” I said firmly. “I need to speak with him alone.”

  “Absolutely not.”

  Anger flashed through me. “So is this the type of liberty a senator has over his mistress?”

  He drew back, his eyes narrowed. “Is this about Petra?”

  I sighed, immediately repentant. “No, Gannon.” Then I realized the origin of my anger. “It’s not her,” I said. “It’s what she represents, something … unattainable. But that’s how this works. I get it. I can handle it.”

  Gannon stared at me. “I don’t want your tolerance, Kira,” he said in a deceptively low voice.

  I shrugged, conscious again of Tai watching us. “What do you want?”

  His eyes flashed. “I want you to be angry, railing against the injustice of it all!”

  Tai stepped toward me, but I held up a hand, staying him.

  “What purpose will that serve, Gannon? You’ll still be a senator, me a subordinate.”

  Gannon searched my face.

  Tai came up beside me. “You’re so fucking full of yourself,” he said, scorn dripping from his every word. “What did you expect? That she’d swoon to your charms and lose her grasp on reality just because you deigned to show her some interest?”

  Before Gannon dragged his gaze from mine, I witnessed a look of complete anguish in his expression. Tai must have seen it too — he draw back when Gannon looked at him. It was as if all the layers hiding his deepest emotions had fallen like leaves to the ground. He was left bare for us to see, his unhidden emotions revealed — what he truly felt. My heart swelled painfully as I realized that our relationship was no trivial liaison for Gannon. It wasn’t an act of rebellion by an entitled senator. He had deeper feelings for me, deeper than I was prepared to acknowledge.

  He skewered Tai. “I’m leaving and taking her with me. Tell her what you have to now, because you may not get another chance.”

  Tai crossed his arms, considering Gannon. Then he swung his gaze over to me, an eyebrow raised, questioning whether he could speak freely.

  I stepped toward Gannon, my pulse picking up speed at the thought of him discovering Tai’s knowledge of the information he had shared confidentially with me and his involvement in relaying it to my uncle. “Please, Gannon. I need to speak with Tai priv—”

  Gannon placed a hand to my cheek, stopping me, and looked to Tai once again. “You have news about her aunt?”

  I froze, shocked. He turned to me.

  “Talib has been monitoring your aunt’s location and activities. He told me Tai visited the area a day or so after I gave you the package,” Gannon said, assuming a carefully blank expression. “I figured you asked him to confirm the information.”

  “I didn’t need confirmation,” I said. “I had no doubt it was true, Gannon. I trust you.”

  Gannon appeared both surprised and relieved by my statement. He looked to Tai. “Then how di—?”

  “Her brother reached out to me.” Tai answered, anticipating his question. “We’re good friends.”

  Gannon nodded curtly. “What did you do with the envelope?”

  Tai gave him a condescending look. “I took care of it.” No doubt, Tai must have effectively destroyed the documents.

  I went to stand in front of Tai. “Tell me.”

  “Your aunt is fine,” he said, “but she and your uncle are making plans to leave Husk.”

  That couldn’t be good. “Where is she going?” I asked.

  “We don’t know yet.”

  “It’ll be all right, Kira,” Gannon said, resting a hand at my back. “I’ve got people tracking her and her family — she won’t go where we can’t find her.”

  I nodded but stopped when I noticed Tai’s hesitation.

  “There’s more?” I asked him, but it came out more as a statement.

  “It’s Paol.” He paused, giving Gannon a cautious look. “He’s been seen speaking with rogue subordinates. There’s talk of him getting involved in a large and well-developed faction in a nearby town.”

  “We’ve been monitoring that as well,” Gannon said grimly. I frowned. He had known about this, but chosen not to tell me?

  “It could be nothing,” Tai said. “He could simply be trying to find work and making inquiries. We’re not sure yet,” he added, but I could tell it was only for my benefit.

  I shook my head. “No, if he was with those people, then he was doing exactly what you’re thinking.” I thought back to when Argon was expelled and I stood in my family’s sitting area, watching my aunt cry, Adria in her arms. I’d never known my Uncle Paol to make idle threats, and now I knew that he’d been serious when he’d said he would challenge the Realm in retaliation if he had to. “It’s a good thing that he’s leaving town then,” I added, hopeful. “He’ll be severing his ties.”

  “Unless …” Tai nodded slowly. “Unless they’re heading to that nearby town.”

  “What’s its name?” Gannon asked. “I’ll make arrangements for them there just in case.”

  “Tholos,” Tai told him. “The Protectorate has seen a lot of rogue activity in the area over the past few weeks. They seem to be making it a headquarters of sorts.”

  “I have to tell Rhoan,” I said. He was bound to become worried.

  “I already did,” Tai said.

  We stood, lost in our thoughts.

  “So, what’s next?” I finally asked, looking between them.

  “We wait,” Tai said, with a glance at Gannon, who gave a tight nod.

  * * *

  I ran my comm across the digital panel only to have it bleat out its denial of my entry once again.

  “You too, huh?” Asher came up beside me. He tried his comm but had the same result.

  I had arrived for work, anxious to get a few tasks completed before the Realm Council’s last day of meetings began later that morning.

  “I called
Theo. He says they’re installing new security today,” Asher said as a few other people ran their comms across the device with no better luck.

  “It’s bad timing, isn’t it?” said a woman I’d seen only in passing. “We’re in the middle of Realm Council meetings.”

  “When the ambassador gives you an order, you drop everything to get it done,” Theo said, coming up behind us. He had walked into the reception area from a secondary and normally inaccessible door. “We were told to upgrade security immediately. Not sure the cause, but there you have it.” He waved a metal card in front of the panel and the glass double doors to the main work area slid open, granting entry to the small group of us that had formed.

  “Thanks, Theo,” I murmured, idly wondering at such a directive.

  “I don’t know how much more secure this place could be,” Asher said with a laugh as he readjusted his bag.

  I smiled. As we walked down the hallway, I saw my chance.

  “Asher,” I said, pulling him into a small, empty work room. “Um, the other night, you said something as we were leaving the bar. It was about the chancellor.” I paused, unsure how to ask without giving myself away. “Why did you say that?”

  He grinned. “I saw him come in one night, with two protectors, when you were working late. I recognized the man who came to pick you up from the bar.”

  “Oh.” My mind tried to pull the pieces together. “Did you happen to speak with the chancellor when he came?”

  “No, he seemed like he was on a mission.”

  My cheeks heated, remembering how Gannon had taken me on my desk.

  Asher chuckled and put a hand on my arm. “Don’t stress over it, Kira. You’re good. No one else knows, and I won’t tell anyone.”

  I fiddled with the clasp on my comm. “Thanks, Asher. I appreciate that.”

  He squeezed my arm and smiled before sauntering off. I watched him settle into his cubicle — formerly mine — and wondered which friend I could pair up with him.

  As I neared my office, I noticed that the door was open, which was odd since coding out of the building locked it. Peering in, I saw the familiar form of a man, clad in red and black, standing in the middle of the room. His bright blue head of hair gave him away.

  “Gabriel?” I said as I entered my office, resting my bag on the small table by the door.

  When Gabriel turned to me, I recoiled. His expression was uncommonly menacing. He thinned his lips and inhaled deeply, evening out the harsh set to his face.

  “Metallurgist — good morning.”

  “Is there something I can help you with?” I glanced around my office, wondering what brought him there and how he’d gotten access.

  He cast a look about the room as well. “Are you enjoying your office?”

  “Yes, thank you. I am.”

  He nodded. “You’re still extremely close to your team, I see. I guess you had nothing to worry about. You seem to attract loyalty no matter where you go,” he muttered.

  He walked toward my desk. He trailed his fingers over the top before standing behind it, facing me. His entire demeanor was so unlike the Gabriel I knew. My skin started to crawl.

  “Gabriel —”

  “The Corona has asked to meet with you privately.”

  I looked at him expectantly. Certainly, he was going to correct himself.

  He took in my look of disbelief and raised a sleek brow. “Oh yes,” he confirmed, picking up the photo frame on the desk. He studied it for a moment.

  “Why?”

  “That’s exactly what I was wondering.” He raised his chin to look at me. “I was hoping you would fill me in.”

  I scanned the office unseeingly, searching my mind for the answer. “I don’t know. When I met her last evening —”

  “You met her?” The harsh sound of metal on metal clattered throughout the room as he set the photo down.

  “Yes,” I said. “At the reception. We didn’t speak about anything in particular.”

  “What exactly did you say?”

  I licked my lips thoughtfully. “She spoke about Argon’s requests for leniency and I … I mentioned the need to make fully informed decisions.” That sounded about right. “She seemed somewhat irritated with me, actually.” I frowned. Was what I said so terrible that she would want to reprimand me? Was my job on the line?

  “The Corona doesn’t get ‘irritated,’” Gabriel said. “She becomes intrigued. It seems you’ve piqued her interest.” He looked out the window, lips tight.

  “I’m really not sure why she’d want to meet with me.”

  “I suppose the only way to find out is for you to meet with her as requested,” he said, sliding his eyes over to me. “You had better hurry. She expects you to be at Realm Council residences within the next fifteen minutes. I wouldn’t want you to be late.”

  My eyes widened. The residences were a twenty-minute walk away! I quickly scooped up my bag, eyeing Gabriel, still standing by my desk, as I backed out of the office.

  After hailing a hover, I arrived at the residences with only a few minutes to spare. Familiarity assaulted me, yet it felt like so long ago since I had been there with Gannon. As I approached the imposing double doors at the end of the pathway, I wondered how I would gain entry.

  I stopped and pulled my coat tighter around me, trying to fend off the cold. After a long moment looking about the large double doors, I decided that a simple knock would have to do. But before my hand could connect with the door, it swung open. A female protector stepped back, her face registering surprise.

  “What are you doing here?” she demanded, her blue eyes wary.

  “I’m Kira Metallurgist. I’ve been invited by the Corona to meet her here,” I said.

  The woman’s eyes narrowed. She promptly removed a device from the inside of her jacket and swiped it. She seemed to find what she was looking for — the suspicion in her eyes eased a bit.

  “Give me your ID,” she ordered.

  I held up my comm and she tapped her device against it. After a brief glance, she stepped back, giving me entry.

  “How do you know about this entrance, Subordinate Metallurgist?” she asked, looking steadily into my eyes.

  I took a quick breath. I had assumed that the entrance Gannon took me through was the only one. There must have been an alternate one. I thought quickly. “My superior told me where to go.”

  The protector assessed me then gave a slight nod. “This way,” she said and turned, releasing me from her scrutiny.

  As she guided me through the halls filled with members of the Senate and Elite, it dawned on me why Gannon had rented out a private residence: it was to protect me. There was no way we could maintain our relationship, at least in secrecy, if we had to meet here, where all the Realm leadership was milling about.

  The young woman finally stopped. I found myself in front of an arched entryway to a small meeting space. It actually looked more like a study, many of which, I knew, were scattered about the building. While the decor was luxurious and rich, the space had an unexpected coziness. Heavy gold drapery shot through with silver thread framed a solitary bay window, the fabric of its seating plush and tufted. To the left of the window were wall-to-wall shelves filled with artifacts, most of which I couldn’t recognize. To my right, floor-to-ceiling gilded mirrors reflected the light that emanated from dancing flames in a fireplace that took up half the length and width of a deep purple wall. Two wingback leather chairs were positioned directly in front of the hearth. Overseeing all of this was a stunning crystal chandelier that hung low and heavy in the center of the room.

  The protector asked me for my coat and bag. I handed them to her, immediately feeling vulnerable. The young woman informed me that the Corona would arrive shortly and I should make myself comfortable. That was easier said than done.

  I wrapped my arms around my waist and walked over to one of the chairs. I was almost seated when I shot back up. It would be rude to be seated when the Corona arrived. Instead I stood b
y the fireplace and resisted the urge to gnaw on my bottom lip. I had become mesmerized by the large licks of flame when I heard a whisper of sound behind me. I stumbled in my haste to turn around, and found the Corona lowering herself in a chair.

  She laughed, a light, floating sound. “I’m sorry if I frightened you. My protectors say I move like a ghost, so quiet are my steps. I imagine that makes it difficult for them to keep track of me.” She invited me with a wave of her hand to sit in the other chair.

  “Sovereign,” I said with a nod before taking the offered seat.

  “Mika, Priyat, please wait outside,” she said to the protectors standing close by. One of them was the young woman who had greeted me. They moved as one to stand just beyond the archway.

  “Thank you for coming on such short notice, Subordinate Metallurgist,” the Corona said with a smile. “Do you mind if I call you Kira?”

  “Not at all,” I said, wondering what she would do if I said I did.

  “Are you enjoying the Realm Council meeting so far?” She leaned over to the small table between us. There was a tea service set up on it, which I, oddly, hadn’t notice before. “Would you like tea?”

  “No, thank you.”

  “And?”

  “Pardon me?”

  “The meeting?”

  “Oh, yes, this entire process is fascinating. Thank you for inviting me.”

  When she had fixed her tea — no milk or sugar — she leaned back in her chair. The flames cast a golden sheen over her light blond hair. She watched me as she sipped.

  “I’ve seen you speak before,” I said, feeling the need to fill the silence. “In person, that is. When I was younger, I attended the Realm Exhibition.”

  “Ah … It’s unfortunate that we had to cancel the event this year. There’s so much tension and conflict around the Realm, we just cannot afford to put our citizens at risk.”

  I nodded, studying the leather-trimmed hem of my black wool skirt.

  “Are you a sympathizer, Kira?”

  My head snapped up. “Excuse me?”

  She stared at me, waiting as she blew the surface of her tea.

  My brain caught up. “With the factions?”