by Beth Hodgson
Emerald had slept in his arms the whole night and hadn’t moved since she fell asleep. He could feel her naked body inhaling and exhaling softly underneath the sheets. Nothing had felt more satisfying than finally being able to indulge in his desire for her. He had ached for her all these years, and finally he had her.
Derek felt the best he had since he had arrived in Arcadia. No, ever since he’d put the circlet on Emerald’s head and married her. His body felt strong, his headaches had disappeared, and he was thinking clearer than he had in the last few weeks. And most importantly, Ikaria was not invading his mind, much to his relief.
Emerald stirred, rolling over to face him. She gave him a small smile, but it wasn’t her usual bright smile. Her eyes were devoid of herself.
A sick feeling flared up in the pit of Derek’s stomach all over again.
“Good morning, my king,” she said.
“Good morning, my beautiful queen.” Derek kissed her lips, then pulled her close. The two lay in bed, listening to the rain falling outside the windows.
Emerald sat still, an unusual stillness that made Derek’s skin crawl.
“What is it?” Derek asked, continuing to look outside at the dark sky.
“I had a dream.”
“Oh? About what?”
“It was about an oddly dressed man in black. He was strange. He smoked cigarettes and rode an outdated motorcycle. I feel like I know him, but I am sure that I would have never met such a man,” she said, then turned to him with expressionless green eyes. “It is like my mind is a fog, and I can’t remember things,” she said calmly with a monotonous voice.
Derek’s face grew dark. Somehow, Kyle continued to haunt him, even after Derek had thought it was all over. “It was just a dream,” Derek answered as he held her tightly.
“Yes, it was just a dream,” she murmured back to him. Then, she paused, making a strange facial expression. “It felt like I knew this man…” Her voice trailed off as she rubbed her temples around where the circlet rested on her head.
“I want you to forget everything about the dream and the man. Everything,” Derek said bitterly.
The circlet began to glow, and a violet-black color radiated from it. Emerald’s eyes grew emptier than before, looking at him with acknowledgment. With every order he gave her in his thoughts or words, she obeyed.
“Yes, my king.”
Derek wondered if the power of the circlet could make her forget about that pathetic loser. There was no better way than for him to try to test it out, just to ensure that he never heard about Kyle ever again.
“My dearest, tell me all about the dream you just had,” Derek asked, frowning, afraid of her answer.
“Dream?” Emerald looked at him again, confused. “What dream?”
“You know, the dream you just told me about. The oddly dressed man,” he persisted.
“I had a dream?” she asked, expressionless. She put her hand to her head, rubbing it, as if the gentle massage would clear away the fog. “I don’t recall a dream, Derek…”
Derek smiled at her. “Perhaps I misunderstood,” he said, holding her close to him again. He began to laugh with pleasure inwardly, knowing that the magic worked. Now he had no doubt that her heart would not be swayed by another man, especially not Kyle.
Getting out of bed, Derek stretched, exposing his naked flesh. Grabbing a robe and throwing it on loosely, Derek called out for Silas in the next chamber.
Silas appeared at the door with two cups, saucers, and a small coffee pot. “Your Majesty.” He bowed, then set down the cups, pouring hot coffee in each cup.
“Please make haste and gather my outfit for the day. I am to be at the corporation in an hour.”
“This early in the morning?”
“Yes.” Derek nodded, his gaze moving to Emerald. “And Silas, please call upon the Queen’s handmaidens and have them escort her back to her chambers.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Silas bowed at them both, then made his way into closet, out of Derek’s view.
In the corner of his eye, Derek thought he saw the air ripple near the window. Turning his full attention toward it, the cyborg materialized in front of the glass, his eyes glowing with intensity.
The cyborg narrowed his glowing orange eye while the mechanical one focused its lens, making a shifting sound. A shiver ran down Derek’s spine, causing Derek’s stomach to jitter. Had he been watching them all night?
The cyborg didn’t move, instead it gave Derek a snarl. Then with a sudden jolt, the cyborg flickered back to being invisible once again.
It’s a good thing I am getting rid of that damn thing.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE
ORANGE
Another storm. Not that Telly minded; she loved the rain.
It was extremely early, even for Telly. She had always been one of those people who got up before sunrise, drinking her coffee and reading the latest science journal on her tablet before anyone else woke up. But today was different. Her nerves had kept her up all night, and she finally decided to get up extra early.
As she walked by her living room window, she noticed how little visibility the rain offered. Telly could have sworn she had seen flashes of red lightning within the storm, but perhaps her mind was playing tricks on her. Her head had been throbbing ever since she got up, and her body ached from the lack of sleep. It was finally catching up to her. Being back in the lab had always made her sleepless. It was worse now that Drew would finally be returning to her today.
Reaching into the refrigerator to get milk for her coffee, the remaining blood samples caught her eye. She didn’t know what to do with the remaining ones. She couldn’t very well bring the stolen blood back. It had been enough of an effort smuggling them out of the lab in the first place.
Ignoring the samples, Telly closed the refrigerator. She poured her morning coffee, adding milk and sugar to the cup, stirring it hurriedly as she thought of Drew. She slurped down her drink as she hurried to the bathroom, fixing her messy cropped hair and brushing it into place. She put on some simple earrings, then her bifocals, as she knew the prince, no, King Derek would be there today, visiting the lab with his royal advisor, Ikaria. She could care less about royal visitors. All she cared about was seeing Drew.
Telly had heard the whispers throughout the lab yesterday. Rumor had it that Derek would be continuing Damaris’s order to ready the cyborgs. Telly was a bit surprised hearing that, but none of it concerned her since Drew would be back in the lab under her direct supervision.
I wonder if he’s had more memories return to him since I last saw him.
Telly finished getting ready, then left her apartment, locking the door. Walking down the hall, she almost forgot the most important tool to communicate with Drew—her tablet. She hurried back, fidgeting with the door, then bolted back into her apartment, snatching her tablet and shoving it into her bag. Hopefully Gwen wouldn’t wake up with all the racket she was making. Or maybe she should make a bunch of noise; that girl constantly overslept and missed her first class more often than not.
Telly walked briskly down the hall, then entered the skyway system. The people in the skyways mimicked the weather; gloom hung over everyone as they made their way to work, schools, or shops. But not Telly. The weather had quite the opposite effect on her. Telly delighted in the rains pouring through the city. Arcadia was mostly sunny all year round. This kind of weather always reminded her of her childhood city, the Twin Kingdoms. There was different weather all year round there, with plenty of rain and snow. Ever since she moved to Arcadia as a young adult, she longed to see any bit of weather that wasn’t the usual sunny day.
Telly ran quickly from the mid-level skyway’s ending tunnel to the building’s main public transport hub, getting wet in the process. The lower levels were probably like rivers right now, flowing with trash and sewage, spilling into the ocean. The drainage in the city was terrible, and heavy rains always caused major damage to the lower levels. It n
ever affected her in the mid-levels, but she did feel sorry for those who were less fortunate.
Soaked, Telly squeezed into the tiny glass shelter along with others waiting for their transport number. The people in the public transport shelter were closer than she would have liked, but there was no room unless she wanted to be out in the rain. She could smell one man’s strong cologne, along with another man’s sweat, both of them next to her, filling her nostrils with confusion of the clashing smells. She stifled a gag.
Finally, the transport with her number arrived, and she hopped on with a few other passengers. They scanned her ID as she waited to get past the driver. It cleared, allowing her access to the upper levels. After everyone was on board, the transport took off.
While the air transport was en route to the corporation, another peal of roaring thunder, accompanied by red forked lightning, ripped through the skies. A few of the passengers gasped, pointing in the direction of the strange-colored lightning.
It’s not just me seeing this.
The transport made its stops, finally arriving at Telly’s destination: the corporation employee platform. She exited the transport, then followed the hundreds of other employees arriving for the day. Everyone was entering the building and making their way toward the elevators, escalators, and stairs. Telly moved toward the back elevators, ones that only certain employees had, ones that led underground to her lab.
Using her key card, the elevators opened, and she stepped inside. One of her other coworkers, Michael, entered. Telly eyed him, and his face shifted down as he avoided her gaze.
There was an uncomfortable silence. They had never talked unless they had to, and not all since the day she’d returned to Lab 34. And for good reason.
The elevator made its way down, humming with a low buzz. More uncomfortable silence.
“Was it worth it?” Telly asked, her eyes piercing right at him. Michael continued to look downward, shifting uncomfortably.
“What was I supposed to do?” he said. “You were getting too involved with our assignment.”
“You mean, my assignment. Drew was donated by me. It was our research, mixed with the corporation’s supplies.”
Michael’s eyes met hers evenly. “But you forget that I was a part of the team that helped Drew get to where he was. I did what I thought was best. You were far too attached to Drew, letting your emotions get the best of you. The directors had to know what was going on. Anyway, it’s not like anything big happened. You are back now, are you not?”
“Actually, me getting transferred was big,” Telly stated dryly. “Thanks for interfering. I’ll always remember it.”
Michael lowered his head again. Telly swiped back a few strands of hair that fell in her face, then crossed her arms, gritting her teeth.
Good, at least he knows that I know what he did.
She knew he hadn’t reported her to do what was right. He just wanted a damn promotion. He had always envied her. Telly could always see it in his eyes. Regardless, he was in his same position, not promoted, while she’d returned to a position of authority. In fact, upon returning, the directors had urged her to take the elevated position that they had always pushed on her. This time she took it, and now she was the new director of her department, working side by side with Jonathan as his equal.
And now that she had been promoted, she had the freedom to do her desired research while working with the cyborgs in her lab. And she chose to continue to research more ideas and develop possible technology that could recover his memories and rehabilitate him to be as human as possible.
The elevator dinged, stopping at the bottom level, the furthest underground level there was in the building. Michael quickly headed off to his area of the lab. She smiled to herself, walking through the main capsule room that housed most of the cyborgs.
Whenever one showed a bit more promise or more specialized abilities than the others, that cyborg was then relocated to a private lab, just like how Drew had been. Of course, none of them had real magic like Drew; they were only infused with minor capabilities the blood gave them.
The bright lights of the cyborg capsules, along with the computer monitors, lit up the cyborg room, its only light source within the darkness. She passed her coworkers, directors, superiors, and associates—all seemed to be pacing quickly but calmly under pressure as they prepared for King Derek’s visit.
It was such a shame that Damaris had suicided. But Telly, including all of Lab 34, liked Derek as their new king, much more than Damaris. Of course, the media was trying to downplay the suicide as much as possible. And why wouldn’t they? Emerald was admired and loved, married to an equally loved prince, and now they were king and queen of Arcadia.
Telly made it to her private lab, passing her computer station and the sterile white room with her lab equipment. She peeked into the observation window, wishfully thinking that Drew might have come ahead of the royal party.
His room remained empty.
But he would be there soon. And all would be as it was.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR
BLACK
Ikaria kept her facial expression still as the royal transport departed, but inside she was screaming with delight. She was inside a machine, flying across the expanse of Arcadia, one of the most technological cities of all time. Never had she been so fascinated by anything in her life, including the blond men she so desired. She had to admit that even the magics she’d consumed couldn’t compare to the beauty of the machines here, along with the knowledge that she’d drained from them.
Absentmindedly, Ikaria placed one of her hands over the other, wanting to feel the gauntlet’s metal. The cool metal felt smooth, and remained invisible to everyone but her. It was intentional, of course, as she didn’t want Derek inquiring further about its power, nor did she want the scientists to ask why she had it. Ikaria doubted Derek would care if he found out what it really did, but she didn’t feel like dealing with a barrage of questions coming from him. When they returned to the palace, she would make it appear once again.
A thought crossed her mind. What if she simply stayed in the past and ruled Arcadia? The city-kingdom had everything that Ikaria could possibly ever want, and she could reign over the planet, not some patch of sky. She had yet to set foot on the actual earth. Ikaria always thought that she would do it in her time, but what if she did it in this time era? What if she stayed behind, pushed Derek aside, and assumed his throne?
The thought gave her much pleasure. Queen of Arcadia, the kingdom of vast technology. Oh, she liked that. But Ikaria wouldn’t have her revenge on the High Court, Auron, and everyone else who was against her if she did so. That, she couldn’t live without. She had to see the high justices’ faces when she made an example out of them. Perhaps when the future was settled, with her as the ruling establishment, she could come back to Arcadia.
Ikaria felt the transport jerk, then come to a complete stop. Within a minute of landing, the transport’s side door opened, and she exited the vehicle, walking down a small ramp. Derek stayed alongside Ikaria as the two of them exited the platform, heading toward the main entrance of the corporation with a series of guards in front of them. The unique cyborg, Drew, was also in their party, trailing behind, mechanical noises emitting from the joints of his right side with each step. Ikaria didn’t understand why Drew wore clothes. Propriety? It was nonsense. After all, he was only part human. It didn’t give her a chance to take in the beauty of his half-mechanized body.
Derek was usually quiet, but Ikaria knew what he was thinking. He just wanted her gone and to manage the mess that she’d made with Damaris. The new King had feelings of guilt and remorse about taking advantage of Queen Emerald. She could feel it oozing out of him like an annoying, incessant mental sobbing. Ikaria couldn’t understand why he was beating himself up over it. Derek needed to live a little, and without her help, he would be sulking all the way back to York.
“Your Majesty,” a lab director called out, meeting the group on the
platform, then bowing. “Let me introduce myself. Head Director Santiago, Your Majesty. We, including myself, are honored by your visit.”
Derek nodded at the director. “Thank you, Head Director. It is good to finally meet you in person.”
“You are most welcome, Your Majesty.” The director eyed the royal group. “Where is Councilor Zane?” Santiago asked. “He usually he accompanied the late King Damaris on these visits to the corporation.”
A group of directors joined the head director, all giving Derek a deep bow, awaiting his orders. Ikaria gracefully emerged in front of Derek, giving the head director a sweet smile. “Oh, the councilor is quite busy and has prior engagements. His Majesty was so kind to ask me to assist him today.”
Santiago eyed her curiously with a puzzled look on his face. “Excuse me… Lady…?” he asked, searching for her name.
“Ikaria. There is no need for a formal title. I am an advisor to the King.”
“I’m quite charmed,” Santiago said, kissing her hand. He turned to Derek. “I have heard rumors of your new advisor, but no one told me she was so beautiful!”
Ikaria flashed a smile to the director, then turned her head to Derek. “You see, my king,” she said in a slight mocking tone. “At least some people appreciate me.”
The King let out an annoyed sigh but otherwise chose to ignore her.
The director bowed, then offered his arm to escort her, leading them inside the building. The sound of Drew could be heard, echoing down the large entryway.
As Ikaria and Derek walked the halls of the corporation and into the lab, she touched whatever she could, making it seem like she was doing it absentmindedly, admiring the beauty of the technicians’ work. She wanted the knowledge behind each device, each computer, each cyborg… anything to soak up to better her sector. And as she gained that knowledge, she was calculating what magic she could infuse into the machines. Magic she had.