by Rachel Jonas
Silas and I entered her room and it was just as she left it. I’d already come in to look around, but at the time, I was a bit more frantic and less focused than I was now. This time around, I was on a very specific mission.
We needed direction.
There had to be some sign as to where she’d gone, who or what was so important that she continuously put her life on the line.
“Check the drawers and I’ll look in her closet,” Silas called out as he headed that way.
I started at the dresser, pulling out garments Elle had, no doubt, overloaded Corina with while here. I came up empty and turned to the nightstand beside her bed, and that’s when I saw it.
Her purse.
I guessed she left it behind in her haste to leave. It wasn’t lost on me how adamant she was to have it back in her possession, so I could only hope there was something worthwhile inside it.
Memories from the night of the gala flooded my thoughts as I moved toward the familiar clutch. Corina was breathtaking—then, always. It was no wonder I found myself in this mess. She continuously overwhelmed me, and the more I considered it, having any measure of feelings for her had proven to be a curse.
Silas approached from behind, and I was aware of his footsteps. The silver clasp opened with an audible snap and I didn’t hesitate to reach inside. Whereas respecting Corina’s privacy had once been a priority, she forfeited that right when she betrayed my trust.
A thin metal bracelet rested at the bottom of the bag. Deep in a corner, a small hunk of silicone. I couldn’t even begin to wrap my head around how she’d gotten her hands on one when I pulled it out to lay eyes on it.
Silas seemed to hold his breath as I held it out for us both to evaluate, for us both to come up with some viable reason why she—a human with a mysterious origin—had a Dynasty-issued earpiece in her possession.
“What do you think it means,” Silas asked distractedly, still staring at the device. “Who do you think she was communicating with?”
Shrugging, I realized I hadn’t closed my mouth since making the discovery.
My eyes zeroed in on the small button located on the side, but didn’t get the chance to activate it.
“Excuse me, Your Highness?” Elle announced herself. Her voice was softer than usual. Almost timid.
I turned to meet what I now knew to be a worried gaze.
“May I have a word with you?” she asked next.
Normally, with such pressing matters at hand, I would have requested that she wait until things settled, but there was a look in her eyes that changed my mind. When I answered with a nod, Elle had Silas’ attention too.
A headful of stylishly-cropped, brunette hair lowered until her eyes were trained on the floor. I was right. Something was troubling her.
That’s when it hit me.
“Do you know something, Elle? Something you’re not telling me?”
She rang her hands tightly and I tensed.
“I do,” she admitted, “but I only kept it from you because you had your father to deal with, and I was asked to pay the guards off, so—”
“Out with it, Elle,” I urged.
She had a tendency to stall when she was nervous to share something.
“It’s possible that … I know a bit more than you do about Mistress Corina’s escape.”
I knew it.
“What can you tell me? Where is she?” I rambled, stepping closer.
“I’m not sure where she went, but I know what she’s taken with her.”
It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
“Weapons? Money?” I guessed.
“No,” Elle cut in. “She took food. An entire bag full of it. I scanned her duffle using the camera mounted outside the greenhouse.”
Clever girl.
Still, did Corina not think a firearm or flashlight would be useful? The only thing she thought to steal—other than my bike, helmet and jacket—was food?
“There’s … more,” Elle interjected. My gaze settled on her again. “When I located her and linked in to the helmet’s communication system, I quickly realized it was impossible to talk her out of her plan. So, after a few wasted minutes pleading she’d turn back, I … helped her.”
The admission left Silas speechless. But I, on the other hand, felt my hands tighten into fists.
“You did what?” I roared.
There was no use trying to quiet myself.
“Before you get angry,” she rushed to plead, “I had a good reason.”
Silas crossed both arms over his chest. “And what reason could that possibly be?” He’d taken the words right out of my mouth.
Elle sighed deeply—another human attribute she picked up despite not actually being capable of breathing.
“I did it because she would have done this with or without me.”
There was no doubt in my mind to the truth in that statement. Corina was as stubborn as a mule.
“And we all know she wouldn’t have made it out safely without someone who knows the property guiding her, so that’s what I did,” Elle admitted. “I did it because, without me, the guards would have captured and killed her before you even knew she was missing.”
I stood in silence, amazed by her quick deduction of outcomes, but also keenly aware of her perspective. It seemed as though, despite having dwelled in a predominately Ianite world, Elle’s sentiments lied with the human populace at times.
Like tonight, when she opted to aid Corina’s escape without even considering her other options. For instance, it would have taken her a split second to wake me, giving me the opportunity to call off the guards and stop Corina peacefully, without anyone being harmed.
However, Elle’s rationale was to inadvertently side with Corina.
“You’re not programmed to make decisions that aren’t in the best interest of the palace.”
She peered up at the sound of the stern tone I took with her.
“While that may be true, Your Highness, it is also true that I was created to evolve. And it’s been during this evolution that I’ve come to learn something on my own.”
Her response rendered me speechless.
“What’s that?” Silas asked, genuinely intrigued.
Elle gave a dim smile and shrugged again, in that very human manner of hers as she met our gazes.
“I learned that programming doesn’t exceed friendship.”
The science glutton in Silas—despite his aversion to A.I. technology—overpowered his sensible side. This was evident when he smiled instead of seeing this ‘evolution’ for what it was—Elle was no longer just a resource.
She had a mind of her own.
There was no time to express how livid I was with how she handled this, but I’d have to deal with that later. Once again, I turned to focus on the com. I was now more nervous than before as to where Corina had disappeared. And seeing as we’d only reached dead ends so far, I knew there was only one way to get an answer.
I pressed the button that brought the small earpiece to life.
Holding it a moment, I was admittedly nervous to find out what would happen next, but I needed to know where this rabbit hole would lead.
There was a low hum when I positioned it inside my ear, and my first thought was that the battery was dying and it was basically useless. It would have been a fitting end to a brutal night of dead ends and false hope.
I’d just given up and made up my mind that this was the end of the line.
“Hello? You there?” came a panicked, feminine voice streaming through the device. Her disposition was filled with enough fear and concern that I knew right away she’d been at least part of the reason our houseguest was so unsettled.
However, as if I didn’t already have enough evidence, the gentle voice confirmed it and I no longer had a doubt.
“Cori … if by some miracle you can hear me just hang in there,” she pleaded through the static of our lousy connection. “We’ve been on standby night and day hoping to hear from y
ou, and we’re doing everything we can to bring you home. But in case you forgot … we love you.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Corina
What is this place?
The last thing I recalled was the sting of a dart entering my neck, and now I was waking up in a strange room.
Or rather … we were waking up in a strange room.
I blinked through an overwhelming haze, squinting into the glare of a single, overhead light. Levi was a bit more coherent than I, and I accepted his hand when he offered it to help me stand.
“Are you okay?”
His stare was intense until I answered with a nod. “I think so.” Peering up, my eyes met his. “Do you know who did this?”
My heart sank as he shook his head. “No, but I can assure you it’s roamers. Ianites would never behave so barbarically.”
I was in no mood to point out the irony of his statement, so I stayed quiet while he felt his pocket, sighing as something dawned on him.
“And they’ve taken all my belongings as well, which means I have no way to even notify anyone of our whereabouts.”
A thought occurred to me suddenly. “Your powers!” I blurted. “Is there anything you can do? I don’t know … remove the door, maybe?” I wasn’t even sure he could do that, but recalled the power he exerted to move me in the woods tonight, and how he’d strung the roamers from a tree. It seemed worth suggesting.
“Can’t,” he sighed. “Whatever was in that dart dampened my abilities. At least for now.”
This just kept getting better.
The fall I’d taken was bad enough, but then to be drugged and locked in some foreign place left me even more disoriented. However, a few things were clear. I only needed to do a quick scan of the room to understand what sort of facility this was. With its aged, padded floor and walls, solitary cot beneath a barred window high above, and reinforced door.
An asylum—one long abandoned.
It’d been years since humans were brought to places like these. As Ianites became more detached from our kind, their ‘primitive’ ancestors, they no longer saw the need to accommodate our infirmities. It became common for those with failing mental health to simply be put down, instead of dedicating resources and personnel to run places like these. From what I’d heard, the last institution was shut down nearly one-hundred years ago. And considering the condition of our surroundings—aged and outdated, but somehow relatively clean—that valuation sounded about right. Still, I was desperate to know who’d taken the time to repurpose a facility like this?
And for what reason?
Levi surveyed the space, letting his gaze settle on the door straight ahead—the only way into or out of this room. A panicked stare met mine and the urgency within it made my heart race.
“Someone’s coming,” he whispered.
Instinctively, I squeezed his hand tighter and didn’t complain when he positioned his body in front of mine.
The unnerving metallic screech sent a chill down my spine when the lock disengaged. I was both curious and terrified of who would enter; keeping my eyes stretched wide when the door flung open, and two large figures stepped inside. Leading the way, was a burly vampire, with scars on his face that resembled a roadmap.
Like the ones I bore on my back and legs.
Despite the fear that gripped me, I was more intrigued by him than anything as he gawked, evaluating Levi and I from afar. These were not burn scars he bore—the only injury from which an Ianite did not heal fully. That meant that, at some point, he’d been human—making him either really old, or illegally turned somewhere along the line.
Interesting.
The brute noticed me staring.
“Are you sizing me up, human? He asked in a hard, gruff voice. Typical fashion for his kind, as his smaller, younger sidekick observed with an oddly timid expression. “Because if you’re thinking of trying something stupid, you may want to reconsider. Make one false move and I swear I’ll eat you alive.”
I didn’t doubt his promise for one moment, so wisdom urged me to keep my thoughts to myself. No matter how badly I wanted to mouth off to him.
However, much to my surprise, I didn’t have to come to my own defense.
The brute’s red stare faltered a smidge when Levi stepped closer, never releasing my hand despite the growing distance between us.
“Touch her, and I swear hellhounds will feast on your head by dawn.” He towered over the minion, returning the threat.
The small-framed one swallowed hard, hearing Levi’s words. “Jax, I think that’s enough. This isn’t why we’re here.”
I noticed more about the boy now, more than I had a moment ago. Like, how he seemed a bit … fresh. As if he’d only recently joined whatever operation this was, and hadn’t fully learned the ropes. My guess was that our brutish friend, Jax, was acting as his mentor perhaps? Either way, it was clear the young one wasn’t yet as heavily invested as his partner.
And there was something else that stood out, a purple strip of material tied around his dark sleeve, encircling his bicep.
To the average person or Ianite, it would have seemed like nothing more than a sad attempt at starting a fashion trend. However, I supposed I wasn’t the average person, because I had a hunch it meant much more.
I kept my theory to myself because, in this situation, it wasn’t apparently clear who I could trust. Even with Levi’s suspicions of me heightened just before we were captured, I had to be careful around him as well. The last thing I needed was to confirm his curiosity that I was ‘associated with Blackbird’.
It seemed the kid’s attempt at resolving the tension that brewed between Levi and Jax worked. The brief standoff between them came to an end when a walkie talkie at Jax’s hip chirped.
He ignored the device, never lowering his gaze from Levi’s.
“The two of you will be here for quite some time, so get comfortable,” Jax chuckled, finally conveying the instructions he’d been sent to give. “You’ll take your meals here, sleep here, and bathe here,” he added, pointing toward a large, tub-like bucket filled with clean water, and the small stack of towels beside it. “And one of us will be by after each meal to escort the girl to use the facilities. Until then, or unless the boss says otherwise, you’ll be in this room until further notice. Understood?”
“Why were we brought here?” Levi asked, ignoring the original question.
The vicious stare Jax returned made it clear he didn’t appreciate being over-talked. He stepped closer, getting comfortable in Levi’s personal space.
“Seems you haven’t gotten the picture just yet.” Jax’s voice billowed from his throat with a surprising air of calmness. “Whatever authority you think you have, it doesn’t extend inside this building. Here in the fringes, we answer to one man and one man only.”
“And who might that be?”
“Be patient.” Jax flashed a wicked grin. “You’ll find that out soon enough.”
Something about the way he said those words chilled me to the bone. Or perhaps it was the satisfied look that followed.
“I tell you what,” Levi spoke up, “I don’t know what this guy is paying you to do his dirty work, but I assure you it doesn’t compare to what I can give you.” He stepped closer to Jax and I held my breath. “Let us go, right here, right now, and I guarantee there’s no demand you can make that I can’t grant you.”
Jax’s face went slack.
“I’m talking wealth, women, and status,” Levi promised.
The room was quiet and I silently prayed Jax had been moved by this offer.
“Unlike you, my Ianite brother, no one in this building can be bought,” Jax asserted. “Your money is no good here.” After nodding for the kid to follow, he opened the large, heavy door to exit.
“You’re wrong about that,” Levi added in parting. “Everyone can be bought. I only need to discover your price.”
With that, the door was slammed shut, and it was just the two of us again—th
e furious prince of the West and I.
Acknowledging that there had been a bit too much excitement for me today, I sat. Now, I was beginning to feel the effects of it—the dizziness, the haze. Internally, I was pleading with myself not to lose it, but I wasn’t sure I could hold the episode at bay.
Levi didn’t seem to notice, and I preferred it that way. Even when I decided to rest my head on the lone pillow we were given, he continued to pace and curse silently to himself.
Maybe if I find some way to settle and fall asleep I can fight it.
But then again, that had never worked.
“I’ll get us out of here,” he muttered as he walked the perimeter of the room. “Someone will slip and say more than they ought to and we’ll use that to our advantage. Besides, they don’t even want to know the hell I’ll bring down on their heads when this is all over.”
My head swam, so I didn’t bother joining in on his conversation. Instead, I lay there listening to him rant as the fog spread through my brain. I moved my fingertips aimlessly along the edge of the cot, back and forth over the rough edges of words etched into the metal.
“With what our blood bond stands to offer the Ianite world—an eventual cure to the sickness—it won’t just be the monarchs and guards who will be out for blood. It will be the entire free world.”
Darkness had begun to close in, and it was only a matter of time before my quiet suffering would become a violent scene I could no longer hide from Levi. In a perfect world, I would’ve been able to dismiss myself to a quiet room, and endure in private. I would’ve been able to hide from him and all his outward perfection, knowing how my condition was perceived by his kind.
But I didn’t have that luxury.
However, in the coming days, I’d become one of them and this major, life-defining condition would be a thing of the past.
That was the one and only silver lining I ever found to being turned.
I continued to trace the letters and simply waited for the jittering that had already started in my hands to spread and intensify.