Hayden's eyes widened a fraction, and he shook his head. “No, that's not what I meant.” With a sigh, he admitted, “This is not going the way I’d hoped.”
Ariana pulled away and folded her hands in her lap. “I'm flattered you asked to court me, but the truth of the matter is that my feelings have long since been engaged elsewhere. I don't want to lead you on or give you any indication I'm open to an arrangement between us.”
Hayden was quiet for a long moment, studying her thoughtfully. “I understand Alec is courting you as well. I'm assuming that's why he's here now. Your father mentioned Alec had asked permission a few years ago, but I wasn't aware there was anything between you two back then.”
She paused and shook her head. “No, there wasn't. Not really. It was… It was complicated.”
Ariana looked down at her lap, wanting to be honest but not sure how to explain. What happened between her and Alec was private and not something she wanted to share with anyone else. He'd never made her any formal promises back then, but she'd thought they'd been heading in that direction.
“I think I understand,” Hayden said, putting his hand over hers. His warm energy surrounded her once more, offering comfort and understanding. “You care for him, that much is obvious, but I think you should consider all your options before making a decision, Ari. A permanent bond is something that should be forever. I've never considered entering into one, until I met you.”
She lifted her gaze, meeting his amber eyes. The warning in his words was unmistakable. Some people within the towers disapproved of the fact Alec's permanent bond with Kayla had been dissolved. It went against their basic core beliefs. She had difficulties wrapping her head around the idea herself. How could you love someone, commit yourself to them and fuse your very soul to theirs, only to just walk away?
Alec's explanation made sense, but she was still afraid. If he'd done it with Kayla, it was possible he could change his mind about her too. What if she gave her heart to him completely, embraced a permanent bond with him, and he broke it? It had hurt so much the first time he walked out of her life, she wasn't sure she could survive a second time.
“You don't have to make any decisions today,” Hayden reminded her. “Right now, you just need to consider your options. Why don't you have dinner with me tomorrow? I'll take you out to a neutral setting. No pressure. It will just be two friends getting to know each other better.”
Ariana hesitated. There wasn't much harm in what he was proposing. He wasn't pressuring her, and he was within his rights to insist since her father had already given his permission to court her. He wasn't doing that but simply asking instead. She owed him at least that much.
“All right. I'll go to dinner with you.”
“Good,” he said with a smile. Squeezing her hand, he stood from the couch. “How does seven sound?”
“That's fine,” she agreed and stood.
Hayden leaned down and kissed her cheek, trailing a teasing band of energy over her skin. “Thank you for speaking with me, Ari. I look forward to tomorrow.”
Ariana said her goodbyes and led him to the door. Once he was gone, she turned around and pressed her back against it. Squeezing her eyes shut, she cursed her father again and made the decision to speak with him first thing in the morning. He'd been avoiding her all day today, but she wouldn't give him the opportunity tomorrow.
“It's not your father's fault,” Alec spoke from the opposite doorway. She opened her eyes to find him watching her, his expression guarded.
“No, but it doesn't make things any easier. He should have spoken to me before he did this.”
“Perhaps,” Alec agreed and walked toward her. She relaxed her hold on their connection, picking up on his tightly controlled hurt and anger. “Hayden's not wrong, Ari. Permanent bonds are supposed to be forever.”
She frowned. “Do you really believe that?”
“Dammit, Ari, of course I do! If my bond with Kayla hadn't been dissolved during the duel with Lars, I would have stayed bonded to her for the rest of my life. I share the same beliefs you do. The only difference is I bonded with Kayla to save her. I don't regret that. If the situation happened again, I would do the exact same thing. The alternative could have killed her.”
Guilt flooded through Ariana, and she hung her head. “I know, Alec. I shouldn't hold it against you. I think what you did for Kayla was honorable and selfless. It was a tremendous sacrifice, especially considering you barely knew her. But what happened between you two changed everything.”
She turned away, walking over to the fountain in the corner of the room. She dipped her fingers in the water, needing to feel the cool and soothing energy around her.
“When you spend your whole life believing there's one other person who will complete you and be your counterpoint in every way, you hold on to that ideology. It shapes the way you view relationships. I know others have dated and experimented with energy outside of courtship, but I wasn't really interested to do the same. It wasn't just because my parents kept me isolated. Why would I want anyone else when my soulmate was out there waiting for me? Now that's all changed. I don't know what to believe anymore. Is everything we thought a lie?”
Alec sighed and moved to stand behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed a kiss on the top of her head. “It's not a lie, Ari. I choose to believe it was the will of the gods.”
Ariana turned in his arms to look up at him. “What do you mean?”
He lifted his hand to stroke her cheek. “Kayla wasn't meant for me, love. I wanted to believe we were meant to be together because we'd bonded, but it became clear that wasn't the case. I believe my purpose in Kayla's life was to protect her and introduce her to our world. Once that purpose had been fulfilled, we were both given another chance to find our happiness. Don't you think it's strange we've believed for centuries our bonds were permanent, only to find out they could be destroyed? Even now, we don't know how to duplicate it. All we know is it has something to do with spirit energy. Maybe it can't be done. Maybe it was the will of the gods.” He lifted her chin with his fingers. “Maybe there's someone else who is meant for me. Maybe that person was always meant for me but we weren't ready to be with each other. Until now.”
Ariana bit her lip, wondering if he was right. It couldn't be a coincidence that everything had lined up. The timing was too strange to be anything but part of Fate's design.
“I agreed to go to dinner with Hayden tomorrow,” she said in a quiet voice.
Alec nodded. “I heard. That's your right and his, but it doesn't change anything between us. You're mine, Ari. I'm not going to stand aside and let him convince you otherwise. Go to dinner with him, but I'd like you to come to me afterward and stay the night.”
Her eyes flew open. “What? What about our connection? You said it wasn't a good idea.”
“My intentions are innocent. Mostly.” He took another step closer, trailing his fingers down the side of her face. “Will you do that for me? After you're finished with dinner, will you come to my quarters? I won't push you for anything, love. I just want to have you in my bed and hold you through the night. That's all.”
She softened against him and nodded, wanting to embrace everything he offered and more. No matter what her head was telling her, her heart was determined to lead her down a different path. She just hoped she didn't end up falling too hard along the way.
“Yes, Alec, I'd love to spend the night with you.”
Chapter Nine
Sergei walked through the construction site the next morning, assessing the progress and quality of the work. They were still too far behind schedule, but the quality was better than he had expected. It was somewhat surprising, since most of the workers didn't possess the same amount of experience as the original tower creators.
“Our resource level is critical,” Pavel, his second-in-command, advised in their native language. “Even if we receive additional resources from OmniLab, it is unlikely the construction will b
e completed before deadline.”
“You will speak English,” Sergei ordered, pausing to inspect a nearby column.
Pavel frowned at the rebuke. Sergei had insisted his people practice the language these Omnis used, since this was where they would be living for the next several years. However, many of them still frequently slipped into their more comfortable native tongue. Even he was guilty of it on occasion.
Pavel and some others resisted for an entirely different reason though. They made it clear they had no interest in integrating with OmniLab. Instead, they wished to return to one of their previous assignments. They’d been wary of the Inner Circle and OmniLab ever since they'd witnessed the profound energy displays during the attack on the towers.
If Pavel and the others were unable to overcome their fears, Sergei would have no choice but to remove them from their posts. Contrary to what they hoped, they wouldn't be welcome at their former assignments either. If there was one thing the Coalition prided themselves in, it was that unconquerable fear had no place among them.
Sergei halted, turning to regard Pavel. His second-in-command quickly hid his annoyance behind a blank mask. Good. At least that was something. Pavel repeated the construction and resource status, this time in accented English.
Sergei nodded. “Send me a full report on all deficits by tomorrow with the new projected completion date.”
While Pavel made a note, Sergei lifted his head to study one of the overhead girders. He'd need to speak with Lars about enlisting more of these air channelers to assist in the construction efforts. It might help speed up production and also give his people a chance to work side by side with the Omnis. Perhaps if they worked together toward a common goal, they could overcome some of their reservations.
“Contact Lars and set up a meeting to discuss the construction progress,” he ordered, resuming his progress toward his quarters. “We also need a full list of people requesting entrance into the towers when it is complete. I want names, ages, professions, medical information, and known facility affiliations.”
“We will not use lottery?”
“Yes, but priority goes to highly-skilled workers,” Sergei informed him. “If we cannot finish the construction before deadline, all our people will be at risk.”
Sergei pressed his palm against the panel to his quarters, and the door slid open. He walked over to his desk and pulled out his notes. “Nikolai and Peter want to be updated on our status. Did Grigory and Sofia send their progress reports?”
When Pavel didn't reply, Sergei turned to find him staring at the plant Ariana had given him.
“I have seen this plant in our archives,” Pavel whispered, slipping back into their native tongue.
This time, Sergei didn't reprimand him. He could understand Pavel’s feelings of shock and awe. He'd experienced much of the same the day before. Answering in the same language, he replied, “Yes, it is from our homeland. It is called an Arctic Raspberry plant.”
“Where did you get it?” Pavel asked, not tearing his eyes away from the plant as though it would disappear if he looked away.
“It was a gift,” Sergei replied, turning back to his desk to review the notes he'd made on the surface camps they'd set up outside the towers.
They'd dispatched some of their people to harvest resources and offer support to the river excavation, while the remainder were assisting in the tower construction. Until they managed to finish mapping the underground river, he'd need to redirect some of his people back to the construction site. It was unfortunate Ariana and Jason hadn't been able to send the equipment down the river. He suspected if Ariana understood the urgency, she'd agree to try again.
Sergei lifted his head to find Pavel still gazing at the plant. Not bothering to hide his annoyance, he demanded, “Will you allow our people to die while you continue to stare at that plant?”
Pavel snapped to attention and approached the desk. He took the detailed instructions Sergei indicated and turned to leave.
“A moment, Pavel,” Sergei called, deciding this could be another opportunity to show his people what could be gained by befriending the Omnis.
When his second-in-command turned around, Sergei said, “I've learned some of these Inner Circle members have the ability to grow their own food. The plant was a gift from one of them. With gifts such as these, it would be foolish to turn away their offer of friendship.”
Pavel narrowed his eyes at the plant, regarding it with suspicion. “You trust them enough to accept one of their gifts? How do you know this is not a trick? Or poisonous?”
Sergei stared hard at the man in front of him, but he could not entirely fault the questions. Unless Pavel met Ariana, he would not understand. She simply did not possess enough artifice for even the most basic of manipulations. He'd spent years studying body language and the unspoken signals people choreographed to display their true intent. She was a breath of fresh air and far too sweet for her own good.
Sergei walked over to the plant and carefully pulled one of the berries off the bush. Popping it into his mouth, he savored the explosive burst of sweet flavor on his tongue. He swallowed and gestured to the plant, offering Pavel a challenge.
“They are not poisonous. You may try one of the berries, if you wish.”
Pavel blanched, but after the slightest hesitation, he slowly reached out and emulated Sergei's careful removal of the fruit. He put it into his mouth, his eyes widening at the taste. Sergei nodded and headed back over to his desk. It was a beginning.
“I want Grigory and Sofia's progress reports on my desk by this afternoon. You are dismissed.”
Ariana stood outside her brother's quarters and pressed the button for the third time. She tried to bury her panic, fearful he might have relapsed since his release from the medical wing the day before. She'd been trying to reach him all morning, but he wasn't answering his commlink or door. It was getting close to noon and she still hadn't heard from him. Hoping her brother would forgive the invasion of privacy, she pressed her palm against the panel beside the door and entered her override code.
A moment later, the door slid open. Ariana stepped inside the darkened room, a stale and sour smell wafting up from whereabouts unknown. She nearly gagged, covering her nose with her hand to ward off the smell, and reached over to engage the lights.
Jason's quarters were in complete disarray. Piles of dishes with half-eaten or forgotten food covered almost every surface. A thick, fuzzy film of something she didn't want to analyze too closely grew over many of them. Discarded clothing had been left in heaps all over the floor as though he'd stumbled in several nights in a row and disrobed as he headed toward his bedroom.
“Jason? Are you there?” she called out, listening for a response. There was nothing. She frowned, picking her way through the entry area and followed the trail of discarded clothing. She stopped outside his bedroom and knocked on the door. There was a muffled groan from somewhere inside. She reached out with her energy threads, sensing he was in pain.
Pushing open the door, she rushed inside and activated the lights by the entrance. “Jason? What's wrong?”
He rolled over in bed, throwing his arm over his eyes, and groaned again. At least he was fully clothed, even if he was in a foul disposition. “Fuck, Ari. Are you trying to kill me? Turn off the damn lights.”
Ariana halted in her footsteps, sensing the distorted energy around him, and narrowed her eyes. “Unbelievable! I was going out of my mind thinking you might be in here dying, and you're nursing a hangover?”
She grabbed a pillow from the floor and walloped him with it. He yelped and tried to grab at it, but she yanked it back and swatted him again.
“You're an idiot, Jason. A complete and total idiot. You were just released from medical yesterday. How could you go out drinking last night? What were you thinking?”
“For fuck's sake, Ari, knock it off. I feel like shit,” he groaned, grabbing another pillow and covering his face to block out the light.
&nbs
p; She made a strangled cry of exasperation and threw the pillow aside. “I know you do! I feel it. The minute I stepped into your disgusting excuse for living quarters, it was very clear to me you were feeling like shit. That's why I thought you were dying.”
“I feel like I am,” he whimpered. “Please, Ari, my head is killing me.”
“Oh no…” She shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. “I am not healing your hangover. I’m not some little party trick you can just cart around whenever you make a stupid decision. Maybe if you suffer, you'll think twice about doing something so stupid next time.”
“Please, Ari, I'm begging you,” Jason pleaded. “You're right. It was stupid. I shouldn't have done it. I'm sorry. I don't want to end up back in the medical wing.”
Ariana hesitated, knowing he was trying to manipulate her. If it were any other time, she'd leave him to his misery. They'd checked him out thoroughly when he was in the medical ward, but she'd seen too much to believe those machines were infallible. She'd felt the swelling in his brain. Those types of injuries could be tricky. What if he really did have a problem and it was masked because he got drunk? She'd never forgive herself for walking away.
Ariana sighed and walked over to him. “Close your eyes if the light bothers you. I'd rather not do this in the dark.”
He did as she asked and removed the pillow that had been shielding him from the light. She placed her hands on his temples and used the contact to strengthen their connection. Drawing upon her power to explore and heal his ailments, a gentle warmth pulsed from her hands and spread into him. After a moment, he blinked open his eyes and gave her a huge smile.
“Thanks, Ari-bella. You're a lifesaver.”
Ariana made a noncommittal noise and drew back. “That's your one freebie, Jason. If you're stupid again, you have to deal with the consequences. And you'd better clean up this mess. Some of the things growing out of these dirty dishes are starting to become sentient.” She headed out of the room and toward the front door, calling over her shoulder, “I think whatever's in this bowl just waved at me.”
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