Salvation: Saving Setora Book Seven

by Dark, Raven

  “Welcome, Cama Di,” Julian said. “Welcome to your new home.”

  Chapter 39

  A choice

  Even before Julian spoke, the reality of my situation set in.

  I was supposed to fight him. To end him and save the world. I could have laughed at how ridiculous this insurmountable situation truly was.

  Because Julian, the true, living, breathing man before me was a lot more powerful than I’d ever anticipated.

  Had he kept the true degree of his power from me in those dreams, when he took over my body and mind? Had I only just scratched the surface of what he was fully capable of? Or had he become powerful in the time since I’d last sensed him?

  His mind wasn’t just strong. Every thought from him flooding through the connection between us was razor-sharp in its focus. He was aware of everything—the universe itself seemed to flow through his thoughts. And if what High Priestess Lanaya and Ali’san had said of me, that I was just as powerful, did that mean I had other capabilities just waiting to be tapped into?

  Quickly, pushing all thoughts of fear aside, I pulled up the metal wall Hawk and Ali’san had taught me to use, dimming Julian’s presence. I immediately felt lighter and clear-minded. Well, it was a start. Not only did I need to be calm and keep my wits about me, I also needed to be super vigilant around him. My thoughts, if he were to gain access to them, were dangerous to the people I loved. I had too much to protect.

  Julian pressed a series of buttons on a console on the arm of his chair. The blood flowing through those tubes stopped. Carefully, he removed each tube from his arm and gently capped the ends with metal coverings that sat on a small table beside his chair. Those pale purple eyes of his danced with knowing. He’d felt me sizing him up, felt me realize there was no way out of this.

  “Nothing to say, Cama Di?” Julian’s voice washed over me, elegant and unsettlingly calm. Totally without any doubt that I was his. “You came all the way here, and you have no words for me?”

  I needed to buy as much time as possible if I were to come up with a plan even remotely helpful. There was only one option here—to play dumb.

  “Hello, Julian.”

  As if I hadn’t spoken, he rose from his chair, the smooth, graceful movements of a warrior.

  I stole a quick glance at the women. None of them moved, their eyes remained closed. I mentally sent a calming stroke across their minds. They remained still in a peaceful sleep, thank the Maker. I turned back to Julian.

  He noticed my interest in the women and crossed the space to me, so graceful that he appeared to nearly float across the room. His movements reminded me of Hawk’s, Yantu-like, but…more so.

  “Always the hero.” He touched my chin, and I expected his fingers to feel like ice. Instead, they were warm, too much so. I flinched. He ignored it. “Your need to save others pleases me, Cama Di. This world needs saving. As my queen, you will help me bring order to its chaos.”

  His queen. A fresh wave of nausea swept through me. I needed to get his guard down. Needed to find some way to get into his thoughts, to turn the tide and take control of this situation, and fast.

  Until I saw an advantage, I needed to get him talking. “Why would you want to hurt them?” I nodded to the women.

  “Ah. The blood exchange you witnessed. Those women are perfectly fine, Setora. You think I am that much of a monster?” He shook his head. “I will not destroy those who deserve to live. Those who die are a blight on this world, Cama Di. They steal from each other, kill each other for scraps. When the Shana Rayans, our ancient ancestors came, they gave humanity a Gift. The gift of life. Life that would have rebuilt the world, and instead, they hid it, coveted it, and turned those who had it into slaves.”

  His hands rose and his palms cupped my face. I did everything in my power to not flinch or pull away.

  “The human race could have saved itself, could have made this world great again. They could have built a new government and restored order and peace. Women like you were a thing of perfection and beauty, and they squandered the opportunity of a better life, using them like whores. I will repair the damage they have done. We will do what should have been done a long time ago.”

  I opened my mouth twice, only to close it, my stomach dropping with the implications in his words.

  “Now,” he said, his stunning eyes sparkling with Maker knew what, “you have traveled far and are in need of refreshment and rest. Come, let me show you to your rooms, Cama Di.”

  The closeness of him made want to recoil as if from a snake, but I couldn’t turn back now. There was too much at stake. At a loss for a plan and still needing to buy time, I nodded.

  Julian grabbed a white robe and slipped it on. He offered me his arm. After a moment, when I didn’t take it, he raised a purple eyebrow.

  With a final look back at the Violet sleepers, I entwined my arm with his and let him lead me out of the room.

  Through cold, white halls we walked silently. Tahmi, who had been waiting outside for his Lord, followed discreetly behind us a good ten feet back.

  I thought on what Julian had said earlier, about his claim that he wasn’t a monster.

  As absurd as his words were, it wasn’t as if I didn’t see a kernel of truth in them. Men like Damien, Dregs like Saketh, the poachers who’d taken me as a child and sold me—they were all men who selfishly took. They were the “blight” on the world that made it a place of violence and fear. His words made a sick sort of sense, but he was painting the entire human race with the same brush. How many innocent people had died in those town and cities his men had decimated?

  Anger with his actions and fear crawled through me, threatening to shatter my resolve like glass. There was no reasoning with a man who saw himself as a god who had the right to decide who lived and who died. I needed to focus, needed to make him think he was in control.

  “You must have a thousand questions, Setora. I would expect nothing less of you. Your mind is unlike any I have ever encountered in my long years on this planet. I find it refreshing and challenging. However—” his other hand covered mine, where it rested on his forearm— “even though I will indulge you on occasion, if you have it in your head to trick me or disobey me, you will find I am not to be trifled with. Is that understood?” His hand squeezed mine in a painful grip.

  “Yes, Julian.”

  “Yes, Cama Don.”

  “Cama Don. Yes, I understand.” Tears threatened to spill, the bones in my hand crushing in tremendous pain.

  He released his grip and patted my hand. “Excellent.”

  We turned the corner and walked to a set of tall ivory doors.

  “I will have someone bring up some food. Get some sleep. In the morning you can bathe and dress, and I will send Tahmi to get you for breakfast.”

  “Yes, Cama Don.” The words felt like poison on my tongue.

  “And Setora?” He kissed my cheek softly. “Welcome home.”

  * * *

  After endless hours of tossing and turning, sleep finally found me, but not for long. A slave came to help me bathe and dress, and in no time at all, I was having breakfast in a massive, crystal dining room. Alone. I didn’t want to be within a mile of that man, but I still had no plan, and spending time with Julian would give me more insight in what I needed to do.

  Eventually, Tahmi came for me and took me to a familiar room, one I remembered being in before, where a warrior had showed up in my dream to rescue me. But this time, I really was here, and there no one was coming to help. I was the only one who could save myself.

  The lovely sitting room with the massive fireplace, the tall bookshelves, and cozy sofas seemed to contradict what I knew of Julian. But then again, I hardly knew him. My eyes searched the portrait that hung on the back wall, the one I remembered seeing in my dream months ago. It was identical, depicting the man and wife with their two cherubic children. I had a feeling I knew who those children were now.

  Walking over to the painting, I searched for
a trace of familiarity in the tiny faces of the boy and girl, although honestly, they both looked too similar for me tell who was who.

  “My sister. Alithia.”

  I turned, startled. I hadn’t even heard him approach. Trying to calm my racing heart, I turned back to the painting.

  “What happened to her? And are these your parents?” I asked.

  “My parents, yes. And as to my sister, she died many years ago.”

  Once more, I looked at the painting, glancing up at the mother’s face. She had a striking resemblance to Ali’san. I glanced at the two children—Julian and…

  I swallowed. Julian thought she was dead...

  Shutting that thought up behind my wall before Julian could see it, I looked back at him, trying to read anything I could from his expression. He gave me nothing, as if shutting a book in the middle of a story.

  “Do you like your room, Cama Di?” he asked.

  I nodded and took a seat on the couch. “Yes, thank you. It is…lovely.”

  It was. A room made for a queen.

  “And your clothes that I chose for you, are they to your liking?” he asked, coming to sit across from me on the other sofa.

  I looked down at the pale-rose silk gown I wore and nodded. “Yes, again, thank you.” Bile was starting to rise, but I had to play this right. I had been a slave almost all my life; I knew how to ingratiate myself. I learned it from the best. From Damien.

  “I’d like to show you something, Setora. But first, you need to understand my plan. Which, I have a feeling, is very similar to your own desire for a better world. Although, I do admit, your heart is much softer than mine will ever be. But that has to do with age, I suspect.”

  “You want to destroy anything that doesn’t measure up to your standards.” The words escaped before I had a chance to even think them. I winced.

  He waved a hand at that, dismissive. The tightness in my chest relaxed.

  “I prefer to think of it as reshaping,” he said. “This society is infested with vermin, Cama Di. The rotten flesh must be cut away if it is to grow and thrive into what it should be.”

  I refrained from shaking my head. How could he not see that what he was doing was wrong?

  “I don’t think you understand what it is I’m trying to do, here, Setora. I’m building the perfect world.”

  I put on my best interested expression, hoping my instincts were ringing true. “You’re right, I don’t understand. But I am…curious.”

  The smile he wore looked genuinely pleased. “Come with me.” He put out his hand. Waiting.

  Holding off a grimace, I slipped my hand into his. Hoping, not for the first time, that I didn’t look as repulsed as I felt. My hand didn’t belong in anyone’s but those of my Four. I suppressed the thought quickly before it could form. He was in control. I was focused on him, no one else.

  Julian led me down hall after hall. Unlike the rest of the castle, guards and servants went this way and that, going about whatever duties they had here in this empty, icy kingdom. A few women carried bolts of cloth or food, and a few of the guards walked by, lost in carrying out their duties. The whole thing almost looked normal. Almost, except that every Violet who’s face I saw looked on with vacant eyes, the faces of dolls.

  Julian said nothing as we walked. I seized the opportunity.

  Pasting on an interested and calm expression, one that wasn’t entirely fake, I glanced up at him. “Julian, how do you do it? How do you control them?”

  The corners of his mouth turned up with pride. “That part is easy now, especially from the essence I inject from the blood of my surrogates. But mostly it’s practice, years of study and experimentation. The ability to control others is an ability the Shana Rayans, the people we come from, always had. Pardon me, I forget that you haven’t learned of our history yet. But you will someday.”

  Ignoring that last comment, but saving it for deep thought later, I nodded. “Amazing. They’re like puppets. It’s…hard to get used to.” I hoped I sounded more intrigued than disgusted. He didn’t even seem to realize what was wrong here, that he was robbing people of choice.

  “A necessary step toward perfection, my Cama Di. You will get used to it. Their subjugation is beneficial. It is a kindness to shepherd the sheep, Setora.” He drew my hand to his lips and dropped a kiss on it. I forced myself not to pull away. If I did, I’d lose whatever leverage I had.

  A few more halls, and we reached a large glass room that, within, looked like an in-house garden. Potted plants hung everywhere, large blossoms in red, yellow, and royal blue hung on vines, most of them unlike anything I’d ever seen. A few had those big white blossoms with the pink throats.

  A guard opened the glass door and we stepped in. Tropical heat and humidity hit me in a wave. It was a greenhouse. Of course. That was the only way anything grew here. He controlled his environment as easily and wantonly as he did those around him. I shuddered.

  A waterfall trickled from somewhere, a soft, peaceful sound. A few birds chirped, flitting from branches, all of them with plumage in bright colors.

  I expected to find more greenery, an endless display of lush vegetation. Instead, the room opened up to a wide sitting area.

  “This,” Julian said, stopping at the edge of the open area. “This is what you need to see.”

  I stared around the room, concealing the horror that rolled through me.

  Dozens of Violets reclined on chaise lounge chairs, chatting amongst themselves. All of them had bellies swollen with child. Some appeared to be in the early stages of pregnancy, others big enough that they might go into labor at any second.

  Dazed, I stepped further into the room. On the surface, the women looked happy and healthy, but when I looked closer, listened closer, I could see their smiles were as empty and automatic as their voices.

  Each and every one of them was as much under his control as the other Violets I saw here. They weren’t happy mothers waiting to give birth to their children. They were puppets, forced to breed.

  With him.

  Worse, I could feel hundreds of new minds, young, undeveloped minds within my own. The babies. They were all there. Growing. Real.

  I covered my mouth and then turned slowly to him, feeling like I might faint. “This….this is what you’re going to do to me?”

  Julian gave a sad sigh. “You still speak of me like I’m some kind of monster, Setora.” He traced my cheek, and I almost recoiled. “I would never hurt you. You will be the mother of the new race. The world will be changed under your hand. Slavery, piracy, violence, it will all end. All you have to do is declare yourself as mine. Would you rather not see the world as it should be?”

  I glanced at the room full of vacant expressions, mothers rubbing and cooing to bellies filled with babies they may or may not have ever consented to. A hundred of those new minds glowed like beacons in my thoughts. Babies doomed to grow up in a world shaped by a man with a sense of right so warped that only those he saw as perfect could live.

  Master race indeed.

  An idea formed in my mind, and I almost immediately rejected it. I wouldn’t betray my Four like that. I wouldn’t. But what else could I do? As long as Julian’s guard was up, I wouldn’t get anywhere.

  I drew a deep breath. I had to be careful here, gradually reel him in. “You’ve been taking care of all of them and their babies?”

  “Of course.” He walked with me over to a set of steps and up to a high promenade that overlooked the whole room. “Those children are our legacy, Setora. They will be raised to value life and respect their world, to keep order. They are mine. Why would I not care for them as a father does for his children?”

  I flashed him an impressed look.

  Julian leaned on the railing and faced me. I had to admit, if he wasn’t such an insane, twisted individual, I would have thought he was beautiful. I would have been stunned at his gentleness and warmth.

  “But if you kill everyone who is not a Violet, who will serve them?�
� I nodded toward the women, the children, the race waiting to be brought into the world.

  “I told you, only those who pose a threat, those who have no place in this world, will be destroyed. The innocent need not perish. Setora, I am not a demon. I am not…the boogieman people think I am.” His fingers rested on my shoulder. “You and I will turn this world from a diamond in the rough into the jewel it was meant to be. A perfect world. Without slavery, without poverty. Without violence and needless death.”

  “Such a place does not exist, Julian,” I said, lacing my voice with reasonable doubt.

  “It will. You will see it for yourself.”

  I turned to face him and looked up into his eyes, hopeful. “Show me.” When his brow rose, I forced myself to take his hand and shut down the sense that I was betraying my men. “You can put thoughts into my head. Images.”

  “Yes,” he said slowly.

  “Show me. Let me see what you see when you look at this new world.”

  The corners of his mouth turned up, a smile tinged with surprise.

  Julian reached up with one hand and touched my temple.

  His mind opened up to me, flooding mine with images. It was as if his mind had been walled off to me, his thoughts and emotions only accessible to me from behind a glass wall, one I could see through, but not penetrate. Now, everything flooded in so that his mind felt as if it were mine.

  Images flashed through my mind, each one as sharp as glass. I heard myself gasp.

  In the landscape of my mind’s eye, cities and sprawling lush lands spread. Towers of polished glass and silvery metal rose higher than any I’d ever seen, even in the Old World. Kingdoms filled with ruling families, all with Violet hair and eyes, presided over cities teaming with life. There was no danger here. No violence, no fear of the future, no war or needless death.

  Thousands of working-class families went about their daily lives, tilling fields, rebuilding an advanced and marvelous world. They lived each day, secure in the knowledge that peace and prosperity would continue.