Troy's heart sinks. "No, sir."
"Oh, come on now. Don't sound so pathetic. I was joking around."
"I don't think he's in much of a joking mood." Zodiac steps over a chunk of concrete. "How close are we?"
Orion taps on the GPS screen. "One more block. Look. There are still some building partially intact in this district."
"These are government buildings so they were built to withstand a lot more than the residential structures. Look over there. Lights."
"That's the guild hall! The generators must have started up. We'll be the envy of everyone else."
Zodiac growls. "That makes us a target. I'm most concerned with discovering the fates of the people who stayed behind. Then we're finding Troy's medicine and getting him into bed where he belongs. I knew this was a bad idea for him to do so much. Troy?"
"Mmm hmm?"
"You doing okay?"
He is barely staying awake. "Yeah."
"Hold on. You're going to be all right. We'll get you cleaned up and into some comfy clothes. Then you can sleep all you need to."
Troy rests his head on Zodiac's shoulder and watches the darkness around them. As they enter the guild hall, everything looks normal except for the bluish glow of the emergency lights powered by the generators. It is silent as they walk down the empty hallways, checking the rooms for signs of any survivors. Atlas and Dion head off towards the stairs leading down to the emergency bunker, shouting for anyone to answer them and let them know that they are alive.
Mistress meets them at the top of the stairs, looking flustered but uninjured. "You're back. Thank the gods. The others are downstairs. We've been hiding in case there were some robbers. We're all okay."
"How did this building remain standing when most of the others are in shambles?" Atlas asks.
"Lead. It shuts the nanobots down. The walls and ceiling are lined with two inches of lead. Where is Nova?"
"You don't know?" Zodiac asks. "Has no one reported back to you?"
"No. I can't get much signal in here. Once those silver archons attacked, we moved down to the bunker." Orion and Dion glance at each other. They go into a side room where they whisper urgently to each other.
Troy slips from Zodiac's back and holds onto the wall for support as his exhaustion grows. He can't sleep yet. He has to get the entire picture. That starts with telling Mistress what Troy himself doesn't want to relive. He has to, though. "Paris interrupted the wedding and forced Nova to marry him. He killed Uriel then took Silver prisoner."
"He married Nova?"
Atlas helps hold Troy up on his feet. "Yes. It was done like a coward, hiding behind an army with plasma rifles. Gods only know what fate awaits Silver."
"Or Nova. Why would Paris kill Uriel?" Mistress asks. "I thought they were working together."
"He got in the way. Anyone who voices an opposition to Paris's ideas or plans get eliminated."
"Troy, we will save her. We will save them both." Mistress smoothes Troy's messy hair. "Are you feeling okay? You look sick. Let's get you into bed."
* * *
"You are beautiful when you cry." Paris, dressed only in black silk briefs, slowly walks around his large bed where Nova is handcuffed to the headboard by one of her wrists. He kisses the snakes that have twisted themselves around his thin arms. "All right, my pets. Tonight is about me and my wife. Don't get all jealous now."
Nova tries to remain strong, to pretend to be somewhere else. Even with her stubbornness, she can't keep her hands from trembling or the tears from dripping down to her bare legs. Her wedding dress is torn into pieces and scattered around on the floor where the dreaded snakes are slithering. Naked and chained here, Nova feels vulnerable. Is Paris actually going to go through with this? When Paris's underwear falls to the wood floor and he crawls on the bed towards her, she bites her lip and closes her eyes. How can he do this to someone after all he has suffered through? He knows what it's like to be in Nova's position. She feels him lie down between her legs with his head in her lap. His warm hands gently squeeze her breasts. Nova gasps when he takes her nipple in his mouth.
After a few minutes, she opens her eyes and looks down to see Paris asleep with his arms wrapped around her waist. In this moment, he looks like a baby clinging to his mother's breast. For an unknown reason, Nova does something she cannot explain. She smiles.
As the clock on the wall ticks away the seconds of the long cold night, Nova watches Paris's slow breathing. She traces the burns on his face with her fingertips and all her anger dissipates, leaving empathy, compassion, and concern in its place. From what she has been able to learn about Paris from Silver and the information in the Athens citizen database, he was raised by a single impure Nymph woman who belonged to a blacksmith. Paris never had a nurturing relationship with his mother. What little he did have was destroyed when she threw five year old Paris into the forge in an attempt to kill him. Since that fateful day, the only woman he has been around is Mistress. No female has played a major role in his life, so Paris doesn't know how to behave around them. More than that, he doesn't know what it's like to be loved by a mother figure. Is that what Nova is to him now?
Despite the evil acts and demented way Paris acted earlier at the wedding, Nova sees no sign of that evil now. Instead, this grown man has become that same young boy who needs the love of his mother more than anything else in the galaxy. She leans back against the headboard and strokes her husband's hair as she closes her eyes and drifts to sleep.
* * *
Troy's temper is blazing and he knows it. Sitting here in the conference room, listening to Mistress giving a summary of their plan moving forward, he can't believe what he is hearing. These people are out of touch with reality. They must have established this plan while he was asleep and knocked out by the medicine. Now that he is feeling better, he is in complete shock at what they have come up with.
Mistress continues explaining their plan. "I'm sorry, Troy, but for now, we have to leave Nova where she is. Our focus will be on getting Silver out of the dungeon so he can help us then establishing a covert network of intelligence to track down Isidore and subvert Paris's plans. There has to be a way to shut down those nanobot carrying archons. Dion and Orion have some experience with them due to their father's research. They are assigned to that part. Zodiac will be working on getting his father out of Athens. Clara and Atlas will be working with our other computers to get them back online, recover any data they can, then figure out a way to get in touch with Isidore if he is still functioning. Samuels and Annette are working on a treaty with Paris for the protection of the Olympus city of Pax, where the Nymph resistance is still holding strong. Gabriel is defending the building until we find another place to go, hopefully somewhere close to our rebel allies in Pax. Now for you, Troy. You are on strict orders to remain inside at all times. You are the one person here who must be protected at all costs."
"And Nova?"
"I already told you. Nova is expendable."
"Expendable?" Troy stands and slams his hands on the table. "How dare you stay something like that? I love her!"
"That doesn't change anything. I have already written her off as a casualty. It's over, Troy. With the way Paris is able to manipulate people, don't you think he will control Nova? Whether you choose to accept it or not, Nova is Paris's wife now. Their marriage is legal and binding."
"But he forced her to do it."
"That doesn't matter." Mistress says. "Paris is the king. He gets what he wants. He even disbanded the council. There is no one to prevent him from leading Athens and the entire galaxy into oblivion. Nova is, from this point forward, an enemy of our cause. Any communication or fraternization with her by anyone will result in that person being thoroughly interrogated and disposed of."
Troy turns to Zodiac. "What about you, Zodiac? How can you sit there in silence as she lets your sister be thrown away like trash?"
"You have to think rationally about this. Nova can't be trusted."
&n
bsp; "Are you serious?"
"You know I love my sister and I would do anything for her. It kills me to have to turn my back on her like this, but we can't take any chances. This is for the best."
Troy points at Mistress and screams at her. "This is all your fault! If you had listened to me about Paris, we could have cornered him and shut this down before he got this powerful."
"Troy, calm down. I understand you are upset, but this is no way to deal with it."
No. He's not going to simply calm down and let them do whatever they want. "I'm sick and tired of being bossed around and pushed down. When will it be my time to make a stand and actually do something? You all tell me how much you want me to be king, but what kind of king is powerless? I just watched that evil brat steal my bride away from me. Do you think I'm just going to sit here and not get my revenge?"
"Revenge is a very powerful force, one that shouldn't be handled lightly."
"I will do what I have to in order to get Nova back. I will kill Paris. Mark my words on that. I will slit his little throat and laugh as he bleeds out. I don't know where and I don't know when, but his life is mine. He has betrayed the wrong man. I don't care who he used to be or what he's gone through to become this monster. There is no excuse for doing these things. He laughed as he slaughtered an entire city of innocent people! How can you condone this?"
Mistress shakes her head. "We're not condoning any of it. We're just trying to assess the situation and come to a complete and coherent picture before leaping head-first into something dangerous. Waging war on a unified people like you're planning is suicide. You're forgetting the facts here. The people of Olympus stand behind Paris one hundred percent. Even the people in Pax, ruled by your cousin, are decidedly backing Paris. If you don't have support there, what makes you think you will have any from Athens? The Nymphs of Olympus have no confidence in a Forgotten slave who they thought was dead for six years."
"And whose fault is that?" Troy asks. "Mistress, you're the one who sent us out to Delphi for that long. That wasn't any of my doing. I wanted to stay here and work on finding an immediate solution, but no. You sent us away to the middle of nowhere. You abandoned me there."
"We didn't abandon you anywhere. You had to go into hiding so Uriel wouldn't find and kill you. There's another piece of this puzzle that you have thrown away without even trying to figure out where to fit it. Hector is still a major world power. We need to form an alliance with Kyro to take down Paris the right way. We will halt all trade in the region."
Are these people insane? "Halting trade? Halting trade! You're mad. You are all fucking insane. You want to ally with that perverted nut job? Do you even know what he's done to people? Look what he turned Paris into! It was his abuse that turned Paris into this demon."
"That is precisely why we need Hector on our side. Think about it. Who else knows how to control and manipulate Paris other than him? It's perfect."
"You people are sick. I don't care if Hector could end this tomorrow. There is no way in hell I'm going to allow us to form any kind of alliance with him."
"Don't make me have Zodiac restrain you, Troy." Mistress warns. "Panicking will get us nowhere."
"Panicking? Who's panicking? I'm not panicking!" Troy screams.
"Zodiac, restrain him."
Troy pulls away from him. "Don't you dare touch me! No one gets to touch me. So help me gods, I will kill you all before I let you join forces with Hector. He deserves to die, not to be our friend. What is wrong with you?"
Zodiac slips a pair of handcuffs from his belt and holds out his hand. "Calm down. This is your one warning. I don't want to be rough with you because you're still recovering, but I will if I have to. I have pepper spray."
"Oh, nice. Sure. Shoot your king with pepper spray. Get away from me. I'll leave. I'll go and leave everyone alone. Fine. Do whatever you want. But I'll tell you this. I will kill every single person here before I let Nova be forgotten!"
Samuels clears his throat. "Zodiac, do it. We can't have people making threats like that."
"Yes, sir."
At once, Troy's arms are twisted behind his back and secured in place with handcuffs. "Let me go!"
"No." Mistress says. "We're doing damage control now. No one leaves this building without my express permission. It is far too dangerous to be roaming around this city in the state it's in. Yes, there are other survivors. There will undoubtedly be looting and unruly people. According to the preliminary reports I've received, all five hospitals were severely damaged. The supplies and medical equipment are more than likely not salvageable. On top of that, the food supplies are decimated and fresh water won't be available from here on out. The filtration systems have been damaged and the water we do have that is not in bottles or other containers is more than likely contaminated. This is the worst emergency situation we have come up against. I don't know what we will do in the days to come. I will get back to everyone once we develop a concrete plan of action. Please retire to your rooms and stay there until I summon you again. We are officially on lockdown."
"What about Troy?" Zodiac asks.
"Take Troy to his room and try to get him calmed down. If he is still being frantic like this in one hour, come get me and I will gag him and lock him down in the bunker. We can't have anyone behaving like this, especially not during an emergency situation."
"Yes, ma'am." Zodiac pulls Troy out into the hallway by his secured wrists. "Come on, Troy. Don't be like this."
"Unhand me!" Troy tries with all his strength to get away from his friend's grasp, but Zodiac is now much stronger than he is and the metal cuts into his wrists. He is crying as Zodiac pushes him into his room and locks the door behind them.
"Stop crying. Pull yourself together, man. Is this how a king should act?"
Troy cries out as he drops to his knees. "I'm not a king! I've lost everything I cared about. No one cares about me anymore. I hate all of you people!"
"Do you truly believe that? That no one cares about you? I have been waiting for the chance to be myself with you for years. I have missed you so much. When you were convicted of those false crimes, I fell apart. I didn't want to lose you. I lost myself, but I knew that I couldn't end there. I had to pick myself up and do something good. That's what matters. I used to be weak and timid. Not anymore. Now, I can stand up for myself and for those who rely on me. I'm not perfect. I make mistakes. However, I know who I am. Find yourself again, Troy. I'm right here to help you. You're better than this."
Troy feels the hot tears streak down his face as he thinks of Nova, Paris, Silver, and all his family members who he has lost. There is no way he can go back to how things were before all of this happened, but Zodiac is right. He can't give up. "Okay. I'll stop. Release me, please."
"You promise you won't scream anymore?"
"Yes. I promise." He feels the heavy cuffs fall from his wrists and he stands with Zodiac's help. "Thank you."
"Sit down and I'll make you some tea. You still look miserable."
Troy sits at the table and watches Zodiac make tea on the small stove. This entire situation is surreal. Can he actually be here with his friend again? He wipes the tears from his eyes and rests his face in his arms on the table. "So you were Dax all along."
"Yep."
"Unbelievable. When did you become such a badass?"
Zodiac finds a teacup and saucer in the top cabinet. "I went through some very intense training under Samuels to learn how to be an agent for him. I look a lot different, don't I?"
"I never suspected anything. You should have told me."
"I couldn't. It was too risky. We've been working nonstop to keep you safe so you can take the throne. We couldn't take the chance of something happening. Believe me, I wanted to say something, but I had to stop myself many times."
"This is so strange. It's like I'm speaking with a ghost."
Zodiac reaches across the table and takes Troy's hand. "I'm here and I'm alive, I promise. I won't leave you again."
"There's something I've been needing to tell you for years. I thought you were dead and I had missed my chance. I learned what it meant to be a slave. I was marked, whipped, punished, and humiliated. I apologize for the way I used to treat you when you belonged to me. I shouldn't have been so harsh or degrading. When I did that or said those ignorant things regarding slavery, I wasn't away of the reality of it. From the bottom of my heart, I am sorry."
"Thank you for apologizing, but from the looks of it, you had a much harder time being a slave than I did. You never pierced me or branded me. You didn't even whip me. You were abused. That's obvious. I was actually talking to my dad about what you went through with the Big Meanies and the training Orion put you through. Did he really lead you around by your nose ring on a leash?"
The memories still hurt, but there's no use in keeping them to himself at this point. "Yes. I was put in a cage and tied by it to the wall as well. But I could handle that a thousand times over if it meant not having to ever be forced to fight in the arena again. That was hell."
Zodiac pours the tea and sets it down in front of Troy. "I watched you fight."
"Forget it. Wipe all of that out of your mind. Gods know I wish I could erase my memory so I didn't have to constantly be reminded of that torture and relive it in my nightmares. If I am ever able to claim the throne, my first action as king will be to eliminate the arena permanently. That punishment for entertainment is abhorrent and extremely inhumane. You can't possibly comprehend the disdain and pure hatred I have for that place. I don't even like seeing the coliseum. It makes me sick to this day."
"That's a noble cause, but the citizens enjoy it."
The tea is hot and smells like chamomile. "I will find things they can enjoy more. Forcing people to fight to the death isn't something to be applauded. Think about what that teaches to the children. That fighting and murder are okay?"
"You're one to talk about murder."
"Please, never bring that up again."
Paradise Forgotten Trilogy Page 47
