Hope of the Future

by Ariana Browning

  Hope lifted her foot. “Try and see.”

  Darrok laughed. That wasn’t what he referred to, but he played her game. “Yes, but see,” he waved his arm around, “my home is immune to you.”

  Hope wasn’t fazed. “Okay.” She pinned him with her stare. “Are you?”

  THIRTY FOUR

  DARROK CONTINUED TO TEASE Hope any chance he got. Picking at her, poking, grabbing or touching her to test her, to taunt her, to remind her again and again of how powerful the attraction was between the two of them. He tested to see how far he could push her until she lost control. Until she begged him for his touch, which she would eventually do.

  She looked far too much at home when she stood in his living room, watching over the city. He designed her bedroom to reflect an ancient room of royalty, curious how she would respond. By the way she reacted, it was a success. When Hope watched over the city, it seemed a natural place for her. To be surrounded by things of beauty and grace, to watch over them, to care for them.

  Vandren hadn’t been any help, which was something that Darrok expected. Vandren hated him, which Darrok was already aware of. He had been aware of that fact since he first came across Vandren. But then that was part of why he hired the man. That was no matter.

  What mattered was that Vandren was an excellent Hunter for hire and his success rate now stood at almost one hundred percent. Vandren’s only failure had been Gideon. All was not lost.

  When Darrok hired Vandren to find Hope and bring her back, he’d seen it firsthand. Vandren would undermine Darrok any chance that Hunter had. They all did. Centuries of them had tried. Centuries of them had failed. Why did Vandren believe Hope was the one to destroy him?

  Vandren had seen enough to believe that Hope was the one to overpower Darrok. So that made Darrok wonder what had Vandren seen in her that maybe he had overlooked?

  The door to Hope’s room lay open in front of him and Darrok stood in the doorway watching her sleep, knowing better than to enter. His presence would awaken her. If she woke, she would shut down what he saw. She had learned all too well how to act human and letting her know how much he hated it, made her act that way all the more.

  The covers slid down to her waist in the night and the white silk gleamed in the early morning sunshine peeking through the wall-to-ceiling window. A rare turn of the weather. The room held a warm summery glow and made her skin appear golden, but he doubted that the weather was the only reason. When in this relaxed state, her features were softened, her skin smoothed out, lit up.

  It had been at least fifty or more years since he’d seen her last, yet she appeared younger than that day. His attention caressed her and Hope shifted beneath the covers, feeling the effects like it was a physical touch. The side of his mouth curled up. He considered putting his mouth to that bare skin exposed to him. Once again, Hope stirred with a murmur, but didn’t awaken.

  Good. Darrok took great pleasure in watching her sleep. All the guards were gone, so it was just him and her in this place. Hope was a mystery to him, but one thing was sure. That was no human lying in the bed in front of him. Hope was far older than any Amaranthine he had ever encountered. Maybe not in age, but in existence? Surely. She was no Breeder, either.

  So what was she?

  When he last saw her in the lane that night with Zane. He assumed he knew, but the years made him doubt. Zane’s failure at finding her was the reason he had to employ Vandren. Now it seemed that perhaps Darrok had been right about his assumption. If it was true, then he found what he’d been looking for, for as long as Darrok could remember. Her.

  Time . . . will tell. If it’s her, Hope couldn’t stay away from him. Time was his friend. Patience was his advantage.

  One of the thin straps fell from Hope’s shoulder when she shifted again. The silk edged to the side, exposing the top part of her breast. He clenched his fist to keep from entering and touching her, then gritted his teeth when the urge overtook him. When he was around her, he wanted nothing more than to take what belonged to him.

  When he entered the room, her energy overtook him. He wanted nothing more than to conquer her, but somehow refrained. Albeit with a struggle. For years, he thought of her after that day they bumped into each other on the street. For so long he had searched for her. Seeing her here in his home was a dream.

  When they first brought an unconscious Hope in, his physician checked her over and she was flawless. The physician opened her eyes and her pupils dilated and changed against the light. She had been asleep. Her eyes shouldn’t have been so . . . aware. Whether she knew it or not, a part of her never slept and stayed conscious of her surroundings. It seemed to him she didn’t even know what she was, or perhaps . . . she did not remember.

  Sliding off the doorframe and entering the room, he took the chance. He couldn’t keep himself from it anymore. If she awoke, that was fine. There was only so much he could contain himself.

  Hope didn’t wake when he entered, or when he lowered to sit on the edge next to her, which surprised him. She mumbled gently in her sleep, lost in her dream, but he couldn’t make out the words.

  You are so beautiful. My Goddess.

  Darrok raised his hand over her and without touching her body, his fingertips drifted down over her face, over her chest. Hope shifted underneath, turning her head away, exposing more of her body to him. Sliding his tongue along his lips, he lowered his hand ever closer, but still refrained from touching. Hovering right above her cleavage, he studied her reaction.

  You can feel me, can’t you? You know I’m here.

  Hope’s lips parted and a soft breath escaped her. With the barest of touches, Darrok slid the back of one finger over the top of her breast. She moaned. His body tightened, but he contained himself . . . for now.

  Her lips curled into a gentle smile and Darrok leaned over, refusing to resist the urge to at least kiss her. He was so close. Those lips would be his.

  “Ronin,” Hope murmured.

  Darrok jerked back and bared his teeth. He felt like he’d been slapped. Rage spread through him like fire and his energy collapsed upon the room around her. Hope sucked in a sharp breath and choked on it, unable to gain air. Darrok reached for her neck and curled his fingers to clamp around her skin.

  Hope sat up in bed, gasping for what little existence of air there was. Nobody was in the room with her, but she could’ve sworn there had been. The door was shut. Nobody stood there. Pressing her luck, hoping she could do it, she cocked her ears, held her breath, and reached. It worked, but she didn’t hear anyone or anything.

  Once more she checked the entire room. Am I going crazy? Footsteps stomped toward her room from the living room. She dragged the covers up to her waist. When she pulled the strap of her slip back up her shoulder, the door opened. Darrok glanced right at her exposed skin.

  Something about the way he watched her filled her with unease. He seemed . . . angry. What did she do now?

  “Need something?” she snapped, reacting to his anger.

  Darrok’s attention moved up, pausing on her lips, before continuing. “Get dressed. We’re taking a drive.”

  Hope narrowed her eyes. “Where?”

  “Do what I told you to do or when I come back in five minutes, I will dress you myself.” Before leaving, he turned back. “I would prefer the latter.”

  Darrok’s attention caressed her body, sending her nerves into hyper drive before he left her to change. When his gaze left her, she grew cold. The longer he was around her, the longer he watched her, the more she wanted. The more . . . she craved. Day in and day out, she wasn’t sure how much more she could take. How much longer she could suppress her need.

  Hope went to the closet. She studied the contents within, trying to figure out what to wear. She shook her head and snatched a dress, more anxious to get dressed so he wouldn’t come back and find her in her nightgown. Darrok proved before, he would make do on his word.

  Hope looked up, and up, and up, at the building. From the outsid
e, it appeared normal. Nothing special about the gray building. “What is this place?”

  Darrok didn’t stop once he left his vehicle. His arm slithered around her waist and pulled her along with him, inside the building, and over to an elevator. As the elevator doors shut, he tightened the grip around her waist and pressed his mouth to her ear. “Behave. Fill none of their heads with your nonsense.”

  Hope’s face flushed. Every time he touched her, her body refused to ignore it, but when he was this close it took everything to focus. She shoved away from him with a glare, eager to get away from his touch. “What are you talking about? Fill whose head with what?”

  The elevator opened at the tenth floor with a ding and Darrok pressed his palm into her lower back and shoved her out. A woman came up to them and smiled. The urge to shove the woman away hit Hope and she clamped the feeling down.

  “Darrok,” the woman approached with a smile. The woman wore a similar necklace around her neck as Hope’s, but it was far simpler. How could she be so at ease being a prisoner. “I am so pleased to see you. The—”

  Darrok cut her off, “Hope doesn’t know what this place is. Please explain it to her, Samantha.”

  Hope saw the brief fear cut through the woman, worried that she’d done something wrong. Samantha was a SlaPet, but that didn’t mean she deserved to be treated with cruelty, even if she seemed happy. She didn’t know another life. Of course she would think she was happy.

  The woman glanced at Hope. With a slight dip of her head, she spoke. The laughter of children hit Hope’s ears and Hope tuned Samantha out. It was so quiet at first. Samantha didn’t hear it, being human, but Darrok reacted to the noise.

  Children? Here? Now? Elation swept through Hope. Everyone assumed they didn’t exist, but there are some here. Unless . . . the scientists have already experimented.

  Darrok turned her way, but Hope returned her attention to the woman speaking. “—current total is about ten children. Some are spoken for, but they are to stay here until, if, they make it to various ages. Proof that the Breeder who’d given birth to them, produces quality offspring. I’m afraid the first thirty didn’t make it past five. The rest? Well, we’re no longer sure. Seems every year that passes, the numbers of Breeders dwindle and the quality offspring don’t last as long. The children don’t seem to live as long either.”

  The scientists are more than happy with that, aren’t they? Then Darrok can make a shot that will control it all.

  Samantha paused and glanced at both of them, making sure she still had Hope’s attention, but Hope moved past her to where a board hung on the wall with the children’s moving pictures. The digital images caught them smiling and laughing, but more than a few of them held a sadness to their smile. The reality of their fate. They knew what would happen. The solemn look in their eyes struck her deep.

  Hope glanced at Darrok. No, he didn’t think she was a Breeder. He’d thought she was, sure, but not anymore. Examining the board of images, Hope was overcome with an urge to get the children out of the city. None of them would live long under Darrok’s influence. Their fate was sealed. Every year that passed, as the woman had said, was one less child and one less woman to bear one, but that didn’t mean the same for her.

  Hope turned back to Samantha, catching that Samantha stopped talking and waited. “I apologize. Please, go on.”

  Darrok wouldn’t stop watching her. Yet the more he did, the more she wanted. Hope craved his touch. It grew worse by the day. How much longer could she hold out? That’s what he wanted because he had yet to push her into anything. Darrok was waiting for her to give in to the desire. When she did, there was no going back. Everything before faded more and more while she was around this man. Whether he did it or not, she didn’t know.

  “The first ten floors house rooms for schooling, hobbies, a genetically engineered forest, and every need they may have. There are solar panels on the roof to provide electricity. This entire building is a self-contained unit. The top ten floors each have rooms, one per child and in the center of each floor is a play palace for each. In case of an emergency and we need to shut down floors, the children have the opportunity to keep busy.”

  “Have you ever had to deal with something like that?” Hope asked.

  Samantha checked with Darrok and he gave her a ‘go ahead’ nod. “Yes, we have. A new illness broke out on one of the floors and the place was quarantined. Sadly, every child on the floor died.”

  Samantha kept a cautious eye on Darrok, ready to snap her mouth shut if she revealed too much. “Another time, there was a riot outside the city and Rioters entered. We locked things down as a precaution and kept each group to their personal floor. Fortunate for us, no child was harmed, and nobody entered this building, but there is always the chance.”

  Hope remembered the guards they’d passed, stationed at the front. Amaranthine Guards. “So why keep this place so secure? Is it because you want to keep people out?” She stared at Darrok. “Or keep the children in.”

  “They are property. They belong to the men who paid for them. Do you understand the cost of a child? I don’t mean conceiving one.”

  The children’s laughter above them in the floors above her head struck Hope’s ears. “I get it, but children aren’t property. You can’t put a price on an child’s head.”

  Darrok straightened. “Can’t I?”

  Hope turned her back on them. She resisted the urge to place her hand upon her stomach. And what price would you put on a child of mine? It would be priceless.

  Her energy swept through her system and she forced it back. The necklace vibrated against her skin. Her eyes widened. What if the damn thing somehow let him know when that happened? Trying to be casual, she checked.

  “Something the matter?” he asked with far too much sweetness.

  The necklace pricked her skin with an electrical charge. Neither of his hands held the remote. You don’t need the controller. It’s you doing it. What does it do? Harness your energy? What are you, Darrok? What in the hell are you?

  A light burst not too far away from them. Samantha jumped, but Hope remained still, keeping her attention on Darrok. Hope was regaining her strength, but that didn’t mean she could contain her anger all the time. Darrok didn’t flinch.

  “Nothing,” Hope answered. “Why would there be?”

  “Seems a little . . . charged in this atmosphere, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Why did you bring me here?”

  Darrok smiled. “I was curious how you would act around children.”

  Samantha flicked a glance between them. “Should I leave you two alone?”

  Darrok gave Samantha a heart-melting smile. “Would you find Ekon?”

  Samantha nodded so fast Hope thought her head would break off. The woman scurried off and left Hope standing there alone with Darrok. She rubbed her arms and wanted to flee.

  Darrok chuckled. “Do not like to be alone with me?”

  “Why do you think so?”

  “Why do you lie?”

  Hope turned her back on him. “Asking a question doesn’t mean I’m lying.”

  “And yet it does.”

  Hope refused to answer him.

  A boy crashed down the corridor and Hope had scarce time to turn before he launched himself into Darrok’s arms. “Hi!”

  Samantha followed, but when Darrok raised the boy into his arms, she whirled on her heel. The clip clop clip of her heels against tile, signaled her exit.

  Darrok threw the boy into the air and caught him like he weighed nothing. The boy must have been nearing five. She shook her head. Darrok had hidden something. The man spent no effort to throw the boy again.

  When Darrok caught him, Hope saw Darrok smile. A genuine smile. For a moment, she couldn’t tear her gaze away. I need to get away from him. When Darrok faced her while holding the boy, Hope shifted her attention and fidgeted. A failed attempt at pretending not to have been staring.

  “He’s cute,” Hope mumbled in an
other failed effort to divert the reason she stared. She couldn't fool Darrok. Instead of rubbing it in, he nodded and moved on.

  “Hope, this is my pal, Ekon. Say hi.”

  Ekon, who encompassed too many similarities to Darrok, turned her way and gave her the biggest smile on the planet. Hope’s mind went straight to her lost child many years ago. Grief hit her so hard her eyes welled up against her will.

  Ekon said, “Hi.”

  Hope’s bottom lip quivered and she moved away from them as fast as possible. Pain filled every last inch of her and fought to prevent her from ignoring it. She pressed her hand against her mouth and a soft sob escaped. A few tears fell. All the work she did to avoid wanting children settled on her shoulders with a heavy weight.

  Behind her, Ekon asked Darrok what he did wrong. Darrok set him down and asked that he wait where he was. A moment later Darrok’s voice came from right behind her. “It doesn’t have to be that way.”

  Hope didn’t turn around. When the words came, she snapped, “Why did you bring me here?” Swiping the tears and straightening her back, she faced him.

  Darrok was watching Ekon playing by himself, dragging a tiny finger back and forth along the tile, drawing something he alone could see. “He’s dying,” Darrok told her sounding human for the first time. “He knows, because he was the one who told me. Tests confirmed it. He won’t make it to five. Most children aren’t as lucky, but he’s been the first exception.”

  Hope gave Ekon a quick glance. “And you’re telling me why?” Darrok’s eyes softened and tugged at Hope’s heart. “He’s yours, isn’t he?” She didn’t need him to confirm the truth who smiled at his drawing on the dark tile floor.

  “A stupid mistake.”

  “You sound human.”

  Darrok shook his head. “Not what I meant. Ekon is one of the first viable specimens from the scientists. He grew far too fast for them to keep up.”

  “Because of what you are,” Hope finished for him. “Don’t waste your time lying. I figured out you don’t need the controller to mess with me.”