by Talia Jager
Reaching across the table, I placed my hand on his. “Only if you want to tell me.”
He took a swig of his drink. “Black bear. I’m strong and quick-tempered.”
“Don’t bother him when he’s sleeping. He may bite your head off,” Ever joked.
Zabe growled at her and she laughed.
My emotions began to overwhelm me so I dabbed my mouth with my napkin and said, “Thank you all for opening up to me and making me feel like part of your family. You will always be a part of mine.” And before I broke down completely, I stood up and walked back toward the sleeping quarters.
I stopped in front of Ever’s room, unsure if I should go find her or wait for her in my own room. Of course, I hadn’t been in my room since the first night back.
“I gave you access to my room,” Ever said from behind me. “Just put your hand on the pad.”
I did as she said and the door opened. Inside, I sat on the bed and rubbed her blanket in between my thumb and forefinger.
Ever knelt in front of me. “It’ll be okay.”
“It’s not just that.”
“Then what is it?”
Blowing out a long deep breath, I said, “I’ll miss you…all of you.” Then I added, “I’ll be home tomorrow and I’ll have to be the Empress again. Tonight, I’m just Kaci. That’s it. Nothing special. I want to be with you.” I could feel the burn in my cheeks. “Not necessarily sex. I just want to be next to you. Can we do that?”
“Yes, except for one thing.”
“What?” I looked up.
“You are special.”
Tears brimmed my eyes.
I changed into the cami and took everything else off besides my underwear, then climbed in bed. Tears soaked my pillow.
When Ever climbed into bed behind me I closed my eyes. Her warmth, her touch, it was what I needed right now. A wave of shivers rolled down my spine at the feel of her warm breath on the back of my neck. I was soothed by her closeness.
Ever put her arm over my side and a soft hum escaped from me. The safe feeling surrounded me. I wanted her to feel that way, too. To know she could tell me anything.
“I saw the cages.”
Ever’s body stiffened.
“You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know that you can.”
Her response was soft, almost non-existent. “Thank you.”
She didn’t say anything else and that was okay. I just had to make sure she knew that I could be her safe place, just like she was mine.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Akacia
When we woke, the mood was somber. Ever shuffled to the bathroom and got ready. She left her hair down and put on very little makeup. I took my time getting prepared. As glad as I was to be going home, I was heartbroken to leave. Ever didn’t say anything during breakfast or on the way to the bridge. It was as if talking would hurt.
“Briar? What’s the news on Caspar’s ship?” Ever inquired.
“Reports are saying an internal explosion destroyed the ship. No talk of foul play,” she responded. “I’ll keep listening. I do have some news on the tracking device.”
Ever’s head snapped up. “What?”
“It looks like it’s been on there a while. I think Caspar put it on the ship when he handed it over to us. He’s always been keeping track of us, we just didn’t know. We never had a reason to disobey him before.”
“You never realized it was there when you hacked the ship to take control?”
Briar shook her head. “No. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Are you sure it was the only one?”
“Yes. I did a sweep of the ship and I asked Lael to verify it was the only one.”
Ever seemed to be lost in thought as she doodled on paper.
“Can you hail Valinor?” I asked.
Briar pushed a few buttons and then Galton appeared on the screen.
“Empress.”
“Galton. We will be arriving shortly.”
“Who exactly?”
“Whoever I decide to bring with me, Galton. I expect you to treat them as guests.”
He gave a firm nod and the screen went black.
“I think it would be best if just you came at first,” I said to Ever.
“We can jump down.”
“Okay.”
Out the window, I could see Valinor getting closer and closer. The planet was beautiful from afar. White clouds swirled above the blues, greens, and purples. That was my home, my planet. My people were waiting for me.
“Are you sure about this?” Ever asked, holding the jump device.
“Yes.”
Ever put in her earpiece and led me to the jump circle. Nero joined us. Seconds later, we were standing in the grass just outside the compound. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and filled my lungs with the familiar scents around me. Home.
Ever was checking in with the rest of the crew. “We’re fine. Stay there.”
I heard the door open and opened my eyes to see Galton standing before me. His eyes shifted to Ever and a scowl came over his face.
“Galton,” I said to get his attention.
He smiled, approached, and took my hands. “Empress. I’m so glad you’re home.”
“Thank you.”
“Kaci!” Bristow came running around the corner, picked me up, and spun me around. “You’re really okay?”
“I am.”
He gave me a big bear hug. “Good. I’m tired of running this place. It’s hard and quite boring.”
Laughing, I messed his hair. “I’d say you did good a job. The planet is still here.”
“And now I’m placing her back in your hands.” He gave a slight nod and I kicked him. “I tried my best to find you. I just didn’t do it in time.”
“It all worked out.”
He nodded. “So who did you bring down here?”
My eyes flicked to Ever. “Galton, Bristow, this is Everleigh. She is here as my guest.”
Galton huffed. “She’s the one who turned you over to Caspar. The reason you crashed on that planet. And the reason you were almost sold back to him.”
“Galton, I appreciate your concern, but it is none of your business.”
Bristow, at least was understanding. “Hi, Everleigh. I’m Bristow. Kaci’s best friend.” He stuck out his hand and Ever shook it.
“Kaci has told me about you.”
He grinned. “She has?”
“Something like best friends and partners in crime.”
Galton cleared his throat and Ever looked like she was caught doing something wrong, but Bristow laughed.
“That we are. I’m glad she didn’t forget about me while amongst the stars. Speaking of which, weren’t you the one who didn’t want me to leave and then you decided to go off adventuring?”
“Wasn’t exactly voluntarily, but I won’t hold you back, Bristow. I told you that before. I will miss you, but I want you to be happy.”
A smile spread across his face. “You are the best.”
“I know.”
Nero, who had been on Ever’s back, climbed onto my shoulder.
“What is that?” Bristow asked.
“This is Nero. He hitchhiked back with us from Terronda.”
“Does he bite?”
“I’m sure he does, but he hasn’t bitten us.”
Bristow shot me a look, but then smiled, and held out his hand. Nero looked at me and I nodded and said, “He’s okay.”
Nero then jumped onto Bristow’s arm and crawled up to his neck sniffing him. Bristow laughed and tried to get him back in his hands.
“I hate to interrupt, but there are things that need to be attended to,” Galton stated.
“Bristow, could you entertain Everleigh while I catch up
with Galton?”
“Of course,” Bristow responded with a smile.
“Don’t go too far. I want you both to join me in a few minutes.”
In the command center, everyone welcomed me back. Vika gave me a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay. We were all very worried about you.”
“Thank you, Vika.” Speaking loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, I continued, “You all did a wonderful job taking care of Valinor. As your Empress, I thank you.”
Galton went over everything that had taken place since I had been gone. The weather had been mostly good, but one storm caused some damage.
“One of the dams broke, but we got it fixed and water supply has been good since. Food is growing. President Loera of Flion wants to set up trading. And Hettie passed away,” Galton reported.
“Oh, no. She was a lovely lady.”
“Her daughter has taken over the shop.”
“I’ll stop and see her. I also want to see the families of those who died when the Razor was destroyed.”
Galton brought me up to speed on a bunch of small things that had happened in my absence. I was beginning to think he was stalling. “We need to talk, Galton. Can we go into the conference room?”
“Shall I get Vika?” Galton asked.
“No. I’d prefer it just to be the four of us.” I waved to Bristow and Ever as we entered the room. “Please, join us at the table.”
“You want me to be here?” Ever asked.
“Yes.”
She followed and sat next to me.
“I need some answers, Galton, and I’m hoping you have them for me. I should be dead, but for some reason, I healed. What do you know about that?”
Galton swallowed, but Bristow was the one who spoke first. “What do you mean?”
“I mean exactly what I said. First Caspar tortured me and then we crashed on a planet. I was also shot by a guard in Terronda. Yet, I don’t have a mark on me. I healed.”
The three of us looked at Galton waiting for him to say something. He seemed reluctant to speak and it angered me.
“Let me tell you what I know. I have nanites. What I don’t know is why.”
Galton took a deep breath. “Your father, Atlas, was a brilliant scientist as you know. He had perfected using nanites to heal someone and word got out. We’re not sure how or by who. While your father was working, you were running around playing when someone broke in trying to get the nanites. Bristow’s father, Braylon ran in with a couple of guards. There was a firefight with the intruder. Nobody realized you were in the room and you got hit in the crossfire. The intruder was killed and you were critically injured. Your mother pleaded with your father to help. The nanites hadn’t been tested on a child, but he agreed and put them in you.”
“And I healed.”
“You healed.”
“Why didn’t he or someone tell me?” I asked, my voice shaky. When Ever put her hand on mine, it didn’t go unnoticed.
Galton forced his eyes back on my face before continuing. “I’m sure he was going to—”
“But he died, Galton! He died and you helped raise me and never mentioned it. I have machines running through my body.”
“I’m sorry, Empress. I only had your best interest at heart. You never really got hurt after that, but anytime you fell down and healed quickly, I waited for the questions. They never came.”
“I never asked. You never told.”
“I figured I would when you stepped into your own, but something was always going on. There’s no excuse. I apologize.” He looked away, tears brimming in his eyes.
“What if something had happened? A side effect of some sort.”
“We figured it was fine. It had been years since your father injected you and there had been none.”
Bristow reached over and took the hand that Ever wasn’t holding. “I know you, Kace. I know what you’re thinking. This doesn’t change who you are.” His eyes were sympathetic and he gave me a half-smile.
“That’s what I told her,” Ever said.
“They’re right, Empress. You’re no less of a person.” Galton tried to sound reassuring.
“No. I’m something more.” I sighed. “I want the details of what went down when my parents were killed.”
Bristow sat up in his seat. This concerned him, too. We had talked about it plenty of times, but neither of us asked for the particulars before.
“The details?”
“Yes.”
“You know them. Late one night, your parents were in the lab when it was attacked.”
“You told me that my parents were killed because someone was trying to take over the planet, but that’s not exactly true, is it?”
Galton stroked his chin for a minute before taking a deep breath. “People had tried to get their hands on Valinor—that part was true. You’ve seen that happen yourself. But, no, your parents’ deaths were not for that reason. Atlas, Braylon, and Raysel had been in the lab all day working on Project Infinity. With the nanites and another success—”
“Splicers?” I guessed.
Galton’s eyes widened and he nodded. “Yes, with the success of the nanites and the Splicers, he was researching something new. Your mother had gone in to check on him, convince him to get some rest. A team of four highly trained assassins attacked. Your father always had a plan. With the push of a button, the computers were wiped clean and a self-destruct began. They tried to fight their way out, but the lab exploded before they could. Your parents, Bristow’s parents, and the four assassins were killed in the blast.”
“Why did he have to blow it up?”
“So everything would be destroyed, so nobody could get their hands on his research. Your father was a good man, Empress. He did not want his experiments and discoveries to be used for bad things. He wanted to keep you safe. He knew whoever hired those men would want to know who he tested the experiments on and that would lead them to you. He feared that you would be abducted.”
“Like the Splicer children. Caspar was the one who captured them, turned them into thieves, and used them to do his dirty work. He wanted me because he thought I had knowledge of these experiments.”
“What did you tell him?”
“Nothing. I don’t know anything. Did anything survive the blast?”
“The lab was destroyed.”
“What about anyone else who worked with them?” I probed.
“I’m not a scientist. Sometimes your father would ramble about something, but I could never make heads or tails of what he was saying. Atlas kept most of the big things to himself. He and Braylon. You could talk to Ode and Curt. They were his assistants.” Galton met my eyes. “I’m sorry that I don’t have more answers for you. I know how frustrating it is. Your father was a friend to me. I miss him everyday.”
“Tell me what you know of the Splicers,” I asked.
“There were twenty sets of parents who volunteered to bear children. They were sent to live about a hundred miles away along with any family, just in case the children were more animalistic than they were supposed to be. They were to raise their children and train them how to use their animal senses to protect others. When they were adults, they would have made great warriors or guards. They too were attacked and nobody was left.”
“What happened to them?”
“Some were killed, the others abducted.”
“Where did they find the volunteers?”
“All of the volunteers came from right here, Empress.”
I stole a look at Ever, who looked just as shocked to hear this news. She and her whole crew were originally from Valinor.
“What was Project Infinity?” I asked curiously.
Galton hesitated, clearly not comfortable with this topic. “Your father was working on finding a way to extend life.”
“Immort
ality?”
“More like slowing the aging process down, scanning DNA and correcting undesirable genetic conditions, enhancing DNA, and downloading one mind into another carrier.”
“Whoa…” Ever said.
Whoa was right! I had no idea what to think of this. I understood when Galton said my father was a good man and tried to create things that would be helpful, but all of the things he created could be dangerous in the wrong hands. I was beginning to think it was a good thing everything was destroyed.
“Galton?” Ever asked.
“Yes?”
“Did you ever figure out who the leak was?”
I hadn’t thought of that.
“No.” His answer was simple, but terrifying.
“So most likely there’s a traitor among us,” I said softly, like all of a sudden we weren’t safe.
“I guess that’s one way to look at it. We haven’t had any trouble since that day.”
“Of course not. There was never anything to leak.”
“Unless the leak is the one who told Caspar that Kaci might have information,” Bristow said. “Think about it. If the leak believes Kaci knows something, he or she could have told Caspar and that’s why she was abducted.”
“But I don’t know anything.”
“This person must think you do.”
“Or it could have been a coincidence,” Galton said.
“Caspar’s dead. That doesn’t matter. However, having someone who is not loyal does concern me. Galton, can you quietly arrange for a couple of people you trust to look into this?”
“As you wish, Empress.”
Galton returned to the command center and Bristow had something to do, or so he said. My mind was reeling from these new developments. Part of me wished I hadn’t come back, but when I looked at the horizon and just the joy of being outdoors in the fresh air, I knew this was where I belonged
“You okay?” Ever asked.
“I’m not sure.” It was the most honest answer I had. We walked around the compound. “Do you think the others would like to come down and see the planet?”
“Maybe. I can ask,” Ever answered as she peeked in the rooms we passed. “So, where’s your throne?”
