Soft music met my ears as I pressed myself close to the wall and drew in a slow breath as I allowed myself to phase through the layers of concrete. I reappeared beside the fossils that Harlow worked on. The playlist of her favorite songs emanated quietly from her computer, but I didn't find her inside. I pushed myself up to sit on the edge of her desk beside the bouquet of roses to wait for her.
The museum around me, normally a rush of kids, teens, and tour guides, now filled with the sounds of the setup crew for the gala, caterers, and the scents of savory food. I listened for Harlow and smiled when I heard the click of her heels snapping against the tile as she headed back toward her office. Her heart beat rapidly in the way it does when she's particularly anxious. Just before she opened the door, I crossed my legs and propped my elbow on my knee to strike a silly pose for her.
She looked over her shoulder back toward the hall while I took in the sight of her. In a sleek, fitting burgundy suit with a deliciously silky floral top, she stole my breath in a tiny gasp. Her hair shone in the dim light, pin straight and smooth in the manner that moved easily with every shift of her posture. Her sweet magnolia tangled with the scent of her that soothed the darkest reaches of my soul. My Starmate. My beautiful Harlow with eyes I saw in my sleep, and a voice that cradled me in its care. She turned in my direction, her brow furrowed for a fraction of a second before she saw me.
"Hi, baby." I chuckled as she cupped her hands over her mouth. "You look so beautiful." I slid from the edge of the desk to greet her.
"Veyda." She rushed me in a hug as tears pooled in her overcast eyes, though her smile returned the sun to them. "You surprised me. You're so sexy, oh my goodness."
I laughed while kissing her makeup-brushed cheek and rubbed her back. "Why are you so tall? Are those six-inch stilettos or something?"
"Just about?" She snickered then cupped my face in her palms. "You're so beautiful, oh my goodness."
I grinned while kissing her sweetly. "Me? Look at you, baby. So incredibly sexy. I'm very surprised."
"Did you expect a dress?" She grinned and tucked my hair behind my ears.
"A little bit, yes," I admitted as I slipped my arms around her waist. "But I am not at all disappointed, baby. Not at all."
"Hmm." She smiled while stroking my hair down the front of my chest. "Good. We match."
"We do, love. In so many ways." I tickled under her chin before urging her down to me for a kiss.
"So many." She thumbed my cheek and tilted her head, sending her hair in a tumble over her shoulder.
I ran my fingers through it and smiled. "Okay, what do you need to do? Let me help. I promised you that you wouldn't be alone, and I meant for all of it."
Her cheeks turned shades of pink when I took her hand. "Well, um…I have to give the introductory speech and introduce the exhibits. Want to go to the ballroom and rehearse with me?"
"You bet, baby. Always." I squeezed her hand as a grin spread across my face. "Lead the way."
"'Kay." Her shy smile preceded her as she led me down the hallway.
Bustling people filled the museum from every corner as we made our way to the ballroom. With my suit still wrapped around me, save for my face, the overwhelming nature of it didn't seem to permeate my psyche. Couple that with Harlow's presence, and for once, I didn't have much to worry about. The way she soothed me, comforted me, and moved with me shielded me from any assault on my senses and for that she would hold my eternal gratitude.
The ballroom, filled with over a dozen fancily set tables, crystal goblets, white and silver place settings, and a giant Christmas tree in the corner carved an almost magical feel into the vast space. The tree twinkled with white lights reflecting off the metallic glass balls and shimmering tinsel.
Harlow took her place at the podium in the front of the banquet hall while I helped myself to the table to her left. Both of our names appeared on the calligraphic hologram projectors in front of each seat. I tucked my hands in the pockets of my trousers while I watched her, my stomach flip-flopping with excitement as she stood up there. Confident, beautiful, bold, and pulsating in delicious waves as she spoke, reading at first from the screen in front of her. I couldn't keep the smile from my face while I gazed at the love of my life.
A man hurried in from the left of her, calling her name and distracting her from her speech. She greeted him with a smile, and they shared some work-related dialogue that I felt bad listening to. I turned my attention to the room behind me as it began to fill. Dozens of people dressed in a caliber meant only for a celebrity red carpet event appeared intimidating at best. Service bots began swarming the floor with trays of champagne and appetizers. Synths joined them, humanoid and creepy in their own right, and began collecting coats.
"The look on your face right now, baby." Harlow chuckled as she returned to my side.
"I'm not a fan of Synths." I scowled and turned my attention to her. "Their potential for sentience and world domination bleeds off of them."
Harlow stared at me, wide-eyed for a moment before she burst out laughing. "Veyda."
"I'm serious!" I laughed and grabbed her into a rough hug.
She snickered while returning my embrace, both of us rocking together while I kissed her cheek.
"Eat something and stop panicking about an android apocalypse, 'kay?" She stroked my cheeks and I winked at her.
"Yes, baby. I'll keep the panic to a minimum." When a serving bot hovered by, I snatched two glasses of champagne and handed one to her. "Let's start with this."
"Perfect." We clinked our glasses together, then shared a simultaneous sip.
The volume of the voices, heat of the bodies, and rumbling of hundreds of feet in the room eventually penetrated some of my psychic shielding enough to urge me to sit. Harlow joined me, her hand on my knee while our table filled with her coworkers. Introductions, name exchanges, and handshakes followed. Alistair, or Al, as he preferred, joined us, and he leaned over to show her a newspaper article on his tablet about her exhibit.
"It was well-received, Harlow. This write up is great," said Al. "Benji loved the visit." Al glanced to the broad-shouldered man beside him. "Didn't you, babe?"
"Yup." Benji grinned, a shimmering green flickering across his otherwise deep brown gaze. "Sure did. The ancestors would be proud."
A smirk tugged the corner of my mouth and I glanced to Harlow. She smiled, then ran her finger down my cheek. Her eyes searched my face the way they always do when I wore my contacts. She never liked them, and part of me worried it bothered her more than I realized. I blinked a few times and reached up to remove them, but her hand tensed on my thigh immediately. My brow furrowed, and she shook her head.
"I want to, baby…"
"It's safer if you don't," she whispered, barely audible as she took my hand.
I nodded and gave her hand a squeeze.
We didn't get a chance to talk more about it, however. The same man that approached her before waved to get her attention as a group of twelve people stood by the podium as the crowd began to settle at their seats. Food and alcohol flowed freely now, and the voices carried along with it.
"I have to head up there." Harlow kissed me quickly. "It'll be super-fast. Anything you think I should change?"
"Not a thing, love." I brushed my thumb over her chin. "You're perfectly perfect."
Her cheeks tinged pink as she stood to break away from me. "Love you."
"Love you, too." I blew her a kiss as she made her way to the podium, and she tossed me a smile over her shoulder.
Quiet fell in the vast space, leaving only the innocuous sounds of clinking flatware, breathing, chewing, and asynchronous heartbeats. Several people joined Harlow by the staging area, each taking their time to introduce the next. The CEO first, followed by a bunch of other people with hefty titles, and the board of trustees. None of them mattered to me as my eyes never left Harlow. She stood confidently, her smile radiant and her attitude as flawless as the rest of her. They introduced her, and
then she tossed nods to the other curators in her department before beginning her speech.
"Thank you all for coming here today. Here at the Seattle Art Museum, we pride ourselves on our inclusivity and honor the evolution of our citizens for time immemorial. In choosing—"
Harlow's voice faded when a cool breeze made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and an icy sensation trickle down my skin. I glanced over my shoulder, scanning the faces as the suit that remained hidden beneath my clothes seemed to tighten around me. For the second time that night, something felt off or wrong or different, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I focused on the shadows, scanning and sensing what I could in the mix of humans, Hybridians, and Offlanders that filled the room. Most of them cloaked themselves just like me, unless a feature prevented such. Living in secret wasn't easy, but it was certainly easier than wearing one's colors openly at times.
I'm a tool, you said. A low drone of a voice made it to my ears, piercing through the veil of the mundane sounds. But I've waited.
I rose from my seat. The people at the immediate table glanced at me, but paid me no mind. A nearly undetectable rumble shook under my feet. No one else seemed to notice at first. Harlow's speech continued as she spoke about her infamous exhibit. Her eyes landed on me, and a small crinkle of concern appeared across her brow.
I see her. I've waited patiently. All Praxi find their Starmate in time. The voice sent a lurch of fear through me.
I tapped the comms in my ear three times to get Nalea's attention.
"What's up, Vey?"
"Something's happening here," I whispered, my head on the swivel as I looked around. "Museum gala."
"I can't hear you well. Text me."
The ground under my feet rumbled again, and that time the flatware on the table clinked. A few folks started, and a handful rose to their feet. In that moment, the Offlanders made themselves known, and their Hybridian peers caught on. Anxiety washed over their faces, while most of the humans still listened to Harlow.
You can bend the shadows, walk with spirit, and fly with air, but none of those are a match for true earth. Did you know? the voice said, now more distinguishable as belonging to a man.
The crunch-crack of something fracturing beneath me brought a startled gasp from the crowd. I looked down to see the tile contorting to a peak.
"Veyda," Benji called, his green-flecked eyes panicked when he recognized me, our shared Offlander ancestry colliding in that moment.
"Get everyone out." I drew my attention to Harlow when her speech ended, and she clutched her chest.
I made to step toward her, and as soon as I moved, something slammed against my foot. Cold gray stone burst through the floor like a stalagmite racing toward its growth from the depths of a cave. I jumped back, only to find both feet encased in rock when I landed. I dropped to the floor, one fist against the cold stone, my gaze landing on Harlow. People began to panic as the ground tremored under us as if threatening an earthquake.
Harlow rushed toward me, her eyes wide with her hair blowing off her face. I held my hand up to stop her, sending a rush of wind to force her back. In the place where she would've stood, a sharp stone structure burst through the floor. People screamed, glasses crashed, and feet stampeded as the crowd raced from the hall.
"Go!" I pointed toward the emergency exit behind her. "Harlow, go!"
"Veyda!" she cried, her hands cupping over her mouth. Again, she attempted to move toward me as the stranglehold of rock tightened around my calves.
I couldn't move, couldn't phase or fly or twist my way free. My heart slammed in my chest, and the sirens of Nalea's distress call approaching settled none of my panic. The more people, the more lives at risk.
"Harlow! Go. Now!" I thrust another gust of wind at her, and she stumbled backward, narrowly avoiding another stalagmite that made to tear her to bits.
No, you don't, crooned the voice. She's not going anywhere.
Wind surged around us as my fear overwhelmed my powers, turning the assault of the earth into a tornado on top of it. Debris spiraled in the center of the room, and in the mess, I caught the faint scent of motor oil. Specific, familiar, and enraged.
From behind Harlow, the glowing teal eyes that I stared into twice before appeared from over her shoulder. He wore all black as before, except now he didn't hide his face or mask his voice. Anger melted over his expression, souring it to a rage that belonged to only the look of revenge.
"You," I spat, my fist digging into the tile deep enough to fracture it. My skin burned, heart raced, and I could only think about Harlow. I needed to get to her, to protect her, to get her away from him.
"Me," he said, a smile curving his lips as he pressed the front of his body against Harlow's back.
She started, a shriek leaving her as she attempted to jerk away.
"No!" I reached for her while wrestling with the violent bindings tethering my feet.
"You took what I wanted, and so I'm taking what you've got." He shrugged, his arm wrapping around Harlow's neck. "A Juk knows a Praxi, Veyda. We see the Starmates of our warmates. Did you know?"
"You were in prison!" I cried as the panic tore at me. The words he said, the way he spoke them, and the threats he promised destroyed me as my insides raged. "Harlow." Our energy thrashed, and visions of sparkling magenta undulating around us overcame me.
"Veyda," her calm voice called despite her tears. Her fingers dug into his arm, but he only gripped her tighter. "It's okay, baby," she said, her gaze never leaving mine. Fear wafted from her, but her unwavering calm scared me more than it soothed.
"No." Tears streamed down my cheeks as I slammed my fist into the floor. It burst to shrapnel, ricocheting off my body into the whipping wind around us. "Let her go!"
The Hybridian's eyes widened as his confidence seemed to waver. I thrust my hands forward, directing the wind to send one of the Synths flying in his direction. It slammed against his back, jostling both him and Harlow, before crumbling to the floor.
"If I can't have my ship, you can't have your mate," he spat, rage filling his eyes as he dragged Harlow backward. "Fuck you, Shadow Protector. You'll remember every violent thrust, every vicious tear as it courses through your body while I destroy her. You'll remember what it felt like to experience her death before your own."
"Harlow!" I cried and punched wildly at the stones that now encased up to my knees.
"It's okay," she said, her voice barely a whisper as a sudden tranquility seemed to flow through our connection. She held my gaze as tears streamed her beautiful cheeks despite the fist he drove into her stomach. "I love you, baby."
"No!" I screamed for her, crying and pleading inaudibly as violence swirled around us.
Tables lifted from the floor, slamming into walls and the windows exploded into the streets. The chandelier crashed to the floor between us, and all I could do is watch as he dragged her away into the darkness at a speed enviable to mine.
Chapter Twenty-One
Blood spattered the ground at my feet as I used my fists to chisel my way out of the stone shackles. Nalea shouted my name from inside and outside. Sirens screamed, people cried, and chaos reigned.
When I broke free, the tornado abruptly stopped, dropping the twisting objects down into a pile of soaked rubble. I cried and tore myself out of my jacket before bolting toward the window to dive into the night.
"Harlow," I cried out her name as I soared above the city.
I didn't care who saw me; any ability to cloak or hide my identity long forgotten. I heaved for breath, clutching my chest as the cold air rushed my face. The lights blinded me, sirens deafened me, and the screams of panic rocked my soul. I couldn't feel Harlow, couldn't see her, and the scream that left me echoed like a mountainside call meant to cause an avalanche. I was already the avalanche. Lightning struck from the thick clouds above as they swirled and churned as if coaxing a raging sea to its horror. Satellites ripped from rooftops and billboards crumbled under my wrath as I lost c
ontrol, all control, of my ability to manage myself.
"Veyda. Veyda!" Nalea shouted my name. "Listen to me, Vey. Where are you?"
"He took her," I cried out to her. "He-he took her, and I can't feel her."
"Who did this, Vey? Who?"
"The-the one from the casino. He-he took her. He got out. I turned him in and-and he got out."
Nalea's voice paused for a moment, and I dodged a flock of wayward drones that flew blindly toward me. They dropped packages, food, and whatever cargo they carried. Sheer anarchy filled the streets below, and the sirens from the harbor sent warnings amidst the clang of bells. The lights of the city flickered, and the Great Wheel swayed ahead of me.
"Veyda, listen to me. Listen! Focus. You can feel Harlow, remember? She's inside of you. Her energy is yours and yours is hers. She's your Starmate."
"I can't—I don't. Oh my God." I gasped when I lost altitude suddenly, sending me into a backflip that ended a foot above the ventilation system of the building below me. "Nae."
"Veyda! Stop. Stop right now and listen to me. Look around. Look at the sky. You're doing this. You're going to bring down this building. Listen to what I'm saying to you." Nalea's panicked voice stabbed me in the chest and my feet collided with the aluminum of the roof. "Stop. Think. Focus."
"It's my fault—"
"Veyda. Focus. You're scaring Elara. Can you hear her? She's scared."
As if her words shot a syringe of ice to my veins, my hearing channeled keenly to the sound of Elara's cries. Pained, distressed, and tangled with Audra's cooing voice that carried its own hidden fear.
"Focus, Veyda. Listen to my voice. I'm with you."
"I'm with you." I sobbed as I covered my face with my hands, noting the way the hair on my arms stood on end as lightning struck the building around me.
"Breathe and focus. Harlow is your Starmate. Do you feel her?"
I nodded, choking on a sob as the wind whipped my hair from my face. "I do. I feel her. She's alive."
"Okay. What do we know about this Hybridian? He can't fly, right?"
Jawbreaker (Four Point Universe Book 14) Page 36
