“I want to do this,” I tell him firmly, tilting my head up to kiss his chin. “Yes. This is my decision.”
“Okay.”
I turn to glance over my shoulder at the packed waiting room of the Central Clinic. I see men without arms or legs, shivering women and wailing children, people who have been injured or damaged by the Emperor, the Empress and their Imperial Army—they are here at the Central Clinic, hoping to get better, to heal, to recover a part of their lives.
Many of the doctors who have worked for the Emperor have been captured. Instead of being executed, they have been sentenced to life imprisonment. Under heavy security in the Justice Prison, they work together with the medical officers to come up with antidotes to the poisons and damaging, experimental serums that they have concocted and injected into the people, the Slaves, the Sirens.
The Central Clinic has been set up to treat all these people, to try to reverse the effects of those serums, and to try to right a wrong.
But there is no guarantee that it can be righted.
It's just a hope.
A small step.
Jaxon enters the treatment room with me. There is another couple in the room, speaking softly to a middle-aged male medical officer at the other end of the room. We walk up to the female medical officer, who waves us to the empty chairs in front of her small desk.
She pushes her glasses up with her gloved hands and peers at me. “Zoey Whard?”
I nod. “Yes.”
“You're here for the Fertility serum. You hope to conceive a child.”
“Yes.”
“All right.” She grabs a needle and vial, and proceeds to load the syringe with a light pink liquid. “You understand that there is no guarantee that the Fertility serum will totally reverse the effect of the Anphem Serum that was given to you in the Palace. You might or might not be able to conceive after this.”
“Yes. I understand.”
Her eyes flick from my face to the syringe. “Okay,” she says, leaning forward. “Now, this will hurt just a little bit...”
“Oh, I...”
She leans back with a quick smile. “Done.”
I stand and thank her. Jaxon takes my hand and we are at the door when I hear the young couple's laughter from the other side of the room. I turn to stare at the young woman's side profile. Her long black hair cascades down to her waist and her eyelashes are thick and curling. I stare at her olive skin, at the healed, faded scars down her arms and legs.
As if sensing my eyes on her, she stops talking to the medical officer and turns to me.
Her black eyes round and she stands slowly.
“Z-Zoey?” she whispers.
My hand flies to my mouth and tears flood my eyes. “Hani! Hani, you...” You're alive!
We rush headlong into each other's arms, weeping and hugging each other tightly, trying to convince ourselves that what we are seeing and feeling is real.
“Hani! Hani, I thought...I thought...that you...”
“I know. I know.” She mops her tears away with her sleeve, and smiles. “I thought I was dead too.”
“I saw the guards drag you away from the Great Hall. The Emperor...” I grip her arms hard at the memory. “He ordered that you be discarded.”
“He did. And...I thank him for it!” She nods happily and laughs. “Look at you! Oh, the look on your face is priceless! You must think that I've gone completely mad!”
“No, no, that's not what...”
She cocks her head at me. “Discarded. Not killed. The guards had no orders to kill me. And...” She glances behind her shyly. “One of the guards saved me.” She reaches out and pulls the gaping, burly man behind her to her side. “Zoey, meet my husband, Tai. Tai was one of the palace guards. He saved me—and married me.” She grins, positively glowing. “Tai, this is Zoey. We...shared a cell together, when we were...Sirens in the Palace.”
Tai nods at me and puts his muscular arm around his wife's shoulder. He looks up at Jaxon, and I see his stance stiffen instantly. He stops himself just in time before he snaps automatically to attention before his former Commander.
“Hi, I'm Jaxon, Zoey's fiance,” Jaxon extends his hand.
After Hani shakes his hand, she turns to me, the smile gone from her face. “Is O-Owen...” she whispers. “The last time I saw him...in the Palace...”
He was about to rape me with the generous permission of the Empress, right in the middle of the Great Hall in front of the Emperor and all his guests.
“I don't know if he is dead or alive,” I tell her frankly. Jaxon has kept his promise to me. Owen has not been hunted down. Just as long as he stays far away from me, from us.
Hani exhales heavily and lapses into silence.
Do I care if Owen is dead or alive?
Despite what he has done to me, I find myself hoping that he is alive and well, that the scars on his body, his mind and soul can heal and fade, and he can find a measure of peace and perhaps, happiness.
His final words, uttered just before he fires a shot at the camera pointblank, cutting off the transmission, echo in my mind: “You are the love I could have had, the life I could have led—if only...if only I had not been me.”
But how can you not be you? You are you, Owen, and I hope you find the love and the life that truly belongs to you.
Jaxon ushers us discreetly out of the treatment room as the medical officers see to new patients. “What are you here for?” I ask Hani as we walk out together. “I came for the Fertility serum. But I'm not sure if it'd work.” I sigh as Jaxon squeezes my hand.
“Oh!”
Tai and Hani exchange a look, and a smile.
“It works. It sure works!” Hani beams at me, quivering with excitement.
I narrow my eyes at her. “What are you not telling me?”
She pats her tummy and announces, “I'm two months pregnant.”
My jaw drops before I let out a squeal. “Hani! Oh, you!” I hug her again. “That's wonderful! Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!”
“Yes. It is. He is.” She leans into Tai's arms, a dreamy look suffusing her soft features. “We all are.”
We leave the Central Clinic and say our goodbyes, but not before Hani invites Jaxon and me to dinner. Tai has gone back to his hometown, and Hani has started a small bakery business, selling breads and buns from their home.
“I'll bake you a birthday cake,” she tells me earnestly.
I laugh. “But it's not my birthday.”
“Every day is your birthday. After what we have gone through, every day that we are alive, every day that we are happy, healthy and hopeful, every day is a day to celebrate our lives.” Hani kisses me on the cheek and waves cheerfully. “See you tomorrow!”
We watch Tai and Hani until they are out of sight. Jaxon kisses the back of my hand as we stroll along the square, towards the central park which has been reopened and restored. New trees and flowering shrubs are being planted. We walk into the shade of a rambling, old tree and Jaxon stops suddenly. He puts his hand into his pocket and clears his throat awkwardly. “I...um, I have something for you. Give me your hand.”
I stretch out my hand to him, and he holds it softly, caressing it with his thumb before he drops something small into my palm.
I blink at the small, aquamarine stud earring in my hand.
“This...this is exactly the same, as...as...” I touch my right earlobe, where my mother's earring is. Jaxon had kept my mother's fallen earring for ten years, before he found me and gave it back to me.
Now he is giving me a new one, the other half of it, to complete the pair.
“It's not an exact match,” he acknowledges. “This one's a bit lighter...”
“It's perfect,” I whisper. “Will you put it on for me?”
Taking the earring from my palm, he threads it carefully through my left earlobe. He steps back with a look of pride and admiration on his face.
I touch the two shining studs that I am wearing with my fingers. One from my m
other. One from Jaxon. Both filled with courage and love.
They will be with me forever.
Jaxon wraps his arms around me and we watch the people walking and laughing in the central park. Not so long ago, this was an execution ground, where rebel fighters were publicly hanged.
The nightmares may diminish and the terrors fade with time but the memories will always be there.
We have been broken, every one of us. But the pieces must be picked up. And glued back together.
That's what Jaxon and I are—two broken pieces, glued back together to make a whole.
We survived.
We are alive.
We have a life to live together, dreams to dream together, so many birthdays to celebrate together.
Every day is a day to celebrate our lives.
I tilt my face up to Jaxon, frowning. “When exactly is your birthday? I don't really know...”
“I don't really know either.” He shrugs. “As a child, I've always wondered, but as I grew older, I just stopped wondering.”
“A birthday is a day to celebrate your life, and the happiness you've brought to the people in your life. You've brought me happiness, Jaxon. So, happy birthday! Happy, happy birthday, Jaxon,” I smile, throwing my arms around him and giving him a big kiss on the cheek.
Jaxon captures my face in both his hands, and gazes deeply into my eyes. There is so much that he wants to say, so much that he feels. I see it in his eyes, in his face, feel it in his touch and his kiss.
“I don't have a present for you,” I mumble apologetically.
At that, a wicked gleam enters his eye. “Oh, but you do.” His voice drops low, sending a thrill through my body.
“I do? What is it?” I smile as I smooth the hair from his forehead, tracing the deep lines and fading scars. “What do you want?” I whisper.
He leans in and breathes a single word which tells me everything—all his feelings and desires, his fears and hopes, his dreams, his wants, his love.
“You.”
End
*****
About the Author
Natalie Kristen is a writer who enjoys mixing the sweet with the spicy, the light with the dark, the possibilities with the unimaginable. She enjoys exploring dystopian and paranormal worlds, dangerous desires and impossible, inspiring romances. She is hopelessly addicted to coffee, chocolate, reading and writing. She loves to hear from readers so please feel free to follow her on Twitter and Facebook, or visit her blog for the latest news and updates.
Blog:
nataliekristen.blogspot.com
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@NatKristenBooks
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Release In The Dark (DARK erotic romance series) Page 17
