by Meg Xuemei X
“I’ve never met anyone like you,” Ashburn sighed.
“If you go to the outside world, you’ll see plenty of girls like me,” she said. “I’m just a small fish in the ocean.”
“I possess almost everyone’s memories. Lucienne, you’re anything but a small fish.”
As Ashburn’s hand moved to the curve of her lips, Lucienne’s heart hesitated. She remembered Vladimir and pulled away. “Who are you really, Ash?” she asked in a quiet breath, concealing the rapid rhythm of her heartbeat.
“I don’t know,” he said, his eyes shifting to steel gray.
“I know Clement and Peder aren’t your biological parents,” she said, watching him, “and you know that, too.”
“I’ve searched my databank,” Ashburn said, “and I can’t find any records.”
“You broke free before the full upload. Do you think the secret of your heritage is still with the Eye of Time?”
“Maybe.”
“When Peder found you as a baby crying in a basket in the inner garden, Clement had just given birth to a stillborn. They buried the secret of your birth with the dead baby.”
Ashburn narrowed his eyes. “You read her mind.”
“I want to know more about you. I need to know who you are.”
“Any conclusions?”
“There was a card with notes in the basket, but your parents repressed the memory.”
“The notes forbade them to tell anyone about my arrival,” Ashburn said. “It threatened their lives if they didn’t obey. My parents were very fearful of me in the beginning. They didn’t know what I was. No one else had ever entered Nirvana until you came. At some point, they suspected that I was a demon child.”
“You’re actually the first outsider in Nirvana,” Lucienne said. “Do you have records of the first settlers?” She had read The Book, which Prince Felix had smuggled out of the temple for her. The Book was all about the king’s ancestors’, their great deeds, and the law of Nirvana. Nothing useful. “The Book says the gods summoned the first settlers from all the continents to this land to be their chosen people, but I believe there is a hidden agenda behind whatever power called them here.”
“Seraphen mentioned Nirvana is a failed breeding field. The Eye of Time rounded up the potential humans with specific DNA requirements to breed the Destined One, but no matter how it manipulated the genes of the people in Nirvana, The One never came.”
“Until it found you outside Nirvana. How?”
“I don’t know. I told you I have only partial data, and the Eye was very powerful before it completed transferring the TimeDust to me.”
“I believe the answers—along with your inheritance—are still inside the Eye of Time.”
“I don’t want to be anywhere near it,” Ashburn said. “I think I was responsible for my mother’s stillborn. Its power made sure my parents would take care of me. Only me. It made a monster right from the beginning, but I don’t want to be one.”
“You’re no more a monster than I am, Ash. You’re a force for good, and you’re unselfish,” Lucienne whispered. “Even with the TimeDust in you, you can still choose your own path. I’ll help you. We’ll work things out, together.”
“What about your Russian mother?” Ashburn asked abruptly.
Lucienne blinked. All the warmth left her. “That’s none of your business.”
“Then how come my lot is your business?” Ashburn’s tone was steely sharp.
“You’re the Chosen One, and I’m not. All the Sirens were deceived. We aren’t privileged. We aren’t special,” Lucienne said with a touch of bitterness. “If you’re the Destined One, then all the secrets lie in your genetic code. If we decipher your code, we can have all the answers we’ve been seeking. We can even neutralize the evil program you believe is in you.”
“How do you know you’re not chosen in some way? Do you know why your father never came to visit you? Do you know why your mother went off the grid after she gave birth to you?”
“Why should I care about them? They abandoned me, just like your biological parents forsook you.”
“You don’t know the whole truth. And you should have cared. Have you ever wondered why there’s finally a female Siren after a million years? The Siren’s line couldn’t produce a girl, and yet you popped out. You say you seek truth and knowledge above all else, but when it comes to yourself, you’re too afraid to know the truth.”
“Tell me then,” Lucienne said, her heart pounding. “Tell me about my mother. My grandfather and others tried to locate her, but never succeeded. So please enlighten me if she indeed stood out amid the millions in the gene pool.”
Ashburn gazed at Lucienne, who stared back in defiance. His expression turned sheepish, and he dropped his gaze, his long lashes veiling his eyes. “Sorry, that is also not in my databank.”
Lucienne was so annoyed that she wanted to hit him. Her eyes burned darkly. “Then why did you bring it up?”
Ashburn raised his eyes to face Lucienne’s scowl. “If I was meant to happen, then you were, too. Whatever force didn’t just create one freak; it created a pair. It’s all the more reason we must get as far away from each other as possible, so its nasty plan that needs both of us will not succeed. Think of how you found me. Of all the worlds, you had to come to mine. It wasn’t a coincidence. Some force drives us together.”
“What a cosmic conspiracy,” Lucienne said with a laugh of irony, “just to set you and me up.”
“Laugh all you want, but I won’t let the TimeDust lead me down the path of destruction.”
Paranoid, Lucienne thought. “I wasn’t laughing at you, Ash. Think of it this way,” she said. “If the TimeDust means for us to be tools, we can take advantage of that and use it. If we know what it’s up to, we’ll be able to beat the mastermind behind it.” Her rich, silver voice was laced with passion. “We choose our own destiny.”
“How are we going to outwit it and the mastermind behind it?”
“We need to figure out your genetic code first.” An encouraging smile curled at the corner of Lucienne’s mouth and her eyes sparkled. “I have the best scientists and the most advanced labs waiting in Sphinxes.”
“Don’t even think about it.” Ashburn’s voice turned cold. “I’m not your guinea pig. And using me is all you care about.”
The smile faded from Lucienne’s face. “Why did you say that?”
“I overheard what you told Vladimir. You said I was only your asset and nothing else.”
Right, she thought. He saw and heard that when he crashed her date with Vladimir that night. “I want to believe I felt that way, but I don’t.” Lucienne exhaled slowly. “You mean more to me than I expected. More than I want to admit.”
Ashburn’s eyes warmed and lit bright silver, but he complained, “I don’t know what you really think. I can’t read your mind.”
“You don’t need to read my mind to know I’ll not hurt you. I do want to run some tests on you, but they’re only normal kinds of tests that will help us learn more. I’ll have myself tested alongside you. We need to start putting the pieces of our puzzle, and figure this all out.”
The light dimmed in Ashburn’s eyes. “That’s what I’m afraid of,” he said. “The TimeDust needs us to find the truth, which will lead us to where we can never return.” He paused to harden his voice. “I showed you those things so you’d understand and make the right choice. I expected you could be reasoned with.”
“You want me to walk away from all this?” Lucienne’s voice was cooling.
“It’s the only way,” Ashburn said with a set jaw.
“So you think this is all your decision,” Lucienne said, “but you don’t get to make one for me.”
“I disagreed with Seraphen’s hard method. I tried to persuade him not to go after you. I thought a soft approach and undisputable reasons would make you leave this alone.”
Lucienne’s eyes darkened to russet brown. “What if I don’t go along with your plan? You’
ll pick up where the mad dog left off and kill me?”
A metal-cold look sunk into Ashburn’s eyes. “We’ll do whatever it takes, unless you come to your senses before it’s too late.”
“You have access to everyone’s memories, including all of my enemies,” Lucienne said with lethal softness. “You must know that I don’t take threats well.”
“It isn’t a threat,” Ashburn said. “I won’t be able to stop Seraphen then.”
“Bring it on, either of you. Or both of you.”
“I’d never lay a finger on you,” Ashburn sighed, “but you know you can’t beat him, even with your net launcher. You have no idea of what he can do.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“Why do you have to be so stubborn, Lucienne Lam?”
“Why do you, Ashburn Fury?”
They glared at each other. Lucienne could hear his hard breathing, in sync with her own. She bit her lip, resisting the strong attraction calling to her.
Ashburn snapped his head toward the door. “Violet’s here.”
Before Lucienne could rise from Ashburn’s bed, Violet had pushed open the door and marched in. Her face sunk at the sight of Lucienne. “What are you doing here?” the girl demanded, looking daggers at Lucienne, clearly inspecting whether the taller girl’s silky pajama top was unbuttoned or wrinkled.
“I believe I should be the one asking this question.” Lucienne said. “Why are you here at this hour disturbing our nice chat?”
“I came to check on Ash!” Violet said.
“Does he need you to tuck him in?” Lucienne said with an ironic smile.
“I heard you’re spending the night here,” Violet said. “I needed to make sure you weren’t bewitching him. And here you are, coming to his room in the middle of night and throwing yourself at him.”
“I am?” Lucienne gazed at Ashburn through her lashes. It was a sultry look.
“Don’t look at him like that!” Violet said.
“Like what?” Lucienne batted her eyes.
The redhead lunged at Lucienne, her long fingernails reaching for the dark-haired beauty, trying to scratch Lucienne’s face. Lucienne could have easily deflected the redhead’s attack, but instead she cringed and hid behind Ashburn.
Ashburn shot to his feet and grabbed Violet’s hands to stop her. “What are you doing?”
“Don’t you see what the witch is trying to do?” Violet asked. “She’s trying to steal you from me!”
Lucienne considered sticking her tongue out at Violet or giving the redhead a wink, but she knew Ashburn would see it in Violet’s memory, and she’d lose her credibility as the victim. So she put on the demure look of a girl who would never want to hurt Ashburn’s dear friend.
“Violet, I’m not yours,” Ashburn said. “Not in that way. I care about you more than my life, but I’ve always regarded you as a sister.”
“That’s not true,” Violet said. “Before she came, you didn’t treat me like a sister.”
“You misunderstood how I treated you,” Ashburn said.
“You’re lying to yourself as you’re lying to me. You aren’t the Ash I know anymore.” Violet put a fist in her mouth to muffle a devastated cry and ran out of the room.
Ashburn looked at Violet’s retreating figure, then at Lucienne, and ran after Violet.
Lucienne heard the door to the master bedroom open. “Ash?” Clement’s voice sounded from the hallway. Lucienne darted to hide behind the door.
“Yes, Mama?” Ashburn answered.
“I heard noises,” Clement said.
“I’m sorry, Mama. I’ll be quiet,” Ashburn said. “Go back to sleep. It’s late.”
“Where have you been? Queen Lucienne has been asking about you. And you missed dinner,” Clement said. “You want me to warm up the beef stew for you?”
“No, Mama. I ate some already,” Ashburn said.
“Shush,” Peder’s voice came from their bedroom, “Queen Lucienne is sleeping. Her Majesty is dwelling in our humble home to learn our dialect and customs. We must set a good example for her.”
“You’re right, Papa. Everyone go back to sleep now,” Ashburn lowered his voices.
The house quieted down, but Ashburn never returned.
Lucienne knew he had gone after Violet. An unexpected jealousy besieged her. Furiously, she shook it off. She had Vladimir. Her heart had space for only one man, and that man had staked his claim. Why then did she feel so possessive toward Ashburn?
Lying on the bed in the guest room, Lucienne was listening and waiting for Ashburn to return, tossing and turning as the night sky transitioned to dawn.
CHAPTER 21
“Ash?” Lucienne knocked on the wall.
“Yes?” a voice from the other side answered.
“Are you awake?”
“I am now.”
“Sorry. Are you decent?”
“You didn’t ask me that last night before you charged into my room.”
“My sincerest apologies. Can we meet in the backyard?”
“Why?”
“I have an idea.”
“About dragging me to Sphinxes?”
Lucienne felt her heart jump erratically in her rib cage. “No, I was wrong. I should just leave things the way they are. Before I go, I want to say a proper farewell.”
“Do you mean that?”
“Yes. Meet me in three minutes. Bring your machine ride with you. Let’s go see the sunrise before we part ways forever.”
“Its name is Spike.”
When Lucienne scurried to the backyard, Ashburn was already on Spike. He wore an ebony sweater and white pants. The pale light was on his silver hair, highlighting strands of pale gold. It flowed easily in the breeze against his gorgeous pale face.
Lucienne felt her breath catch as she saw his eyes twinkling at the sight of her. She’d put a little more effort than usual into her outfit and makeup. Her smoke-colored, leather jacket fit her body like a second skin. Underneath she was wearing a red dress shirt, and leather pants that added just the right edge of sexiness. Her bold look would make it easy to spot her from miles away. With a bright smile, she strolled toward him. “Hi, Ash.”
“Hi, you.” He smiled back. “Where would you like to go?”
“The mountains. For the first and the last time.”
Ashburn’s silver gray eyes were a pool of profound sadness and relief. “You’ve made the right choice,” he said. “You’re stronger than I. It is not easy for me to stay away from you, but you seem to do it with ease.”
“Don’t be so sure about that.” Lucienne hopped onto the back of Spike.
“You ready?” Ashburn asked.
Lucienne curled her fingers around Ashburn’s waist. “Rock it!”
Spike soared into the gray sky that was just starting to wake up. Lucienne held back her yearning to press her face against Ashburn’s firm back, but she couldn’t help screaming. “We’re faster than a shooting star!”
Ashburn laughed. “Isn’t it beautiful? I’m glad I can share this with you.”
Lucienne heard the wild wind around them, but it didn’t assault them. Spike created a force field to shield its riders. Vladimir would kill to have a ride like this, she thought.
“G-force!” Lucienne shouted. And Ashburn’s nearness was even more intoxicating. A fierce tenderness washed over her. She cared about him more than she thought. Well, it’s just the program, she told herself. Like Ash said, the TimeDust is doing this to both of us.
“Spike can go much faster. You won’t believe it,” Ashburn said.
In a few seconds, they reached the ring of mountains that enclosed Nirvana.
Spike halted on top of a snow-capped mountain. As the orange-red sun leapt out of its nest, Ashburn pulled Spike backward, so he and Lucienne could have the best angle to watch the sun breathe between the mountains.
“It’s the most beautiful sunrise I’ve ever seen,” she sighed. “It’s our first one together.”
“A
nd our last. I won’t forget you.”
“I won’t either,” she said. “Can we park Spike in the valley? Let’s take a walk.”
“Anything you want,” he said.
Spike landed in the center of the valley. Lucienne swung her long legs off the machine and, at the same time, pulled a syringe from her leather pocket and stabbed it into the side of Ashburn’s neck. The serum shot into his vein.
Ashburn twisted his body and stared at Lucienne, his ice blue eyes widening in disbelief and bitterness, then he dropped his head. Lucienne caught him in her arms. “I’m sorry, Ash,” she said. “I had to do this. You’d never listen to me.”
After placing Ashburn on the rocky ground, Lucienne pulled out her Eidolon and hit speed dial. Kian answered at the first ring. “Are you all right, kid?” His voice was anxious. “The boy has been blocking our satellite—”
“Not anymore. I’ve got him,” Lucienne said. “Find me in the mountains and bring all our birds. We’re leaving for good.”
“What about the mutant?” Kian asked. “I can stay behind and finish him.”
“We’ll come back and deal with him after we ship Ashburn to Sphinxes.”
Lucienne hung up and looked up at the sky. The light hadn’t quite reached the valley yet, blotted out by the mountains, but her red pants should be easy for her men to spot.
The chilly wind blew across the landscape. Lucienne shuddered and squatted beside Ashburn, who lay still on the ground like Sleeping Beauty. “Don’t hate me, Ash.” She brushed his platinum hair from the corner of his eye. “Everything will be all right, I promise. My home will be your second home.” Her fingers lingered on his cheek a little too long, wishing to move down to trace the shape of his flawless lips and the lines of his perfect jaw.
Lucienne rose, shoved her hands into her leather pockets, and waited for her men to show up.
CHAPTER 22
The first helicopter flew across the mountains.
Lucienne saw Vladimir at the open cabin door. She waved at him with a smile, and he smiled back dazzlingly, delighted to see her and relieved she was safe. But his grin vanished quickly. He raised his machine gun, shooting in her direction, above her.
