Alphas of Pandora, page 14
“What is this?” she asked, barely recognizing the sound of her own voice.
His eyes held hers for a brief moment before looking away. “It’s a translation unit, one of the most advanced available. With it, you’ll be able to speak and understand any language that would be expected of someone raised in Pandora.”
Another shock of pain rocked through her as the doctor adjusted something. “I couldn’t just learn your language the old-fashioned way?”
“There isn’t time for that.” His gaze focused behind her. Aura could hear the clink of instruments as the doctor gathered them together. “Are you finished?”
“For now. I’ll have to recalibrate the signal from the equipment in a few days, but she shouldn’t have any problems between now and then.”
“Thank you, Dr. Bartin.”
When the doctor came around where Aura could see her, she looked younger than expected. Her severe expression and the graying hair pulled straight back into a bun aged her slightly, but the skin of her face was smooth and unlined. “I assume that you’ve considered more than language abilities as a requirement for maintaining this ruse?”
Castor raised a mocking eyebrow. “I assume you ask because you have a suggestion.”
“She’ll need medical and demographic records input into the archives. Even with DNA and biomarkers, simple questions about her history that don’t match the records will reveal a deception. I’ll have no choice but to document this encounter, for example.”
A dark glower descended over his face. Aura could only imagine how frightening Castor would be if ever truly consumed with rage. “I was assured of your discretion.”
Dr. Bartin seemed unbothered by the display of aggression and the chill tone of her voice remained unaltered. “It’s impossible to procure a device as expensive and uncommon as an advanced translation unit without creating a trail that can be followed.”
He crossed overly large arms across his chest as an imperious expression descended over his features. This was the born royal who was not accustomed to being told no. “Get to the point.”
“Legion has already discussed with you that falsified records will need to be entered into the archives.” Dr. Bartin put away the last of her equipment and pulled a small tablet out of her bag, holding a stylus over it with an expectant look on her face. “If I’m to create artificial records, it would help if I had some additional information about the girl. The more accurate the details are, the less likely that the file will appear fraudulent if it’s ever inspected.”
Castor gave an annoyed nod. “Go ahead.”
The doctor turned to address Aura directly for the first time. “How old are you?”
It was a simple question but Aura was unsure of how to answer. Dates and time were always based on approximations on the station. How do you calculate a day without a sunrise, much less the year? For birthdays, she would coordinate with Auntie Nona based on the position of the stars visible through the station’s portholes. “Twenty-two, I think.”
Castor’s eyebrows went up at that, although he seemed pleasantly surprised. “I would have thought you younger.”
“Chronic malnourishment, I expect.” Dr. Bartin surveyed Aura’s still-thin form with a critical eye. “Am I to understand that it was chemical inducement that led to your first estrous?”
The last thing Aura wanted to think about was what had happened during estrous, as they called it. “Yes.”
“Had you experienced monthly courses prior to that?”
Her body was no longer secured to the chair and Aura briefly considered running for the door, if just to escape the embarrassment. “No.”
“So you have never been pregnant or given birth to a child.”
“Never.”
The tap of the stylus on the tablet was loud in the sudden silence. Aura’s gaze moved briefly to Castor before she looked away. She wanted to ask him to leave the room, but held no illusions he would actually comply. He seemed completely unconcerned with her obvious discomfort at having this conversation in front of him. At least Dr. Bartin was a woman.
“Any other sexual partners in the past, aside from Prince Castor?”
Aura couldn’t stop the pink color that suffused her cheeks at the reminder. Castor’s expression remained neutral, but something flashed in his eyes. She hated pretty much every moment of this. “No.”
“Any significant medical complaints in the past, as in head trauma or broken bones.”
“No.” Finally, Aura could find her voice enough to protest. “Why do you need to know all of this?”
“Accuracy is essential,” the doctor replied, voice pert. “For example, if I place in the record that there is no history of surgery, but you have scars, then it will raise suspicions if you ever find yourself examined by another medical worker.”
“That doesn’t mean you have to put in there how many times I’ve had sex.”
The sensation of speaking with the translation unit was strange. Aura could tell that the words being formed by her lips were unfamiliar, the contortions required noticeable different, but they sounded recognizable to her ears. The disconnect would take some time to get used to.
A slight smile briefly crossed Bartin’s lips before it disappeared. “All Omegas have to be registered. You’d be surprised at what details are included in archival records.”
Nothing about this place surprised her at this point. “Is that it?”
“That should be sufficient.” Dr. Bartin closed the cover on the tablet with a loud click. “The record should be completed by the end of the day.”
Castor stood up, seeming eager to have this all done with. “Excellent, if that’s all—”
But the doctor wasn’t finished. “I do have one more question.”
He gave a weary sigh. “What is it?”
“How would you like me to document the mark on her shoulder?”
The dark growl would have sent anyone else scurrying for cover. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m not a fool,” Bartin said with a sigh. “You’ve marked this girl, whether you want to acknowledge it or not. I can only assume you have a plan for how to proceed.”
The mark burned at the mention of it, forcing Aura to bite back a gasp. “He never explained what this was or why it hurts so much. It was like I couldn’t control myself when it happened, something just compelled me to bite him. Tell me what the mark means?”
Castor made a sound of protest, but Dr. Bartin spoke over him.
“The mark is a bond between the two of you, more so as it seems you’ve marked each other.”
Aura’s gaze roved over the fuming prince, her emotions in a tangle. Part of her wanted to launch herself into his arms, while another desperately wanted to forget that she had ever met him. She could only assume a similar battle waged within him. But even so, she felt drawn to him like a moth to a flame. She barely knew this man, and they shared little more than their experience in the Forbidden Zone.
“How do we get rid of it?” she asked, returning her attention to the doctor.
“Only on pain of death. The mark is permanent.”
Dr. Bartin made the pronouncement with no apparent conception of the effect it would have. Aura heard only a sudden rushing sound in her ears as the woman gathered up the rest of her supplies and made to leave.
Permanent.
Castor and Bartin exchanged words, but the details were lost to Aura as her mind whirled. She felt him burrowing inside of her like a parasite. The effects of whatever he had done couldn’t be permanent. She couldn’t live like this forever.
“I want to go home,” Aura bit out as the door closed behind the doctor and she was left alone with Castor. “My family is still on the station. I have to get back to them.”
And even more than she wanted to be reunited with Auntie Nona and the twins, she wanted to be as far from this man as possible.
“This is the only safe place for you now.” His expression briefly resembled regret, before the imperious mask descended on his features once again. “There is no going back.”
Eighteen
Castor led Aura on a tour of the palace as she trailed unhappily behind him. Every few minutes, her hands strayed to the small device that had been implanted behind her ear. She caught sight of herself in a mirror as they passed. The translator unit was not visible behind the long fall of her hair. But she could still feel it there, uncomfortable at having a foreign object imbedded into her skull.
Before letting her out of her quarters, Castor had made her memorize the backstory he had concocted. She was to be an orphan from the lower levels, a place she understood to be where the poorest of their society lived. The translator unit could be explained away as a necessity due to her limited education and exposure to the rest of the world, if anyone insisted on an explanation.
“I’ve kept you in the east wing of the palace because it’s the least used and most distant from the main hall,” Castor explained as he escorted her down a long hallway as wide as the entire receiving hall on the Citadel. “I wanted to avoid introducing you to my retainers until the translation unit had been implanted. I apologize for leaving you isolated for so long.”
There wasn’t a hint of apology in his voice and Aura fought the urge to roll her eyes. She was having more difficulty than she cared to admit with the hand he had resting on the small of her back, his touch burning her skin even through the fabric of her dress. “It’s fine.”
“The palace is one of the highest structures in all of Pandora and stands at the center of the city.” They reached a long spiral staircase, and he took her arm as they descended. A row of silent servants in matching uniforms stood along one side, but did not speak or so much as make eye contact with her. “We avoid the lower levels as much as possible due to the poor quality of the air.”
She kept her voice low, so it was only loud enough for him to hear. “I thought you said that I’m supposed to be from these lower levels.”
“That’s correct.”
“Why would you allow people to live in a place where it’s difficult for them to breathe?”
He cast her a sardonic look. “That has always been the way of human civilizations, some have much while others have little.”
“You’re the prince, aren’t you?” Aura almost lost her footing on the last step and had to take his arm. She immediately let go as soon as she regained her balance. “You could change things if you really wanted to.”
“You might be surprised by how little power I truly have here.”
Aura didn’t believe a word of that for even a moment. She had already seen how everyone they encountered deferred to him. The silent servants bowed low as he passed, through she wondered if he even noticed it.
“What do you do then?” she asked, recognizing the note of anger in her voice. “If you have no power.”
Castor ignored the heated tone of her question. “My father is King, but it’s understood that I will be the one to succeed him. To prepare for that, I attend council meetings and sit in on disciplinary hearings.”
“The one? Are there other options, then?”
“I have two brothers, both older. Neither are fit to rule, nor particularly interested in it. They’re both happy with receiving their financial allotment and leaving the real work to someone else.”
“Do you wish one of them would take your place?”
“I’m not in the habit of making wishes.” His tone was more severe than it needed to be, clearly she had struck a nerve.
Before she could think of a response, Castor led her into a room was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Practically everything, from the walls to even the ceiling, was gilded. Their heels clicked along the marble floor that was a shiny, white marble with veins of gold running through it. Pictures hung on the walls in golden frames, paintings of impressively adorned men and women who she would probably recognize if she were actually from this place.
“This is the portrait room,” Castor murmured and even that slight sound was enough to echo off of the high walls.
“Why are you showing me all of this?”
Castor hesitated a step, but continued to escort her down the long hall. “Would you prefer that I’d left you in your room for a few more days?”
“I don’t know.” That seemed to be the trick in all of this. She had spent more hours than she cared to count in that room, feeling his presence with her like a specter and wishing he was there. Now that he stood in front of her, she somehow wanted to be as far away from his as possible.
It made little sense, but she blamed him for the situation she found herself in, even though he had helped her more than anyone else she had come in contact with since crash landing in the Forbidden Zone. She would be dead if it weren’t for him.
But that didn’t change the fact that he had tied them together in an unshakeable bond that could not be broken, even in death.
She forced herself to ignore the tiny voice in her mind that pointed out she had bitten him too, so overcome with emotion at the time that she still couldn’t explain what motivated her. And he had understood what they risked at the time. She had not.
“You won’t be seeing me as much from this point forward.”
Her gaze flew to his, surprise and dismay warring for dominance within her. “What do you mean?”
“I wanted to ensure that you were settled, if just in recompense for what I’ve done. I never should have marked you and I would have never done it if I had been in my right mind. But I promise that I will not touch you again. And I will make reparations for what I have done.”
I will not touch you again.
She sat with that proclamation for a moment, trying to decide how she felt about it. It was true that neither of them would have behaved as they had if they’d been in their right minds, but she couldn’t imagine that their connection was completely severed. She could still feel him inside of her and she knew that he felt her as well. How could they possibly proceed like this?
There was no good response to his words, so Aura stayed silent. Regret was written into every line of his body, infused every word that he spoke, so why bring her here at all? Perhaps it was a sense of obligation, or merely guilt. But it was clear that the passion and possession that had characterized their interactions in the Forbidden Zone had been left in that wild place. All she felt from him now was a restraint so profound that she could sense it through the bond, as if he’d put a thick wall between them. She wondered again why he had not just left her after their rescue.
But she didn’t really want the answer enough to ask.
They exited the portrait room into another long hall lined with silent servants. “Does anyone here ever speak to you?”
He only seemed to notice that they weren’t alone when she pointed it out, as if it were commonplace to be followed by a train of silent people and he no longer consciously processed it was happening. “None of them are mute, as far as I know.”
But the presence of the servants reminded her that there would be questions about her presence here from anyone she encountered. “So what will you tell people?”
Castor moved to hold the door open for her as they entered a completely new wing of the palace. This area was done in more neutral colors with more homey touches, as if someone actually intended to live in it. And most welcome all, they appeared to be alone as the door closed on the stone-faced servants waiting in the hall behind them. “What do you mean?”
Aura was beginning to recognize that the palace was large enough to house practically every denizen of the Citadel and then some. She struggled to understand the purpose of having so much space for so few people.
“When people ask why you brought me here, what will we say?”
He hesitated for a moment, as if choosing his words carefully. “You’ll see when we arrive.”
Aura did not appreciate his secret-keeping, particularly after everything that had already happened. She stopped short, resisting the hand on her arm that urged her forward. “At least tell me that you have a plan to make this all right.”
“I can’t send you back to that space station. It just isn’t possible, you know that.” Castor sighed, but did not force her to follow him. “And when I explain it to you, I’m not sure how you will react.”
Feeling suddenly obstinate, Aura crossed her arms over her chest and backed up against the closed door. Her body language made it clear that he could tell her what she wanted to know or carry her to their destination, because she had no intention of taking another step without having her question answered.
“Tell me. Now.”
A growl escaped his lips as he glared down at her. For all of Castor’s play at civility, the barely leashed Alpha inside him reacted to her imperious tone and urged him to put her in her place. But with an obvious effort, he regained control of himself as the familiar mask descended over his features.
Control was more important to him than anything else.
“Omegas are practically a commodity here and in every inhabited sector on the planet. An unmated Omega is practically worth her weight in gold.”
“But I’m not unmated, am I?” Frantic hands pulled at the collar of her shirt, revealing the angry wound on her shoulder that had not completely healed. “You marked me.”
“And I will regret it with my dying breath. That never should have happened.” He looked away so that she could not see the emotion that blazed in his eyes. True remorse colored his tone, bordering on self-flagellation. Aura got the impression that he believed he had done more damage than she did. “I can only promise that no further harm will come to you.”
“Why can’t you just send me back home?”
“Space travel is outside of my capabilities. And if I hand you back over to the men who brought you here, I can guarantee that they will have no intention of returning you to your space station. You’re stuck here, whether either of us likes it or not.”
