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The door to my room is still slightly ajar from last night’s skirmish.
My breath catches in my throat. In all the commotion and worry, I’d forgotten about the fight in my room. My chest tightens. Perhaps I should request a different place to sleep. Though I’ve gotten a couple hours, they were all in uncomfortable chairs. And sleeping in a poison-induced coma before that wasn’t truly restful.
Hesitantly, I push the door open.
My room is a mess. Blood stains the wall and tufts of fur stick out from the carpet. A squeak catches in my throat at the sight of a clump of feathers centered on the floor. Thankfully, someone has already removed the dead falcon. But she didn’t have to die. If Koenigin hadn’t messed with her sapience chip, she would still be alive...
Both my dear president, and the falcon.
I cross the room to my dresser, shift it back into place, and remove a pair of gloves. They’re standard for my job—my former job—and after slipping them on I pick up the remaining feathers and fur as best as I can. Once the mess is in the garbage chute, I grab a towel from the bathroom to clean the blood—
There’s still a pile of wet clothes by the shower. Heat rises to my cheeks. At least I had the Assist bot change Maria. I didn’t want her to catch a cold, so I’d given her one of my dresses. It was too big for her, but it was dry. I scurry from the bathroom and set to work cleaning the mess.
It’s mind numbing, and I don’t have to think too hard...
Except that, because it is a mindless task, my thoughts keep lodging onto the events of yesterday, the need to help Maria, and her kiss.
Does she actually love me?
I scrub the wall harder, but the stain refuses to come out. I’ll need to talk to the janitorial staff. But I don’t want to talk to anyone. I don’t want to know what’s happening downstairs now that the other board members are surely awake. I don’t want to know how Mr. Saito is handling the public, or if a new fight is going to break out when everyone vies for power.
I sink onto the floor, exhaustion settling hard on my shoulders. I want to go to bed and not wake up until Maria comes and kisses me.
Would she have kissed me if I had been the one in the cryogenic chamber?
Would she have rescued me?
Hot tears gather on my eyelashes and I close my eyes. Once I open them again, I realize I fell asleep on the floor. A small form pokes out from underneath my bed.
A nesting doll.
My favorite gift that my dear president gave me. It fell to the floor during the fight. I slip off my gloves, and then reach out and pull it to me, turning the brightly colored doll between my hands. I wish President Koenigin was still here. Not the president who hurt me in the end. The one who wanted to hurt Maria.
I want the president who gave me this gift because she cared for me.
I close my eyes and cradle the doll to my chest. Then I climb into bed, my limbs sore, and finally sink into a dreamless sleep.
* * *
The afternoon is late before my personal assistant, Agnes, reports that I have a message from Ebs. I bolt awake. Ebs has always been my contact for Maria, so I hope that means he has a meeting place.
“Put him through.” I toss aside the covers and straighten my tunic. I haven’t changed since yesterday. I probably smell terrible. I need to get a shower before our meeting.
Yes, Viridian, Agnes responds through the chip in my head.
I let out a breath as a shimmer of pixels solidifies into the black wolf I know as Ebs. He’s one of the NEL—a neurological enhanced life form—and I’ve known him for most of my life. He’s a company contact, but he’s also my contact for Maria.
At least, until we set up something more personal.
The wolf cocks his head, his thick fur cascading over his shoulders. “You look terrible. How you doing?”
I cough into my hand and push the nesting doll—which I didn’t let go of the entire time I slept—behind me. “Fine,” I lie.
He snorts. It’s a familiar, strangely reassuring sound despite the fact that he knows I’m lying. “You got yourself in a coma, nearly killed Maria—”
I hold up my hands defensively. “We don’t have to go through the list again. Trust me, I already know.”
“Suit yourself. How about I list all the things going wrong for Koenigin Corp instead? Stocks down eighteen percent, new leadership questionable, old sort-of allies checking in to see if their favors are still worth something, conspiracy theories of a NEL takeover—” I glower at him and he smirks. “Being knowledgeable only hurt the idiots who didn’t realize there was more to learn.”
I sigh. “Ebs...”
He shrugs, his tail lazily sweeping the floor wherever he’s currently stationed. “How are you really doing, Huntress?” He strides forward, seemingly walking closer to me, and then sits beside the bed and looks up. “You had a long night.”
I close my eyes, feeling for the nesting doll behind me. “Terrible. I mean... I’m glad Maria’s okay. But now President Koenigin is gone, and I don’t know how Maria feels about me, and I’m supposed to be her ambassador but Mr. Saito doesn’t want me telling her what really happened to Koenigin. I suppose he has a point, but...”
“But?”
I could almost swear there’s a knowing gleam in Ebs’ eyes.
“I don’t want to lie to her. It seems... too close to what President Koenigin told me to do. She kept saying she was doing everything for the good of the company and society, but now look where we’re at.” I wave my arms around me, as if my room contains everything that’s currently wrong. “Koenigin Corp is in shambles, my dear president is more or less dead, and I’m... I don’t know what I’m supposed to be.” I stare at him, running my fingers over the smooth gloss that protects the nesting doll’s paint. “Am I an ambassador or a huntress? Both? And what about Maria? I love her... but I don’t know if she loves me. I don’t know if she should.”
Ebs grunts. “You only ruined half her face and got her biological mother killed... not that she knows the last part.”
“Not helping, Ebs.” I tuck my feet underneath me. The nesting doll is pretty. But real life... real life isn’t this pretty. This perfect.
“I ain’t no fairy godmother,” he growls. “I can’t magically fix things. I’m only pointing out the facts. You did hurt her... and bad. If you didn’t recognize that, then you’d have no business going anywhere near her. But as it is, you now understand that what you did was wrong. You know you made a mistake. Question is, are you going to repeat that same mistake, or are you going to learn from it?”
I peek down at him over the bed. His lips are curled back in a wolfish snarl, and I’m thankful he’s not actually beside me. “I want to learn from it.”
“Don’t tell me you want to learn,” Ebs snaps, “tell me you’re going to learn. Otherwise, you’d better get your little huntress butt back down to Mr. Saito and tell him you’re not fit for the job.” I open my mouth to speak, but Ebs is already on his paws and pacing the room—through my bedpost since the augment isn’t accounting for its placement. “Figure that out, and then you can decide if you’re worthy of being around Maria. In the meantime, you’ve got a job to do. We all do.” He grins at me from over his shoulder. “Lucky for you, Maria wants to give you a second chance. There’s a garden she’s asking you to visit. A little place you’d better keep private, because she doesn’t show just anybody.”
I swallow a gulp. “This is business, right? Not... personal?”
Ebs barks a laugh. “Huntress, you’ve still got much to learn.” His pixels separate and before I have a chance to hop to my feet, his image evaporates. I don’t even have a chance to get him to give me a real answer.
Ebs has provided you with coordinates to your meeting with Maria Snow, Agnes tells me.
“Thank you,” I whisper, my heart thudding recklessly in my chest.
But I’m not sure if I’m preparing for a business call or a date.
