“It is time, son. You cannot put this off any longer.” My father sat on the throne while I stood before him.
“Things such as this cannot be rushed.” I’d wait forever for her if I had to. Why couldn’t he understand? We were still so young. We had time.
“Rushed? She is already eighteen. How much longer do you plan to wait?”
“She’s of Earth.” Even though I forgot that sometimes. The two of us were so connected.
“And your point? She’s been physically ready for years. Even accounting for differences in our people, it is time.”
“But she’s not ready. She’s told me she wants to wait.”
“Is Rachel about to become heir to the throne?”
“No.” Even though she’d be with me every step of the way.
“Then why should she be the one making the decisions?” He sat forward in the chair. “Unless you are incapable of making your own. In that case I will make the decisions for you.”
“I am perfectly capable of making decisions.” I straightened up to my full height. I would not let my father question my abilities.
“Then make it. Time is running out.” His eyes were dark. He’d recently taken a modifier. I was sure of it.
“I’ll do it during my ceremony.” The idea came to me quickly. “That way I don’t have to call a separate event. She may be more comfortable if she isn’t the only one in the center of attention.” I still had to come up with a way to break it to her. I hated pushing her. She wanted to be with me. That wasn’t the problem.
“She is going to have to get used to being watched.”
“She will.” Because we’d do it together. She was always more comfortable that way. She hated facing crowds alone, which she’d occasionally had to do lately when I was off-planet. The older we got, the harder it was to protect her from palace events.
“Don’t tell her.”
“Don’t tell her what?”
“When you plan to do it.”
“Are you suggesting I surprise her?” I froze. I had to be misinterpreting him.
“It’s more than a suggestion. Why needlessly worry her? You know she will build it up and look for a way to give herself more time. But for what reason? What time could she possibly want unless she is waiting to see her other options.”
An unfamiliar feeling shot through me. Jealousy as hot as flames. “She would never select another. She declared herself years ago.”
“Yet nothing is cemented until she wears the family medallion. You are best to remember that.”
“She’s going to be angry.”
“What are you going to be if you don’t have her?”
“She’s not going to choose another.” The jealous thoughts disappeared, and I was able to think clearly. He was trying to manipulate me. I had to keep my head clear.
“Yes, but you will.”
“I could never.”
“You have until the ceremony. If you don’t she will be leaving the palace and I will find you another life mate.”
“No. You can’t do that.” Living without Rachel was an impossibility.
“I am the Emperor, Caspian. What can’t I do?”
My hands balled into fists at my sides.
“Take that anger out of the throne room. I will have none of this. Pull yourself together and stop humiliating me. This deadline is final.”
“Yes, father.” I gave in to the one man who held power over me. But not forever. Eventually it would be my turn.
I blinked, pushing off the memory. It wasn’t often I fell into dreams like that—exact repetitions of previous events—but it was another one of my abnormalities. Something else that set me apart from the rest of my people.
“Good. You’re awake. I was beginning to think I messed up.” Kelby’s voice came from behind me.
I looked over my shoulder. He watched while leaning on a flight console. A flight console? I jumped to my feet. “Where are we? What happened?”
“I had to numb your senses. It was the only way.”
“The only way to what?” I rubbed the back of my neck. There was a dull ache. I touched something sticky. I brought my fingers back around to the front. Blood. My blood?
“Get you off Earth without your father knowing.”
“Explain yourself.” I showed him my bloody hand.
“Sorry about that. I ran out of time and couldn’t finish stitching the wound.” He tossed me a towel. “It will close up on its own soon.”
“Why do I have a wound?”
“Your father was keeping his eye on you.”
“In what way?” Had my father’s deceptions gone even farther than I knew?
“In this way.” Kelby held up a small piece of metal.
“A chip?” I started to put things together. “He was tracking me with a chip?”
“Are you really surprised?”
“Yes.” Of all the awful things my father had done… this was the most shocking. But not the worst. What he did to Rachel with the modifiers was far worse. “I need to see Rachel.”
I applied the towel to the wound. That tracker had really been there. “Unbelievable.”
“If you want to see her you’re going to have to put on these.” He held out a pair of handcuffs.
I laughed dryly. “You must be joking.”
“Does it sound as if I’m joking?”
“There is no way I’m wearing those.”
“Then I can’t take you. There is no chance I can walk onto their ship with you free.”
“Why not?” I removed the towel. The small amount of pressure had likely been enough. I touched the spot again and my hand was clean.
“Because you are going to be viewed as the enemy until you prove yourself to the contrary.”
“The enemy?” I startled. “Who is she with? I need to know.”
“Telton.”
“Telton? The head of the Explorers has been working against my father?” I tried to process yet another surprising piece of information. “For how long?”
“I’ll let you discuss that with him yourself. Are you ready?”
I wanted to argue and demand answers, but reuniting with Rachel took precedence over anything. “Must I really wear cuffs?”
“You know you can break them if you really want to. Don’t be so overly dramatic. There is no point.”
“Overly dramatic?” I spit out. “Because I don’t want to be restrained?”
“Are you ready to see Rachel, or not?”
“Of course I am.” I held out my hands. “I will get you back for all this.”
“You should be thanking me.”
“Thanking you?”
“If it was up to her she’d never see you again.” As usual his expression was unreadable.
I decided to face my fear. “She said that?”
“No… but Telton is in charge.”
“She must blame him too. He lied to her. He’s the one who took her away.”
“Calm down. You’re getting yourself all worked up again.”
“Take me to her.” I gritted my teeth.
“I’m working on it.” He clasped the handcuffs. “If anyone from back home could see this.”