Awakening Page 5

  I took Gabriel’s brush-off for what it was, an opportunity to regroup. I sat back down and decided to commit some of the actions of the day’s meeting to digital memory.

  Suddenly, I felt as if I was being watched. I glanced in Tai’s direction, but he was no longer there. My self-consciousness about overstepping my role during the meeting must have been making me paranoid, I thought. I tried to refocus.

  “I tend to prefer to watch from the sidelines when I can,” a deep male voice said. That tingling sensation bloomed across my neck.

  “Well, you’ll be drawn into the firing range soon enough, won’t you?” Gabriel laughed. I could imagine him tossing a wayward burgundy lock away from his face with a flick of his head.

  “Yes, I suppose so.” A pause. “Who is this?”

  “Ah, allow me to introduce you to my subordinate on this project, Kira Metallurgist.” I quickly rolled my tablet into a scroll and looked up. “Kira, this is Chancellor Gannon Consul, son of High Chancellor Marcus Consul.”

  A year earlier, in the moments before I collapsed from the strongest panic attack I’d ever had, I had a sensation of pure euphoria. For a few seconds, when my breath had stilled and my head was light with dizziness, I was hyperaware of my every positive emotion, sight, smell and taste. Liquid pleasure coursed through my veins before I blacked out.

  When I looked up now to greet Gannon Consul, that experience paled in comparison.

  He was tall and broad-shouldered with dark blond hair that appeared a light brown in our slightly shadowed section of the assembly room. It was slightly tousled and swept back from his face, but a lock or two around his ears hinted that it would fall just above his cheek. He wore the red and black uniform of the Senate, each crease of the fabric emphasizing his lean build.

  But what truly drew me wasn’t solely his appearance. It was the sheer power he held in every aspect of his bearing and countenance. It was intoxicant. Dominance and an unrepentant sense of entitlement were tangible, and wrapped around him like a mantle.

  I stood up, the tablet nearly rolling off the lap desk. His eyes were a startling light blue making a slow a path down my body. The full lips of his mouth curved into a smile as his gaze made its way back up to my face.

  “Metallurgist, is it?”

  I nodded, not trusting my tongue.

  “Yet you work as the minister’s subordinate at the Judiciary,” he said. “Haven’t you decided on your profession yet?”

  “I like my caste name.”

  “They’ll change it for you automatically if you wait too long.”

  “Well, I’ll just have to hold on to it for as long as I can.”

  He nodded slowly, his eyes studying me. “You must be very accomplished to have the privilege of working with Gabriel, especially on a project like this.”

  I smiled in response, unaccountably pleased by his assumption.

  Gannon’s eyes narrowed in on my mouth then scanned the rest of my face. “Falahra,” he said so low under his breath, I almost missed it.

  Gabriel’s eyes went wide, bouncing back and forth between Gannon and me.

  A few beats of time passed.

  Gabriel cleared his throat. “Kira joined the Judiciary, what, less than two weeks ago was it?” Gabriel asked.

  “Yes.” I turned to Gabriel, thankful that I had a reason to look else-where for a moment. Sweat was starting to bead between my breasts, the fabric of my clothing becoming hot and restrictive. After a deep breath, I glanced at Gannon to find him smiling at me knowingly.

  Tai appeared at my right.

  “I was looking for you,” he said by way of greeting, his eyes searching my face as I glanced back to Gannon.

  Tai greeted Gabriel, but then his eyes landed firmly on Gannon. I shivered at the frigid assessment he gave the other man. Then he placed a hand on the small of my back, warming me. I was going to pass out at any moment from the swift swings in temperature assailing my body.

  “Why, it’s a veritable who’s who of up-and-coming leadership,” Gabriel quipped as he sent me an over-the-top look of alarm. I would have laughed if Tai seemed even slightly amenable to a light moment. Gabriel cleared his throat again. “Chancellor, allow me to introduce you to Tai Corporal of Prospect Council.”

  Tai pulled me a bit closer to his side. “We know one another,” he said.

  “We know of one another,” Gannon corrected, giving him a once-over. “Gabriel was introducing me to Kira. We’ll be working together closely over the next little while.”

  Gabriel and I glanced at each other.

  “Why is that?” Tai asked, looking to me.

  “My father asked that I represent him on the task force. I was considering a number of other projects, but now …” He waited for Tai to turn to him. “I’ve made my decision.”

  Tai and Gannon silently took each other in, an odd tension writhing between them.

  Somewhere behind me I heard someone call Gannon’s name. He tilted his head to look beyond our small group. If I hadn’t been watching him so closely, I might have missed the grimace that flittered across his face.

  “It seems my father needs me,” he said, dropping his eyes to me. Gannon took a step closer and took hold of my hand, sending a jolt of awareness up my arm. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Kira Metallurgist.”

  As Gannon withdrew, he quickly tapped his comm against my own, collecting my personal contact information. I glanced up at his impertinence only to witness him rein in a smile. Tai tensed beside me.

  Gannon nodded a goodbye at Gabriel and strode past Tai, his moves elegant and precise.

  Gabriel looked between Tai and me. “Kira, I’ll see you in my office in a few minutes. There’s much to be done.” He saluted a farewell, collected his bag and tablet then sauntered off.

  For some irrational reason, I felt like I’d been the cause of some devious offense. I turned to Tai, fighting off a bizarre urge to apologize.

  He sighed and faced me, the green in his eyes darker than usual, a mossy swirl of some unspoken emotion. I frowned at the smudges still under his eyes.

  “I’m happy to see you again,” I said, wrapping my arms about my waist.

  He eyed me. “Really?”

  I tilted my head in question.

  He reached out for my hand and rubbed his thumb over my knuckles, ratcheting up my jangled nerves. My body was still thrumming from my reaction to Gannon. Now, Tai’s touch was wreaking havoc on it.

  “How do you know the chancellor?” I asked. His thumb stopped its caress.

  “My father worked directly with the high marshal at Realm Council. Our families pretty much moved in the same circles. There was really no way to avoid him.”

  “You don’t seem to get along.”

  “He’s an arrogant ass who’s going to assume the second most powerful position in the Realm because of the luck of his bloodline.” He released my hand and firmed his jaw.

  “Go on. Tell me how you truly feel,” I mumbled with a grin.

  Tai puffed out his chest. “He expects everything to come to him at his beck and call. But then, why wouldn’t he? He’s had the worlds handed to him on a platter.”

  “I see,” I said, but I didn’t really. Tai was one of the most self-assured men I knew. For him to have such a response to another person only made me more intrigued by Gannon Consul.

  Tai cringed. “I know we’re supposed to talk, but I’ve been ordered to debrief my team.”

  “That’s okay,” I said with a slight shrug. Disappointment slid through me at the same time as relief burned bright. “I have to get back to the Judiciary.”

  “Tomorrow. I’ll meet you after work. I’ll wait for you in the main entry. We’ll talk then.”

  “We’d better,” I quipped.

  We smiled at each other for a moment before I turned away. I used the time to collect my bag as an opportunity to take a few restorative breaths. Tai followed me as I started for the doors.

  I frowned, remembering something.
“What does falahra mean?” I asked, peering up at him as I hiked the bag onto my shoulder. Tai had been trained in multiple languages from across the Realm, so I figured he would know.

  He stopped walking, dragging me to a stop as well. “It depends. Who said it?”

  “The chancellor,” I said.

  Tai’s expression became stormy.

  “It’s Gildish, the official language of Dignitas.” He faced forward, resuming our walk. “It means ‘extraordinary beauty.’”

  CHAPTER THREE

  “My, you’ve been busy a busy girl,” Sela said with a mischievous grin.

  I rolled my eyes and picked up another piece of sweetbread.

  “Promoted to work on the largest project the Realm has seen in its four-hundred-year history, Tai finally coming around and to top it all off, swept off her feet by the high chancellor’s son … Impressive,” she said, placing a bowl of fruit in front of me.

  After leaving work late in the evening after the Council meeting, I had decided I was in great need of a consultation with Sela. She would help me sort out the mix of emotions that had been plaguing me. As soon as I walked through her door, I caught the familiar scent of sweetbread and immediately felt a lightening of my mood. Sela’s home was just like her — warm and welcoming.

  I found her in the kitchen pulling out a tray of the warm buns and promptly grabbed one. Passing it from one hand to the next to prevent a burn, I sat on a stool by a table in the middle of the room and started to unload the recent events — both thrilling and perplexing — onto my best friend.

  “What do you mean ‘Tai finally coming around’?” I said around the heat of a piece of bread. It melted like butter in my mouth and I hummed in satisfaction.

  “Tai has been longing for you since you first met.”

  I snorted, inspecting the bowl of fruit and trying to appear indifferent. “All he does is argue with me.”

  She put a hand on her hip, looking every bit like the mom she would soon become. “Kira, I know you’re not that oblivious.”

  I glanced at her. “How would you know? You’ve hardly seen us together. I’ve spoken with him more in the last month or so than in the past five years.”

  “Stop exaggerating.” She shook her head and turned back to the stove. “Anyway, I only needed to see his face when he came by to visit your family the other day to know.”

  I didn’t want to fill that well of hope, so I redirected the subject.

  “Tai doesn’t like Gannon very much,” I said.

  “And why would he? Gannon’s infringing on his territory.”

  “Sela!”

  “Tai had better hurry up. You’re not getting any younger.”

  I threw a bit of bread at her, making her giggle, then I cringed. “Tai wants to meet me tomorrow to talk.”

  Sela came over to lean on the table with both elbows, grinning at me. “What are you going to say when he tells you he wants you?”

  I stared at her, giving in to a little bit of optimism. “You seem so confident.”

  “I’m a woman in love. I can see the signs of it in the man.”

  “Good grief! Love, Sela? You go too far.”

  Sela shrugged and started laying out plates on the table. There was a smirk in the curve of her cheek. “So how do you feel about Tai?”

  “Halls, when I look at him, I just want to yell at him and then rub my body all over him,” I said, shoving my hands into my hair.

  Sela laughed. “That’s sure to get his attention.”

  I started tugging at a lock, pulling the tight spirals straight before allowing them to recoil. An unsettled feeling I couldn’t quite place came over me.

  “What are you going to do about Gannon?” she asked, a little too dispassionately.

  “What do you mean?”

  Sela fluttered her lashes. “He sounds mouth-watering.”

  I laughed. “He is.”

  “A man like that is quite the catch.”

  “Sela, you can’t be serious. You know senators and elites can’t partner with subordinates. He’s flirting, just looking for something to pass the time.”

  “You’re the one always complaining that you haven’t had any good sex. He sounded like he would meet the challenge.” She threw a dash of spice into a pot.

  I sighed and slumped in my chair.

  Sela placed a bowl of fish stew on the table and took a seat across from me. She took in my expression. “You look … confused.”

  That was it. That was the emotion I couldn’t put my finger on. “How can I want Tai so much and be attracted to Gannon at the same time?”

  Sela stared at me.

  “What?”

  “Sometimes you surprise me, Kira Metallurgist. I think you’re so worldly, and then you say things like that.” She picked up her spoon and started to eat.

  I bit my bottom lip and picked up my own fork, using it to make patterns in my stew.

  “Is that normal?” I continued to look at my stew. A sad-looking happy face was emerging in the wake of my fork’s tracks.

  “What’s normal?” Sela glanced at me. “You can’t dictate these types of things. Nara Architect has two men,” she said, referring to a friend of ours.

  “No, I know. I just thought …”

  “What?” Sela sipped at her water.

  I glanced out the kitchen window. The conversation was getting off track.

  “How is Baby today?” I said, looking back at her.

  Sela beamed. “Wonderful. I have photos from the ultrasound. You want to see?”

  “No, I don’t. Not at all.”

  It was Sela’s turn to throw a bit of bread my way. I laughed as she got up and pulled a small packet from a bag on a nearby bench. “Of course, I have digital images, but I had some photos printed. I like the age-weathered look they’ll have over time.” With gentle hands, she opened the envelope and placed three printed images on the table.

  “I’m having a girl,” Sela said, resting her chin on my shoulder as she stood beside me. We stared at the photos. They were so clear and detailed. We could make out every feature of her baby’s face, which was scrunched up into a fierce scowl. She had a wealth of hair and a sweet upturned nose. She looked like Sela.

  Suddenly, tears filled my eyes. “She’s beautiful.” I sniffled and smiled when I heard Sela do the same.

  * * *

  Gabriel had me hopping at work the next day. We’d received word that the Realm Council delegation wanted a follow-up meeting within the week to initiate next steps in forming the task force. I didn’t think the Office of Exploration had ever before experienced such a high level of energy and purpose. I was excited to be a part of history, and to play some role in helping to determine the fate of my fellow citizens, who I felt were caught up in a web of dissension.

  I was engrossed in a file Gabriel asked me to review when I heard a ping on my comm. I glanced at it quickly.

  Good morning, Kira.

  I blinked twice.

  It’s actually night where I am, but it’s good all the same.

  After essentially stealing my contact information, he’d actually messaged me! I couldn’t believe the audacity of the man.

  I would call, but you’re probably at work by now.

  I watched as the text rolled up my compact screen.

  I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed meeting you. I’ve thought of little else.

  After a moment, a simple:

  ?

  I couldn’t help a reluctant smile at that. I pulled the device from my wrist to better type in my response.

  Hello.

  I was wondering how long before you would reply.

  This is highly inappropriate.

  Why did you respond?

  I had no answer for that, so I replied with a question.

  You said it’s night where you are …??

  A few seconds passed. I’d started to think the connection had dropped when I received an image file. I tapped it and saw a stunning view
of a cityscape in the dark, lit up by multicolored lights. There were mountains in the distance, only their silhouettes visible in the background.

  It’s beautiful.

  It’s Dignitas One.

  I’ve never been.

  I’ll bring you here sometime.

  I laughed out loud. A few of my colleagues sent odd looks my way. I swiveled my chair toward the wall beside my desk.

  I imagine you’re very busy, Chancellor.

  Please call me Gannon.

  I paused, then:

  How can I help you, Gannon?

  I’d like to see you again.

  I licked my lips, thinking how best to respond.

  We’ll be working together, so I’m sure we’ll see each other again.

  For a few moments, there was no reply. My pulse sped up. I fished for a response.

  Will you be at the next Prospect Council meeting?

  Yes.

  I frowned.

  Is there any information you need from our Judiciary?

  No.

  I sniffed at his short response. He was the one who’d contacted me, after all.

  OK. I have to go.

  Don’t.

  After a few moments:

  Are you involved with anyone?

  I hesitated as tingles lit up my skin, then:

  You’re very direct.

  So I’m told. Are you involved?

  I gnawed at my bottom lip.

  Maybe.

  You don’t strike me as evasive, Kira. Yes or no?

  The command in his tone was unmistakable even through text. Who did he think he was talking to? My spine straightened even as my pulse raced.

  Goodbye, Gannon.

  Wait.

  A full minute passed before he responded.

  I’ll be overseeing the meetings from here on. When I arrive next week, I expect Gabriel to brief me and provide a recommendation on the composition of the task force.

  I lost my stride.

  OK. I’ll tell him.

  Thank you.

  The connection closed. I turned back to my desk and squeezed my thighs together to ease the insistent throbbing between them.

  * * *

  I spotted Tai as soon as I got to the foyer of the Judiciary building. Even amid the bustling crowd of citizens on their way home at the end of the day, he stood out like a lion among mice. He was leaning against the wall, but when he spotted me, he strode toward me quickly, both men and women doing double-takes behind him. A thrill ran through me when he gave me his quiet and familiar smile.