But what happens when they bore of me?
I know their dark sides, and I never want to see myself on the other side of their love and attention.
"Life as your slave?" I ask.
"Seven years with us is survivable, but the mines are not," Lorian says, his silver eyes full of emotion.
"And after seven years?"
"Freedom," he promises. "True freedom, with resources, connections, and a future."
I look between my handsome alien Sovereigns and worry. "How can I trust you when I know you planned this? All of it." Jin Kol had visited me in my holding cell and told me everything about how they had set me up to frame Gael from the beginning. But none of them had expected, including him, for me to outsmart them. And I could tell from his tone that Jin Kol wasn't impressed by my actions and that he was taking it personally.
"Not all," Lorian admits. "We didn't plan to fall in love with you."
The admission echoes through the courtroom. And I close my eyes, listening to that last sentence again in my head, wondering if I imagined it because it’s what I want to hear so much, that despite everything we did to each other, we still love each other.
I open my eyes to make sure I really heard him correctly and that they’re really here as a tear runs down my cheek. "I'll need time to?—“
"Your time is up, Madame Eve. Choose now, or the court will choose for you,” the Chief Arbiter says impatiently.
"I..." I begin, but then pause, wondering if choosing the Sovereigns really is the better choice. The options seem so uneven, and there’s so much I don’t know. But then I remember Gael’s words about the Sovereigns:they are neither monsters nor saviors.If they were monsters, he would have said so. And he confirmed Denise was happy, and he, unlike everyone else, had no reason to lie as he had nothing to do with her disappearance."I have made a choice,” I say loudly. “I accept servitude to the Ascendant Alliance’s Sovereign Directors as my punishment."
The gallery erupts, some calling it too lenient, others satisfied that the human terrorist will spend seven years as property. In the supremebox, Jin Kol's satisfaction is evident. He got his show trial and a precedent-setting sentence. He had explained to me, with his fucked-up logic, that by putting me on trial as an equal, he’s setting the standard for free humans as not quite equal but not as dumb as pets either.
"So noted," the Chief Arbiter says."Eve Eden, you are hereby stripped of all personal rights and remanded to the custody of Sovereign Director Rafe and Shadow Sovereign Lorian for a period of seven standard years, during which time you will have supervised annual conjugal and physical punishment reviews. You will be marked as property on your person. You will no longer have an identity beyond what your owners see fit. Bailiff, process the transfer."
The sphere releases me so suddenly I nearly fall. My legs, numb from the cold, buckle beneath me, but before I hit the floor, hands catch me, not the bailiff's, but Rafe's familiar loving hands. We make eye contact, and I expect to find him so angry with me, but instead I only see concern, and it gives me strength.
"Processing requires removal of your translator, tattooing of ownership seals, and a pet's collar," the bailiff says, producing a standard detention band.
"She's not getting that one," Lorian says. "We'll use our own. She’s not just some stray asteroid pet out of Gala Station."
He pulls out an elegant black collar with subtle silver threading, but what it says is heart breaking, 'Property of the Sovereigns of the Ascendant Alliance.' It's beautiful, and it's horrible, and it's mine.
The bailiff takes it and gestures for me to kneel.
I try, but my legs won't cooperate. This is all too much for me, and I can’t move.
"I've got you," Rafe says, and helps me get to my knees. "Just bend. Don't dwell on the details of this.”
Lorian kneels alongside me, bringing himself to my level, and makes eye contact with me as the bailiff fastens the collar around my throat.The click of the lock engaging echoes through the courtroom, and I feel like it’s a sound I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
"There," Lorian says softly. "Now you're safe with us."
"Not so fast," the court Imperial doctor says, carrying a medical kit that looks like it's straight out of a sci-fi horror film. "Her translator must be removed. And the ownership marks must be applied. Human pets aren't allowed translators, and all criminal pets must be visibly marked by their owners as they can’t be resold."
"Wait," Lorian says sharply, stepping between me and the approaching doctor. "We have the right to speak to our property before you remove her translator."
The Chief Arbiter's voice carries a warning. "She is notexactlyyour property yet, Sovereign Lorian."
"One moment," Rafe insists. "Please, Chief Arbiter."
The Chief Arbiter makes a sound of disgust but allows the request with the motion of one of his tentacles.
Lorian's hands frame my face, forcing me to look at him. "Listen carefully, in a few minutes, everything we say will become incomprehensible to you.” His grey thumb traces my lower lip. "It’s going to be frightening, but remember that you will be kept safe."
"And loved," Rafe adds fiercely, pressing his forehead to mine. "When the silence comes, when you can't make yourself understood, you must trust us."
