My Sovereigns see me. It’s the darker side of the fate I wanted, but it’s mine now.
I have to accept it.
I chose this.
I’m humiliated as the bailiff attaches a leash to my collar, and hands it to Rafe.
As we turn to leave, aliens crush in around us, and Rafe scoops me up before I can take even a step. The movement is so smooth I barely register it before I'm cradled against his chest, his soft clothing against my naked skin andthe leash draped over his arm.
He carries me from the courtroom like I weigh nothing. Behind us, the gallery buzzes with speculation and scandal. The Sovereign Directors with their new pet. The terrorist turned into a docile pet. That’s the precedent I just set.
I imagine Cal and the Commander of theIgowatching this. And if I could tell themanything now, I would say, ‘I did my best, but it wasn’t enough.’
The transport waiting outside is private, luxurious, a stark contrast to the detention transport that brought me here. Rafe sets me carefully on a heated seat, the warmth making me whimper involuntarily, then takes off his jacket and puts it around me, and sits beside me while Lorian takes the pilot's seat.
As we lift off, leaving the IGC complex behind, silence fills the cabin.What is there to say?I'm their property now. For seven years, I have no rights, no autonomy, no voice, no legal existence beyond what they grant me.
“Goddesses, Eve, you shouldn't have gotten caught," Lorian says finally, not looking back from the controls.
The accusation stings more than the cold did. "I didn't exactly plan on it," I reply. Then I’m gobsmacked that I can understand him.
Rafe points to the ceiling. “We have translatorsfor every language that ever existed here. But in public, you won’t be able to understand us or other people around you, unless they are from Reima Two.”
"The medical records were sloppy. You should have used a ghost protocol, not your own access codes."
I stare at Lorian. "Are you seriously critiquing my terrorism technique?"
"If you're going to betray us," Rafe adds, "at least do it competently."
The absurdity of it hits me, and a laugh bubbles up, slightly hysterical.
"It would have been insane to think that you wouldn’t have helped Terra Ka. That’s why we hired you to begin with. But if you’re going to betray us, do better next time so you don’t get caught,” Rafe says.
“And that big show about how I wouldn’t understand you after my translator was removed was all a lie. So when you both said youloved me, was that a lie too?” I ask, and Rafe and Lorian look at each other then at me.
“No,” Lorian says. “That was an honest admission.”
I look at Rafe, and he takes my cold hands in his warm ones. “We do love you, Eve, which is why we moved moons to get you sentenced as our property. Butthis slave situation will be exceedingly difficult for all of us. Make no mistake, it’s a punishment.”
I don’t want to ask but I have to. “What do you mean?”
“We will have to publicly treat you like our pet. We will have to humiliate you,” Rafe says.
“And often,” Lorian adds.
“And you’re worried you can’t do it?” I ask.
A look passes between the brothers, and then Lorian says, “No, we’re worried we’ll like it too much and do things to you that we will never be able to come back from.”
Silence fills the transport.
I am officially on their dark side now, and for a moment I wonder if I should have taken hard labor instead. What will these two alien men do with a human they now own as a pet?
55
OWNED, EVE
Dr. Veil'sexpression is one of concern when we arrive at the medical center at the Spire. Her green eyes take in my condition, and then she speaks rapidly to Rafe and Lorian in that harsh, tonal Imperial that makes my damaged head throb. By her body language, I guess she’s telling them off.
