"You're going to send me away, aren’t you?" Tears are already streaming down her cheeks. "Because of the trainers, the IGC, and Terra Ka."
"Those would be manageable,” I lie. I don’t want to scare her, but at the same time, I want to hold Lorian accountable. “You and Lorian almost killed each other multiple times over. Dr. Veilsays that if I had been away another week, your and Lorian’s ‘religious time’ in the shrine would have left you both with permanent damage. And I can’t forbid Lorian. He’s Sovereign just the same as I am. But I can move you. And Lorian knows what needs to be done, which is why he’s saying nothing.”
"I don't care! I don’t want to be away from either of you!"
"Eve, I refuse to be the reason for your insanity or… death,” I say and look at Lorian.
"Please—please don't send me away. Anything but?—"
"You must go, Eve, for your own safety, until we can get your sentence appealed and end this pet by day, lover by night madness.”
“Where?!” She’s frantic now. “Where can you send me that still meets the IGC’s requirements? I have to be with you. You’re my owners. You can’t send me away.”
I take a deep breath and say with regret, “You’re going to our childhood home on Alba.”
The silence that follows is deafening.
"No!" She falls to her knees begging. "No. You can't. After everything, after I chose you over the mining camp, you can't?—"
“Father will kill her spirit, Rafe,” Lorian says, and I shoot him a nasty look that says, You’re-supposed-to-be-on-my-side.
“We will kill her, Lorian… ourselves,” I say, a tear falling from my eye, despite my resolve that this is the only logical option to keep all of us alive. “I promise we will get her back before Father breaks her.” Then, pulling Eve into my lap, I say, “It will only be for a short time. I swear.Lira will escort you there and check in on you frequently. And we will visit you for our required IGC conjugal and punishment visits."
"I’d rather die than leave you! Lorian will promise to be good. Won’t you, Lorian?” she looks over at him.
“He can’t do that anymore than you can promise not to be curious, Eve.”
"Rafe’s right. You must go.”
"No! On Alba I will be a pet every minute of every hour of every day—" She breaks completely. "Please. I'll do anything. I'll be perfect. I'll kneel quietly. I'll stop thinking, stop helping, stop being anything, but your human pet. I’ll do whatever you want. Just please—don’t send me away!”
Then she jumps up, and I watch as she tries to access outside communications. No doubt trying to contact Terra Ka or Ambassador Tiro.”
"They won’t help you," I tell her quietly.
"They could extract me. Before?—"
"Eve." I pull her away from the terminal. "Terra Ka has marked you as compromised. You're not an asset anymore. You're a liability, and Ambassador Tiro, while sympathetic, must follow galactic law.”
"No, you’re lying to make me go quietly, and I won’t—Gael will?—"
"Gael thinks you chose us over the cause. We confessed our love to you publicly, and you chose to be with us.” Something passes through her eyes that lest me know that’s not true. She’s still somehow in contact with Terra Ka.
Goddesses, another reason to send her away.
"Then let me run. Please. If you ever loved me?—"
"Because I love you, I would never let you run. You’d be abducted and end up in a worse situation. I would never allow you to fall into the hands of Aefre or any of the other trainers.”
She bolts anyway, and the door alarms sound the moment she touches them.
"Let me go!” she cries, “Just let me?—"
"Eve." Lorian's voice breaks. "Think of this as a battle that must be fought to get what we all want. None of us wants this. But Rafe is right. And if you can master us, you can master our father. He’s an old man who thinks humans are dumb. Use that to your advantage.”
“Goddesses, Eve,” I say, “we are all dying here. None of us will come out of this sane if we don’t take a break to consider all our options. Please. Go. Fight for what we all want through submission. Just for a little while to figure this out.” I’m so overwhelmed with emotion, I can hardly think. The room is spinning like I’ve lost a considerable amount of blood, and my heart actually hurts from this.
"We love you," Lorian says desperately.
