She was angry.
“Turn on the lights,” she ordered, her voice meticulously controlled. “Now.”
A beat of silence.
Then the rear half flooded with warm illumination.
“Thank you,” she said, but the words felt hollow. She headed for the stacks without looking back, trusting him to follow.
The star maps were exactly where she remembered them—spread across a large viewing table near the northern window. Apparently her father had been a cartographer before he’d been... whatever else he’d been. The maps showed systems she’d never visited and planets she’d never seen.
Baylin studied them with the focused attention he gave to everything. His eyes moved methodically across the charts, cataloging details and filing away information. She’d noticed that about him. Nothing escaped his attention.
“Your father must have traveled extensively,” he said finally.
“I think so. Before he built this tower to keep me safe.”
“Did he ever plan to let you leave?”
The question hung between them. She had asked ARIS the same thing a thousand times. Despite its promise to reveal more, she’d only received the same variations of the same non-answer. The world outside is dangerous. Your father wished to protect you. The tower is your sanctuary.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Ari has never told me.”
“Perhaps ARIS doesn’t know.”
“Ari knows everything about this tower. Every system, every protocol, every directive my father programmed.” She looked up at him. “It knows if I can ever leave. It just won’t tell me.”
His expression shifted—a subtle tightening around his eyes that she’d learned to recognize as anger barely suppressed. He’d worn that expression often over the past few days, usually when ARIS was being particularly obstructive.
“You should ask again,” he said. “Demand answers. You have the right to know why you’ve been kept here.”
“I’ve asked. Hundreds of times.”
“Ask differently.” He moved closer, and her breath caught at his proximity. Three days of sharing her bed with him—of falling asleep wrapped in his warmth, of waking to find him watchingher with those intense green eyes—and she still wasn’t used to it. She still felt that flutter in her chest every time he came near.
“You’re not a child anymore,” he added. “The AI was programmed to protect a child. But you’re a fully grown female now, and you deserve to make your own choices.”
A fully grown female. The words sent heat crawling up her neck. Yes, she was a woman now. She was increasingly, painfully aware of that fact every time he touched her. But he was still holding back, still giving her time she didn’t want.
“I’ll try,” she said. “But Ari is... stubborn.”
“So are you.” The ghost of a smile crossed his face. “When you want something badly enough.”
She did want something badly enough. That was becoming clearer with every passing hour.
She wanted out.
They put the charts away and descended the stairs. The kitchen access panel glowed red before Baylin could even reach for it.
“Really?” she said flatly. “The kitchen?”
“I apologize,” ARIS said calmly. “There appears to be a gas leak in the cooking area. I cannot permit entry until repairs are complete.”
“There’s no gas system in the kitchen. Everything runs on converted solar energy.”
A pause.
“I misspoke. An electrical issue has been detected.”
