Watching his eyes fill with wonder sets my heart at ease. I take his hand and lace his fingers with mine. “Me, too.” He looks at me with a grin. “I know we just met, but you make me feel alive. Like I have a purpose, someone I can really connect to. Of course, we’d have to go on dates to see if we really make sense with each other.”
“Dates?”
I chuckle and nod. “Courtship.”
“Ah.” He strokes my face. “I will be most honored to do dates and courtship with you. Carmine Listo.”
He leans in to kiss me, but a voice clearing their throat stands before us. We break apart to see my friend Leslie standing there. The glow of her wrist scanner bounces off her blonde hair. “I hate to interrupt,” she says with a smirk.
“Leslie!” I say, straightening my back. “Um…” I put my hand on Kurun’s back. It is at that moment that, while we’re all wearing the normal, dark blue agency uniforms, Kurun is still in his red-and-gold robe. He sticks out like a sore, anachronistic thumb. “This is Prince—”
“I don’t wanna know!” Leslie interrupts, wincing. “David wants to talk to you.”
“But…I haven’t even filled out my debrief or returned my artifact.” I tap my knapsack.
“Doesn’t matter. The boss wants you, now.” She taps her scanner, and an antigrav kart, big enough for exactly two people, flies up to us. “The less I know, the better,” she mutters.
Ten minutes and one antigrav kart ride later, I’m at David’s office. The glass door closes, and suddenly, the noise from outside the office is cut off, rendering our area silent. He motions for us to sit without looking up from his typing, and we do. My throat turns to sandpaper—am I going to be fired?
Kurun and I sit and wait for two long minutes as David, second in command to The Chief, types away. I exchange glances at Kurun, but he seems to be fascinated by the glowing orbs above.It would have been easier for fall for someone post-electricity-invention.
But no, I like Kurun the way he is. And I’ll fight for him.
David shuts off his holographic computer and places his hands on his desk. “Carmine.”
I sit up straight, ready for a fight. “David,” I say with equal sternness.
“Can you tell me why—” he gestures at Kurun— “This…person is here?”
“I am Xing Kurun,” he says with a smile. “Prince of the—”
“Uh uh uh,” I say interrupting him and waving my hand. I look David in the eye, unwavering in my choice. “My mission was to bring the artifact back in complete working condition, was it not?”
David doesn’t flinch. “He is not the artifact,” he says in a deadpan tone.
“No, but he is integral to the artifact. Watch.” I take out the sphere and poke it. “This exists to reverse entropy and fix that which is broken. But it does nothing unless…” I nod at Kurun. “Unless he’s present.”
I lean over and whisper, “Show him your scar.”
Kurun lifts up part of his shirt, showing the pelvic hexagon mark. When I tap the orb to his skin, both the mark and the orb light up. I place the orb on David’s desk and sit back down. When my boss picks it up, the Astral Jade Sphere dims, and I know I proved my point.Probably. “There is no Astral Jade Sphere without Kurun here.”
David scrutinizes the sphere, then the two of us. After a long pause, he takes a deep breath in and out. “You really slept with a historical prince and brought him here? Do you realize the temporal ramifications of this?”
My cheeks warm, and I nod. “I considered the risks, but look it up in any scanner. History hasn’t changed. In fact, I think he was destined to come here.”
David studies me, then turns hologram computer on. I power up my scanner and send him the latest historical files. Much to my relief, the history of the Xing Dynasty is the same as it was a few minutes ago. I can see on his holographic computer that Kirin is still the emperor.
“Our job is to go back in time, secure anomalies, and fix history,” I state. David shuts off his computer and stares me down. “I think Kurun here is an anomaly, someone who was meant to come with us all this time.”
“An anomaly sounds…not good,” Kurun whispers.
“Shh,” I murmur to him.
David looks between us. “And what was your plan? To keep an entire human locked up with the other artifacts and anomalies?”
I shake my head and glance to my right at the prince, my prince. “No. I’d like him to be an agent.”
“Seriously?”
