“Neither you nor Jagger will make it out of this room alive,” he whispers.
“You’ll go first.”
I take the tip of the knife and begin to slowly cut him under his right ear. He screams, swearing for me to stop.
“All right,” he shouts, “but you have to do everything I ask, no matter what.”
“Fine,” I consent, as I step off of him, placing the blade in my belt for safekeeping.
He signals the guards to release Jagger while a Regulator helps Artemis to his feet and places pressure on his wound to stem the bleeding. Jagger’s wounds are hastily cleaned and stitched before we walk back up to the surface. Sweat pours from my body. The guards begin to escort Jagger around to the front of the palace, but he stops.
“If it’s all the same to you,” he says to me, “I’d prefer to stay.”
“Why?” I ask, wondering why he’s giving up the freedom I’ve gained him.
“To protect you, Meg. Like I said before, I made a promise. ”
I feel for the first time in months that I have a true ally.
Artemis rolls his eyes, turns to his lead guard, and tells him to escort Jagger to their quarters to get properly mended and fitted for a uniform. The Regulators return to their post out on the jetty while Artemis takes me inside the palace and up to the top floor where I’m shown to a suite next to Kedua’s. Once the door is closed and I’m alone, I walk into the marble-covered bathroom, turn on the hot water in the enormous bathtub, strip down and slide into the warm embrace. I lay there, eyes closed, trying to drown my mind of all that has previously happened, and focus on a plan I need to put together fast.
If Artemis is thinking I’ll do whatever he asks, he’s sorely mistaken.
My intention is to use Artemis to free Lehen, but it’s after the rescue that I need to plan for.
I stay in the water much too long and it becomes cold, so I drain the tub then refill it again so I can properly wash up.
I’m so covered in filth and my hair is so exceptionally tangled that it takes five washings to rinse clean, only then do I begin to feel human again, skin freshly cleansed, and pink from stringent scrubbing. I wrap myself up into a thick towel before stepping onto the cool blue floor where I search the cabinets under the dual vanity for nail clippers and a comb. Suitably groomed, I finally exit the bathroom and find an identical outfit to the one I’d worn in Tyre when I fought the droid, lying on the gray comforter of my bed. I place it on the dresser, don a plush blue robe, and crawl under the inviting covers, falling deeply asleep.
I don’t stir until I hear a knock at my door. The room is dark, so as the door opens I’m slightly blinded by the intense light from the hallway. Jagger pokes his head in, blue and gold uniform fastened tightly to his fit body. He tells me he wants to make sure I’m all right and that he’ll be standing outside my door all night. Then he quietly closes it and I go back to sleep.
There are no nightmares this night, just sound restful sleep.
I feel like I haven’t been able to properly maintain the training that Devlan had me doing, and I know I’ll need it, so it’s just as well I’m supposed to start training Kedua. It’s one of Artemis’ demands in exchange for saving Jagger, and as it happens it also fits into my plans, so I agree.
Artemis places Kedua and I in the Regulator’s housing complex on the northern platform. The top three floors are dedicated to weight training, an indoor climbing wall, a five-lane track, and a substantially large swimming pool. Kedua isn’t too thrilled about being removed from her luxurious suite, but Artemis wants to make sure she has the same abilities as I do.
I spend the next week working on her strength and endurance. She fights me every step of the way, so I eventually stop telling her what to do and just concentrate on getting myself into shape, spending about eight hours a day between the track and the climbing wall.
Jagger is in charge of my protection, so he makes it a point to train with me. I out-pace him at every turn, but he never gives up. He’s well-trained and very fit, for a Laic. We spend many nights staying up late talking. I hesitate to discuss anything I’ve been through with him at first, but after a while I do let him in on some of my fears.
“Why don’t you like being called Trea?” he asks, as we sit in my room watching some endless propaganda video on the large monitor over my dresser.
The video continually states that the war with Tyre is approaching and everyone must be prepared, however from what I have seen and heard, Tyre has made no move to invade Acheron. We keep the monitor on since it also provides some white noise in case anyone is trying to listen in on us.
“I don’t like losing control,” I say. “Trea is unpredictable and I can understand why Devlan did whatever it was to keep her quiet all these years. She’s dangerous. And I don’t want Meg to be lost, possibly forever.”
He doesn’t press the topic even though I can sense he wants to ask more questions.
The second week begins with me showing Kedua how the Quantum Stream works while Artemis is finalizing our plans with his Royal Guards to enter Nuceira.
First, I demonstrate using a Pugio blade.
