Encryption of the Heart (Love, Tech, & Magic #1)

Chapter Twenty

CHAPTER TWENTY

The ride that was Olline’s emotions was chaotic.

Olline’s heart was in freefall, taking her stomach with it, her body heavy with an aching disappointment. Then, within the next breath, elation washed over her, and her body felt light with relief. Being in Casimir’s orbit certainly wasn’t boring, that was for sure.

“That’s fantastic!” She leaned closer, the pressure in her chest gone. “So, this means I can finally move the files and control commands we found? I can set the killware timer, right?”

Casimir crossed his leg at the knee. His own look of excitement faltered. “Soon. I haven’t made contact with this woman. I’ve merely identified her as a suitable candidate to help us, assuming she’s willing.”

“Oh.” Olline couldn’t stop her shoulders from slumping in response.

“Look, Olline darling, this is a far second choice for me. So, of course, I haven’t done more than identify someone we could hopefully, maybe rope into this scheme. I’d much rather we use the information from Etzel for our own gain. Specifically, mine. I’d really rather not be anyone else’s pawn ever again. Having the plethora of blackmail I alone have collected for that bastard would ensure both you and I were untouchable.” He shrugged, trying to make light of the monstrous thing he was suggesting. “I’m doing this to protect you as much as to protect myself. I want to keep you safe, Olline.”

For as touched as Olline wanted to be, the idea of Casimir continuing the work Etzel started when he didn’t have to, made her sick to her stomach.

She was tired of having this conversation. Shaking her head, she said, “No, Casimir. I think you’re confusing power with freedom. You don’t want to turn into someone as bad as Etzel. That isn’t freedom. That’s not safety. This is your chance to break the cycle! Don’t squander it.”

Pure anger darkened Casimir’s pale face for the briefest of milliseconds before it was gone and his mask of nonchalance settled back into place. But not before cold fear pierced her. Before she could voice her concern, he gave her another shrug and said, “Just keep an open mind to it. That’s all I’m asking. In the meantime, there’s always Plan B.” Casimir waved toward the holo-tablet.

“Yeah, assuming this person would even be willing to dirty their hands with this, as you said,” Olline grumbled, trying to think of yet another alternative in case this didn’t pan out. But she came up with nothing. She was still far too new to Antal to know where to even start looking for potential allies, but she would scour the bowels of this city-state if it meant Casimir had no reason to take control of the information they had unearthed.

“Cheer up, darling,” Casimir said, but even he didn’t sound as confident as he normally did. “Part of why I picked her is because she is exactly the type to want to help.”

Olline tried to be optimistic, but she couldn’t help but be wary now. So much had seemed too good to be true from first glance and it had gotten her—and Casimir—into trouble. Olline was all too aware that one misstep would alert Etzel to what he had lost, and what he could still lose if he didn’t regain control of Casimir. Her eyes flicked to the small holo-tablet she had monitoring the conference’s feed. The attending lobbyists, committee chairs, activists’ groups and Under Senators—including Etzel—were sitting down to debate once again. At least Etzel seemed as busy as they were.

Straightening her shoulders, she asked, “Right then, tell me about this person.” She pulled another holo-tablet toward her, ready to research the woman as Casimir spoke.

“Under Senator Delora Peralta,” he began, his eyes twinkling with pride. “She’s very much a junior in the realm of politics. Still in her first term, eager and unjaded by the old-guard types like Etzel. In fact, she often opposes him on, well, most things.”

Olline did a quick search on Delora, confirming what Casimir was saying, but also delving deeper into her past to see who she was before she was elected. From what she could tell, she was exactly as Casimir described her—perfect.

Delora was an attractive woman with smooth, ebony skin, short poofy midnight black curls framing her head like a halo, and warm, smoky quartz eyes. She was purely humani, with no magic in her background, on either side of her family, but she had always been a vocal advocate for the humane treatment of casters when they were arrested. The common practice was still stripping them of their magic through biomagitech devices, which many suffered mental breakdowns from afterward. Delora had an arrest record for protests turned riots advocating for more regulation on the megacorporations and developers of biomagitech devices meant to shackle casters—and through Etzel’s backroom deals, people like Casimir.

Casimir confirmed everything Olline was finding, and she began to nod, bouncing her leg absentmindedly. “The problem,” Casimir said haltingly, “is that I can’t approach her. The pesky fact is that I am Kullen’s brother, and that connection isn’t something that would endear me to Under Senator Peralta. His shady reputation proceeds him, even if Etzel shields Kullen from legal ramifications. She’s a typical politician in that regard, I’m afraid.”

He looked at her meaningfully, and Olline huffed. “You need me to do more of the heavy lifting? Typical.”

Casimir laughed at her reaction; his face unguarded for one blessed moment. Olline wanted to bottle that expression and keep it close to her heart. “I promise it’ll be easy, Olline. Unless, of course, you’d rather not? We can stick with Plan A and keep all the files and Etzel’s dirty empire for ourselves.” That mischievous glint and smirk reappeared on his face at the suggestion.

Olline glared in response, and Casimir shrugged. “All right, we’ll try it your way. In the meantime, approaching Delora won’t be much of a challenge for you. With your clearance and the real evidentiary files you’re transferring, it wouldn’t be odd for you to request a meeting with her regarding the file storage of something tangentially related to something she was involved with.” He rotated his hand, as if searching. “Maybe a protesters’ arrest that’s similar to her own record. She seems the type to want to be involved and help with such things,” he added with a slight sneer.

Olline chuckled, and his face fell, as if he had been unaware of his expression. “Have a thing against do-gooders, do we, Cas?”

Casimir leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees, hands dangling between his legs, his eyelids heavy with defeat, and Olline had the urge to reach out and take his hand with how vulnerable he looked. “In theory,” he began slowly, “I’m all for them. The idealism of someone trying to do ‘good’? Absolutely adorable. But none of those so-called do-gooders ever seemed to look my way. In that first decade of my forced servitude, I often tried testing the boundaries of the control chip’s power. Tried to push past the boundaries of Etzel’s influence. No one I encountered even tried to meet me halfway, to expend any extra effort to see what I was trying to hint at. Ever. Perhaps I was never worth their attention, their help. Looking at idealists, even back then, it merely confirms that my life is nothing but a waste now. They’re what made giving up, giving in, so much easier.”

Olline leaned forward, her hands pressed into the space between them on the couch, and before she could think better of it, she threw her arms around Casimir’s neck and hugged him.

Casimir stiffened briefly, his arms tensing, his fingertips as rigid as if they were blocks of ice. “Life is never a waste. Your life isn’t a waste,” she whispered, still hugging him. “You aren’t a bad person, Casimir. You never were, even if Etzel took advantage of your natural charisma. You needed help, you deserved it. I’m sorry you didn’t get support when you most needed it. But you have me now. And friends help each other.”

He shifted slowly, tentatively, nervous that his movements would scare her away. Casimir reached his arms around her and she felt the heat of his hands hovering over her back for a moment, as if he was afraid to touch her. Finally, he snaked his arms around her, his hands splayed across her back, as he returned her hug. Casimir was stiff for a second, then his entire body seemed to melt, sinking into her.

“Thank you, Ollie,” he whispered. The softer nickname made her toes curl in her shoes, and she hugged him tighter, realizing that it had probably been a century, at least, since the last time anyone had shown Casimir even such simple kindness. “A friend . . . I can’t remember the last time I’ve had one of those.”

Her stomach felt like it was dropping through her all over again. She had wanted to be friends, right? That’s what she had told him. So why was she disappointed in his confirmation? Being more than friends was part of that fantasy she had told her father about, nothing more. It was idealist .

Casimir needed a friend. A real friend. One who was going to put him first and take care of him and show him that the world didn’t have to be so cruel. Shit, Olline needed a friend like that, too. If they could be that to each other, and only that, she would seize it with both hands and cling to it fiercely. And yet she still couldn’t deny she wanted more, and maybe she needed that too. She deserved that, even without having been through what Casimir experienced. But could she wait for Casimir to feel the same?

That was too big, too depressing to think about. Especially when all Olline wanted to do right now, in this moment, was to hug Casimir until they both felt safe enough to let go.

Casimir settled his head against hers. Their breaths slowed until their chests were rising and falling in sync. Olline could get comfortable like this.

More than his expert caresses, this is what she wanted. What she had always wanted and people like Achan had fooled her into thinking she had; someone safe to be with. Someone she could be vulnerable with, who she didn’t need to hide from. Someone who she could be a safe harbor for in return.

He inhaled deeply, and pulled away enough to study her, her emerald green eyes reflected in the deep garnet stones of his own. He removed one hand from her back so he could cup her chin delicately in his elegant hand. “I wish I’d found you so, so much sooner,” he murmured, his lips parting slightly, his nose gently brushing the side of hers.

All Olline had to do was lean forward and press her lips to his. More than that, for the first time since Achan laughed in her face and she was fired from her job, she longed to be kissed. She wanted to be kissed stupid by Casimir, and Casimir alone.

Surely, he must have been aware of their breath mingling, that her natural cucumber and mint scent was melding with his own lavender and eucalyptus. His hand tightened on her cheek for a fraction of a second, before he put his forehead to hers, sighed, and leaned back.

Olline blinked rapidly, wondering if she had done something wrong, but Casimir’s smile was thoughtful, his gaze slightly somber. “Unfortunately, my dear, we have a long road still ahead of us. I can’t . . . I won’t risk Etzel using me to hurt you. My life, and whatever it may or may not be worth, is still not fully mine.”

“Not yet, ” she responded quickly, the sting of him pulling away salved by his words.

“As you say, my adorable little do-gooder.” He reclined back on the couch, a playful challenge in his gaze. “Shall we get to it? Come tomorrow, you should try to make contact with Under Senator Delora Peralta so we can be done with this Etzel business once and for all.”

Olline could not agree more. And in the chaos of all their revelations, Olline completely forgot about the gift she had hidden away in her bedroom.