CHAPTER 3 KORI #3
What is she doing here? She was chosen for something significant in the memory, something her insecurities told her she didn’t deserve—was it access to Ednit, the Daylands’ best doctor, reserved for only the highest of government officials?
I’ve brushed shoulders with countless stuck-up compatriots of my mother, and Jelza was never among them.
Have we just coincidentally never interacted before?
But why conceal the memory I so recklessly pried into?
Is she government or not, and if she isn’t, then what the hell is happening here?
I shake my head just to clear the thickening smog within it, then sigh, “Be well, Jelza.”
I only realize what I’ve just done after the words leave my mouth.
Jelza arches an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, have we met?”
No. No, no, no, no, no.
“I—I saw Ednit’s patient list on the way in.
I have a really good memory. The patient after you was, uh …
” I glance at the acne-flecked redheaded boy behind her.
I’m fairly certain he’s the grandson of a government advisor I met, but both the advisor’s and grandson’s names are completely escaping me right now.
“You know what? I should definitely get going. Come on, Ednit, you have other patients waiting!” I force a fake laugh.
It may be the most annoying sound I’ve ever heard, and it came out of me. I resent that.
Ednit leads me away from the line of patients and back toward the reception area. Only when we’re out of earshot does he catch me by the wrist, more forcefully than ever before. I don’t know how his lean arms, half a lifetime older than my own, carry such strength.
“Kori, Kori. There are things you cannot know, for your own good. Listen to me, and more importantly, listen to your mother.” His grip makes the bones of my wrist sting.
I feel itchy all over, desperate to pull away.
“There are consequences that even the heiress of the Daylands cannot be protected from.”
I’m under no illusions that he believes me about the patient list. I’ve exposed my illicit dive into the delivered memory. That’s what we’re talking about, even if he won’t dare to voice it directly.
“Just … don’t tell Chloe. Please.” I force my eyes wide, hoping for a sign of tears.
I think about everything sad I can muster.
Aspect’s present absence of sentience. My inability to maintain eye contact with remotely attractive peers of any gender.
The bizarre dreams that torment my patches of fitful sleep.
These constant, inescapable medical appointments at Chloe’s insistence.
Come to think of it, my life is actually quite sad all on its own. “I’ll be good. I swear, Ednit.”
He waits just long enough for my stomach to drop into my shoes. Then he releases my wrist. “Then be good,” he says, and continues leading me to the reception area.
Chloe briefly interrupts us, flinging her long, lithe arms around me in an embrace.
I would return it, but my arms feel pinned to my sides. I grin awkwardly. “Healthy as ever, Mom. Nothing to worry about.”
She looks to Ednit for reassurance because of course she does.
He nods. “Your daughter is in peak condition, my lady. She assures me she’ll be lying down for a while in the examination’s aftermath.”
“And then studying, I hope.” Chloe clicks her tongue. An innocuous sound, to be sure, but one that drives me absolutely nuts. I’m half convinced she does it on purpose.
“Studying,” I parrot.
Thank whatever gods are out there, Ednit isn’t going to rat me out.
“Any subject is all right,” Ednit offers, deliberately keeping my secret. I could crush him in a hug right now. “Whatever you think you can handle so soon after a Morpheus chip exam. I would stay away from heatshot target practice for a bit.”
“I will.”
“Be good.” Chloe presses a fleeting kiss to my forehead. My heart stumbles. I want so badly to feel something other than nagging resentment, but I feel more like a mech than a dutiful daughter. My heart of stone slows, wearily, against my ribs of steel. “Be safe.”
“I’m always safe.”
“And when you’re rested, Kori …” Her voice drops to a conspiratorial whisper.
“There’s another package I need you to retrieve from the market.
Sorry to send you back so soon, but I wasn’t aware of the second when I gave you the first assignment.
Monarchical duties have been … hectic. I’ll send the details to your comms tablet. Whenever you’re ready.”
I nod, this time with real instead of feigned enthusiasm.
Doing her dirty work is the same burden as always, but a formally sanctioned visit to the market means another opportunity to buy memories for Aspect.
I remain ignorant of what exactly I’m looking for—something that will finally raise Aspect from a consumer of thoughts to a creator of their own—but I’m consumed with the countless possibilities, all the angles of human experience I have yet to offer them.
I can hardly wait to get back to the market.
And if I’m brave (or foolish) enough, I can also investigate what other memories Chloe wants me to retrieve, and why.
I follow Ednit to the hangar and dismiss him at the threshold. Then I run, full sprint, casting exhaustion aside like a too-heavy jacket, all the way to Charon’s boarding ramp. Whatever else happens here in the colony, far below Pagomènos’s surface, I still have the skies.
I still have a world’s worth of memories to explore.