Chapter 22 Mysteries of the Heart
Mysteries of the Heart
The night was balmy, and Molan and Rina’s double-storied apartment was an oasis of calm and beautiful interior finishes, with wrap-around views of Eden City.
A perfect way to end the day, Sheba thought.
She sat, legs curled under her, wine glass in hand, on a lounge in the extensive living space.
A lamp pooled amber light over the dark marble coffee table while a vintage jazz track hummed in the background as Molan chatted with her and Idan.
‘The little rug rat is in bed,’ Rina announced as she entered the room. ‘Now we can indulge in some adult time.’
She swept aside toys from the dining surface, cleaned it, and set it for dinner.
In no time, the fragrance of seared scallops in miso-butter and the earthy, rich scent of wild mushroom risotto filled the air as the two couples tucked in.
‘You’ve had some time to study us now. What’s your take on us Dunian-Edenites, Idan?’ Rina asked, leaning back, sipping her well-earned white wine.
The dark-haired man arched a brow.
‘You’re a fascinating lot,’ he rasped. ‘You’re immersed in culture, music, and books.
Most of you are transplants, yet you have this sacred relationship with the local food.
It’s not just fuel; it’s art. You analyze every component, pause for endless tastings paired with apéritifs, and discuss spices to death. I rate the habit. It’s amusing.’
He paused, his expression deadpan. ‘However, you’re also chaotic.
You cross air lanes with zero warning and jump maglev turnstiles like it’s a sport.
You walk like you’re always late for a funeral you didn’t want to attend.
And the fashion? What’s with the cloche hats, parachute pants, and modded faces? ’
Rina laughed, the sound bright against the jazz. ‘That’s the current Edenite aesthetic, Idan. Get used to it.’
‘Never. I prefer the sensible clothes Dunians wear.’
‘Speaking of Dunia, any word from Mirage?’ Sheba asked. ‘It’s been forty-eight hours since your trip.’
‘Not yet,’ Molan murmured, topping off the wine glasses. ‘She might need time to -.’
Just then, a soft trill sounded from the speakers.
‘It’s Mirage,’ Mo rasped.
‘Apologies for disturbing your dinner,’ the Synth AI’s silky voice intoned. ‘May I join you for an update?’
‘Of course.’
Mirage’s fabulous silhouette, clad in velvet and emerald heels, glimmered into the room.
She walked to the table and took a seat. ‘Lord Zavier Phanos Draquis just cleared his calendar. We’re in.’
Molan set his fork down, his gaze fixing on Idan’s, then back to Mirage. ‘Perfect. When?’
‘Two days from now, local Rhesian time, at zero-hundred hours,’ Mirage replied.
Sheba leaned in, her eyes gleaming.
‘I’m going with you,’ she stated. ‘I’m between jobs, I’ve got nothing but time, and I’m not sitting this out. I won’t step on your toes, I promise.’
‘It might be a dangerous gig, Sheba. You sure?’ Molan murmured, his timbre edged with caution.
By now, Idan’s spine was a stiff pillar, his jaw locking into a hard ridge. ‘Forget it. Nada. You’re not coming.’
Sheba blinked, then swallowed a clapback.
She wasn’t about to cause a scene in Molan’s home, but her silence was deafening.
Idan matched it, retreating into a dark, brooding stillness.
Mirage sliced her eyes from him to his woman and raised a brow.
‘Well, start packing those of you joining me. We’ll take your Corvette, Molan. I’m off to make final arrangements.’
She glimmered away, escaping the tension.
Later, as Sheba and Idan prepared to leave, Rina tugged Sheba into a quick hug.
‘Go easy on him,’ she whispered. ‘He’s just being protective.’
Sheba pulled back, eyes flashing. ‘I can take care of myself, Rina, and I’m getting real tired of his possessive Alpha-Sacran attitude.’
‘Give him time to acclimatize, and also, he may ease off once Sulfiqar is dealt with.’
‘Will he, though?’ Sheba groused. ‘Sante, anyway, I appreciate the dinner and your listening ear.’
With a final wave, she joined Idan in the waiting fly cab.
The flight back to her apartment was thick with her strained, unspoken annoyance.
The second the front door clicked shut, the dam broke.
‘Idan, I’ve survived wars, attacks, my parents’ deaths, and countless assaults from patients, all before I met you. I don’t need you to police me,’ Sheba muttered, rounding on him in the small hallway.
‘And you’ve felt alone and distraught for it. I won’t allow you to suffer needlessly anymore,’ Idan growled, pushing past her and into the living room.
‘Fine, but I’m vested too in Sulfiqar’s takedown,’ Sheba insisted, following him. ‘He manipulated Ty to mastermind the death of my friends. He threatened to kill me to get you on board his evil plan, Idan. I’ve got skin in this game. I want to be with you when that bastard burns.’
Idan stood by the divan, arms crossed, his eyes molten and glowing with a frightening intensity, a pillar of unyielding granite.
‘I said nada, Sheba,’ he growled, the sound vibrating the air between them. ‘This isn’t a debate. You stay here where it’s safe. I won’t let his shadow come near you again.’
‘Why are you trying so hard to control me?’ Sheba muttered, her voice trembling with frustration. ‘I’m my own woman.’
Idan chose silence.
He turned his back on her, a final, suffocating shutdown, arms crossed over his massive chest, staring out the window.
‘Fine, be like that,’ she mumbled. ‘I just won’t hang around while you’re being a jackass.’
Sheba grabbed her keys and headed back out of her front door.
Salkia, his hoarse growl echoed in her node as she stalked out of the elevator onto the roof car park. Where are you going?
She severed their mental link, sliding back into her flyer, gritting her teeth.
In moments, she was navigating the neon-drenched arteries of the city.
Idan sent three urgent pulses into her mind, each more frantic than the last, until he retreated with a guttural curse.
Sheba transmitted a neural ping, sighing in relief when she got a response almost at once.
Soon, she landed her craft on the pinnacle of Sable HQ and headed to the penthouse.
The elevator doors slid open to reveal Selene in a silk robe and oversized fluffy slippers.
Sheba fell into her sister’s arms.
‘You look like you’re ready to go ten rounds with a backwater Allorian wrestler,’ Selene murmured.
She pulled back just enough to steer Sheba toward the massive, deep-seated sofa in the living room.
‘Hot drink? Or do we need the hard stuff?’
‘Give me heat, comfort, and chocolate, honey. If I go with alcohol, I’ll turn feral.’
Selene bypassed the bar for the high-tech replicator.
She returned with two mugs of steaming hot cocoa, topped with an aggressive amount of marshmallows.
‘Like we used to indulge in back in the day,’ she said, handing one to her sister. ‘Kainan’s out cold, the kids are down, so talk to me. You and your warrior-god are tussling, aren’t you?’
Sheba rolled her eyes, but her expression softened despite the frustration.
‘Idan is incredible, Selene,’ she confessed, her fingers trembling against the warm ceramic.
‘He cares for me with a divine intensity that’s sexy as fokk, but his vigilance is starting to feel like a cage.
He’s monitoring my every move. He vibrates with stress if I’m out of his line of sight for five minutes.
Now, paradoxically, he won’t let me go with him and Molan to Enia.
I love how much he’s all-in, but I’m suffocating.
How do I break down his illogical wall of protection without breaking us? ’
Selene leaned in, her gaze narrowing on her sister, her utterance soft.
‘Honey, you have to call out the friction he’s creating.
Period. You need to remind him that he can’t breathe for you or walk your path.
He might think his 24/7 surveillance is the only way to keep you safe.
However, he needs to hear, loud and clear, that your strength isn’t some fragile glass ornament he has to guard. ’
Selene’s tone shifted, gaining a more clinical, no-nonsense edge.
‘If I were you, I’d demand to know what he’s so terrified of.
Don’t let him use ‘I love you’ as a hall pass for controlling behavior.
It’s not. Force him to face why he’s carrying so much anxiety.
Tell him you’ll signal when you need an anchor, but you aren’t going to exist as a projection of his past trauma.
This isn’t just ‘overprotective,’ Sheba.
He’s bleeding his angst all over your life, and it’s hitting a point where it’s disrespectful to who you are as a partner. ’
Sheba stared out at the sprawling city lights, the truth of her sister’s words settling deep.
‘Leaking his angst onto me,’ she repeated. ‘That’s what it is. He’s treating me like an asset he can’t afford to lose, instead of a grown ass woman who’s lived through her own hell.’
She let out a shaky breath, her gaze dropping to the melting marshmallows.
‘If I keep soothing his trauma, I’ll turn into a shadow of myself. I’m a Senior Head Nurse, for fokk’s sake. I’ve made many life-and-death calls in my lifetime, but I’m letting him act like I can’t cross the street without a leash.’
Selene reached out, squeezing her sister’s knee.
‘Naam. You’re his woman, not his ward. If he wants a future, he has to trust that the woman he loves is just as tough as the god he is, in her own way.’
Sheba nodded, the steel returning to her spine.
‘Sante hon,’ she murmured. ‘I’ll have a chat and explain it to him. But for now, I need a break from our ‘divine’ drama. How are your terrors doing? Still keeping Kainan and you on your toes?’
Selene let out an amused huff. ‘Oh, you have no idea. We got a call from the academy yesterday; the twins decided to lean into their ‘identical’ status to ace their exams.’
Sheba grinned, already knowing where this was going. ‘Don’t tell me they pulled the old switcheroo again.’