Roman
“Thank Science you’re here.” Justus groaned as the headache band pulsed red light around his forehead. “Do you know what my mother has me doing today?”
Was I aware of the itinerary? Yes. Because I’d woken up at the crack of dawn to train with my unit, and I’d been pulled away by the colonel, who hadn’t been happy with the specifically requested candidate for this security detail assignment.
Neither had I.
My thoughts kept returning to Meg, and I knew it was best if I stayed away from the woman, but I couldn’t turn down a mission—especially not one ordered by the councilwoman herself.
I didn’t tell Justus all that.
He was still pissing me off.
“Enlighten me,” I said, loud enough to make him wince. “It looks like I’m stuck on babysitting duty for some reason.”
He held up a finger and fiddled with the headache settings before he let out a sigh.
“Good. Then you’ll be here to witness how ridiculous this all is.
She has me taking the mutant shopping, of all things.
Afterwards, we’re to have a public lunch with a tip-off to reporters so they can snap their photos for the tabloids showing me “happy and in love” with my new fiancé. ”
My throat was suddenly dry as I looked around the room, gaze landing on the white velvet box on his nightstand. It was probably brand new. An expensive diamond of some sort. A ring I’d never be able to afford in my life.
That was good. A pretty girl like Meg deserved the best jewelry.
I didn’t know why I felt so irritated. “Do you plan to propose to her?”
“Science no.” The infrared pulses still flashed against Justus’s closed eyes. “This is already a done deal. I’m surprised Mom didn’t give the mutant the ring herself. Besides, if the little werewolf doesn’t play her part and act like she’s happy to be in this arrangement, that’s on her. Hey—”
I ripped the device from his head and tossed it across the room, lowering myself so we were eye to eye. “You’re being an asshole.”
Justus blinked. “What has gotten into you?”
I inhaled slowly through my nose, debating on wringing his neck.
“In case you forgot, I took your seat at the meeting yesterday. That means I was there and saw your bride…” The word tasted bitter on my tongue.
“I watched Meg humble herself in front of the council after the goddess tore all our guns away. She entered into this sacrifice to save not only her people, but ours.”
“How very—”
“Meg didn’t have to come here,” I cut him off. “The councilwoman could’ve sent you to a secluded location in the Fringes outside the wall where you’d be married on the mutant lands to complete this arrangement.”
Was I lying? Maybe. But despite Justus’s selfish ways, he was loyal to those who were kind to him.
You just had to get into his inner circle first.
“My mother would’ve done that?” Justus gasped as he put his hand over his heart.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying not to develop my own headache. “Megaera said she’d come to you instead. Now that poor woman is alone here while you complain about her inconveniencing your lifestyle, all while she’s trying to keep the gods from raining havoc on the world.”
Justus studied me for a moment. “You don’t really believe that bullshit? I know your dad used to tell those stories, but you have to know none of it’s real.”
I stopped myself from punching him and turned to the window instead. He wouldn’t tell a soul that my dad had liked to read banned books from the past, and that he’d shared the stories with me. Not that it’d matter much now anyway. But to throw that in my face was so typically Justus.
I yanked the heavy curtains open.
Justus winced as sunlight filled the room.
“Did you check the weather this morning?” I asked.
“Why would I?”
I glared at him. “It’s half a degree Celsius warmer than it’s ever been today.”
“So? We can handle a hot day.” Justus frowned. “I swear, one little weather fluctuation and everyone loses their minds.”
“That’s inside the dome.” I grit my teeth, hating how ignorant he was to cause and effect.
But I had to remember that he—and the rest of the ruling class—were so far removed from reality at times.
“There is a whole world out there, which, like it or not, affects what happens here. Another degree fluctuation outside the dome will be catastrophic for the climate.”
“Science will prevail,” Justus recited like a good little citizen. “Besides, the weather has nothing to do with the gods.”
“I watched the goddess change the fucking sky before our eyes!” I growled as I pointed at the window.
“And if the gods swing lightning bolts and droughts and plagues around like toys, it might just mean that our systems stop working as intended. That science can’t catch up in time.
That crops won’t grow. That we don’t eat. ”
Justus paled.
Finally, the correct response.
I grabbed the nearest pair of pants and threw them at him. “Shower off your stink and get dressed. If she has to sacrifice herself for us, then so do I, and so do you.”
*
We were outside promptly at 8:45 a.m., which I called a win.
It wasn’t the first time I’d been assigned to security detail for the councilwoman—hence Justus’s code-name—and I was sure it wouldn’t be the last. I knew the rumors that Councilwoman Troy had pulled strings to get me into officer candidate school so that I’d be at her beck and call.
They didn’t know the half of it.
My men knew me, though. Especially the ones I’d worked with for the past few years before I’d put on a collar device and picked up my new officer title.
I nodded at Staff Sgt. Marcus, who’d gotten roped into this duty with me.
He drove our unit’s vehicle and would be driving the council’s car today.
At least we were in civilian clothes. The heat pressing in around us would’ve been brutal in the full-dress uniform I usually wore on dignitary assignments to this house.
Our civvies helped us blend in, though I was still connected to Marcus and the actual neighborhood security through my earpiece, with a direct line to local law enforcement too.
We were as ready as we could be.
Then she stepped outside, and it suddenly felt like I was forgetting an important detail. That I wasn’t prepared. That this assignment was more important than any I’d ever taken before.
That I didn’t want her to come.
“Good morning, Miss Meg.” I held open the car door of the black armor-plated limousine for her, even though Justus should’ve been the one to do it. He was currently sitting in the backseat mumbling about “ex-best friends.”
I didn’t bother looking at him, not when Meg offered me a smile I couldn’t help but return despite being on the clock. Happiness seemed to light up her eyes and I could imagine it was for me, but I quickly squashed that notion.
Something about this woman made me want to live in a fantasy. Which was dangerous.
I had a job to do. One that required me to be rooted firmly in reality and aware of our surroundings at all times.
Those skills made it hard not to take in the curves of her body as she walked down the steps.
She was pretty in the dress last night, but this outfit looked more her style.
It was simple. Not something you’d see on the ladies around Ethica sporting the latest fashion.
The knit leggings and button-down flannel shirt hugged her body just right.
I shouldn’t have been looking at her this way, but I was only human. It’d been a while since I’d had time to date, not that any dates had resulted in anything serious, and I hadn’t realized how lonely I must’ve been. It was past time to stop looking at my friend’s bride.
“Good morning, Roman,” she said.
I’d forgotten how nice her voice sounded, and how much better my name felt coming from her lips.
Focus.
Meg smiled up at me. “Are you coming with us today?”
I ignored the hope I imagined I saw in that look, nodding. “I’ll be your escort. We have some rules to go over on the drive.” I motioned for her to get in the vehicle. “Please take a seat.”
Her face fell as she climbed inside, and I resisted the urge to soften my tone.
“We’re ready,” I told Staff Sgt. Marcus over our headpiece. I crawled in after Meg and closed the door, taking the seat across from the two of them.
Justus was on one end of the bench seat, pushing himself into the door it seemed, while Meg reached for the seatbelt furthest away from him.
The day was already off to a great start.
I cleared my throat. “While I understand the council’s desire to take this courtship public at the direction of the goddess Morrigan and appease the rumor mill of Ethica’s citizens, there is still a faction of humans that believe in purist ideologies.”
Meg looked pointedly at Justus and shrugged. “I honestly thought all you humans felt that way. Why else stay trapped here behind the walls?”
My lip quirked, and I had to hide the smile.
Justus snorted.
“Is something funny?” Meg asked.
“If this is a prison, why’d you volunteer to come?” Justus mocked her tone like a petulant child.
“Is it not?” Meg looked between the two of us. “I can’t see anyone willingly staying here, unless maybe they lived in the government houses.”
We were passing the lower section of high-rise developments again, and my eyes about popped out of my head as she spoke so flippantly about our city’s problems.
Justus was ignorant as always. “I wouldn’t expect a mutant like you to understand the importance of preserving the purist bloodline.”
“You’re right,” she quipped. “I can’t begin to understand why you’d want to continue to remain the inferior species. Also, I’m not a mutant despite what your flawed history books teach. Ask the literal gods who made me.”
Justus’s jaw hung slack. “You know you’re speaking treason, right? Roman can arrest you.”
Her big brown eyes searched mine, seeming to read my soul. “Is that so? Are you going to arrest me?”
“No. I’m not going to arrest you.” I dragged my hands over my face.
“We have enough threats to worry about today without the fear of you two tearing each other apart. Now, I’m in charge.
We’re sticking to the schedule. No detours or unapproved stops.
If something happens to me, Staff Sgt. Marcus or one of the undercover cops assigned to our various locations will step in to get you back to the house.
You’re not to engage with anyone not on the approved list. And I reserve the right to cut any activity short if I feel your safety is in danger. ”
“You don’t need to worry about me,” Meg said. “I can take care of myself. If needed, I can also take care of you.”
“Are mutants bulletproof now?” Justus laughed.
“No, but I heal fast and it’d take a lot to kill me.” Meg shot him a look. “What about you?”
“Is that a threat?” he shouted.
“Enough,” I told them both.
I couldn’t begin to decipher the look Meg gave me, but her expression seemed to cloud over as she relaxed back in her seat.
Huh. I’d expected her to argue more.
Justus thankfully knew the drill, though he did pout as he looked out the window. “I can’t believe they’re making me do this.”
Curse science, I was going to kill him myself.
“We’re here.” Staff Sgt. Marcus came to a stop, laughing through my earpiece as he spoke. “Are we going to need backup?”