Page 9 of Cold Heir

“He’s an important component to the vow you four made to the Dynasty. His cooperation with the blood bond will be key to a cure being produced for his quadrant, right?”

I nodded. “Yes, and if I knew how to bring him back, I’d do it in a heartbeat. However, I know from experience that if Roman Fairchild doesn’t want to be found, he won’t be found.”

About a week ago, I bit the bullet and reached out to his father for insight. It proved to be a mistake when he refused my call, and then advised his staff to inform me that I wasn’t to call there again. It would have been helpful to at least know if they’d seen him, but no such information was shared.

Unfortunately, that meant we were just as much in the dark today as we’d been from the start.

“Do you … think he might be a problem?”

I peered over at Elle when she asked.

“I wish I knew the answer to that,” was the most honest response I could offer her. To say that I thought Roman was still on our side, still willing to keep our many secrets was a stretch. He’d been unstable for a while now, and I believed he misunderstood me and the others’ stance that morning in the dining room. Yes, he’d spoken out of turn to Corina, but that shouldn’t have been something we couldn’t resolve. If he’d stayed, we could have reached an understanding.

Elle was quiet the rest of the way, maybe mulling over the dilemma with Roman like I did. Yet, the bottom line was, no one knew whether Roman was a threat or an asset, but he himself.

We reached our destination and Silas pulled into the parking structure right behind us. It was dark and overgrown with weeds, but it was the safest place I could think of to meet. This was one of the few abandoned blocks that remained in the Capitol, although that wouldn’t be so for long. With plans to revitalize dead parts of the city, within the next two years, streets that had been lifeless for centuries would again be alight with energy. If we were still in communication with Corina’s team when that time came, face-to-face meetings would be much more difficult.

Elle and I stepped out of the car, and the echo of our doors slamming closed was jarring to the senses. No sooner than we set foot on the pavement, Silas climbed out of the truck, and a large white van rolled in with its headlights dark.

We pulled several strings to make this all come together, this “mission” as Elle called it. The first time, fear of being caught nearly outweighed the sense of obligation we felt to help. For me, that was no longer the case. Being here, aiding Cori’s friends in this way, felt like the right thing to do.

Even if no one but those of us standing there agreed.

Felix and Liv hesitated to leave their van, and I had a feeling that had something to do with the third wheel who tagged along today.

“Evening,” I greeted them. “I hope you don’t mind, but Elle’s a close friend of ours, and a close friend of Corina. She asked to join us this time, because she’s been dying to meet you both.”

Liv hung back a bit, pushing a hand through her cropped hair as bright green eyes settled on me.

Elle passed a look my way before stepping forward, extending her hand to shake Felix’s.

“Pleased to meet you,” she chirped, clearly missing the tension that engulfed us.

“Th—there’s nothing to be afraid of,” Silas stammered, flashing a nervous smile toward our two human companions. “Elle’s not one of us. She’s an A.I. A member of Julian’s staff.” His revelation caused the tension in Felix’s brow to disappear right away. Instead, the look of concern was replaced by intrigue.

His gaze went to the hand Elle still held out to him. When he took it, it had nothing to do with returning the gesture she offered. It was an examination. His mouth quirked with half a smile as he studied her state-of-the-art design, her lifelike flesh, and seamless joints. Next, he met Elle’s gaze, staring at the red tone of her irises.

“She looks just like one of you. If you hadn’t told me she wasn’t real, I never would’ve guessed it.”

I think we were all surprised when Elle quickly snatched her hand from Felix’s, but no one was as surprised as him. Although there was no question about what offended her.

“Not real?” Her voice raised an octave with the question. “What’sthatsupposed to mean? I’m as‘real’as anyone else,” she assured him.

“Felix wasn’t implying anything, Elle,” Silas explained, making quick work of calming her.

We didn’t need her to make a scene. Not with things between the humans and us being so new, so unstable. Silas hadn’t been the biggest fan of me bringing Elle into my home, but I think he’d grown to see her in the same light I did.

“My apologies,” Felix stammered, addressing Elle directly. “It’s just that I’ve never seen, I meanmet,anyone like you. I’ve heard about Ianite tech, but hadn’t had much opportunity to admire it at close range.” He looked her over again. “The craftsmanship that went into creating you is … outstanding.”

A laugh from Liv broke up some of the tension.

“All right, Fe. Give her some space.” She pushed him aside and extended a hand toward Elle. “Nice meeting you. Excuse my friend. He’s not usually this creepy.”

“Promise?” Elle asked with a smile.

“Promise.” When Liv lightheartedly returned the gesture, others could only imagine the relief I felt.

It wasn’t lost on me that they were quicker to trust Elle—a machine—than they were to trust us, but I knew they were skeptical all these years for good reason. By default, A.I.s had no preconceived notions about humans, and therefore were less of a threat.

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