Page 13 of Jorax
Color stains her cheeks which only makes her more stunning. “Why thank you, kind sir.” Her eyes dance with delight. “Shall we go make our grand entrance?”
We arrive at the masquerade ball, and Syrryn dons her mask.
“It’s a shame you have to wear that. It hides some of your beauty.” A few days ago, I never would have had the nerve to say such praise to her, but her growing affection has given my heart wings.
The opulent ballroom’s crystal chandeliers and mirrors make the space seem endless. Despite the way they’ve transformed the room, I only have eyes for my lovely date.
Syrryn keeps up a steady stream of chatter about the extravagant decorations. Her enthusiasm and praise of the creative metallic additions on my face ease my nerves. No one else’s opinion matters but hers.
As we mingle amiably with various patrons and potential donors, I do my best to converse naturally despite my discomfort in large gatherings. With Syrryn radiant at my side, I manage better than expected. Her sly humor keeps me smiling, her light touches when others approach are both possessive and reassuring.
After a group of supporters moves off, I spot a familiar tall, pale figure observing us from nearby, blue eyes flashing with resentment, nostrils flared in anger. My gut tightens. I should have expected Icaron would be here to torment me, irritatedthat I have the admiration of someone so lovely, especially a female he was trying to flatter into his bed.
Rather than spending the effort to create a costume, he’s wearing black formal wear, looking superior as he saunters over, his lip curled derisively.
“Well, if it isn’t my favorite lab grunt and his pet human. Slumming it with the beast these days, my dear Syrryn?”
Icaron’s derisive words slice through me. I’ve been on the receiving end of his hurtful taunts for years, but his malicious treatment of Syrrynenragesme. It’s as though rather than blood, my veins are flowing with accelerant. How dare he insult not just me, but Syrryn?
Before I can respond, Syrryn tears off her mask unveiling the fiery rage that contorts her delicate features. She surges toward Icaron, green eyes blazing, chin lifted defiantly despite his towering height.
“How dare you speak about Jorax that way? He’s twice the male you could ever hope to be.”
Elation flies through me at her words. It was one thing for her to be supportive of me in private. It was even more affirming for her to agree to be my date in public. But for her tochampionme? Her support makes my throat tighten with pride. Icaron’s her boss, though, and he can be petty and spiteful.
I don’t need her to fight my battles for me. For years, I’ve endured Icaron’s entitled arrogance, too afraid to challenge the charismatic bully, fearing no one would take my word over his charming silver-tongued facade. But no more.
Decades worth of slights and injustices coalesce in the span of a moment as years worth of anger and resentment tumble from my lips.
I boldly meet Icaron’s arrogant blue gaze. “She’s right. Every key discovery under your name should have been mine.” Bitter words I’ve long swallowed boil forth unchecked.
“You copied my schoolwork for years, dazzling teachers with your lies. We’ve never gotten to the bottom of the lab explosion. And now you steal credit for research breakthroughs that I slaved over into the wee hours of the morning while you wined and dined your way into prominence and a position of power.”
“More bullshit, Jorax. Is this because you still blame me for your disfigurement? Your suspicions are merely that, ideas invented by a fevered mind.”
Shock arrows through me, hot and painful. Icaron and I haven’t spoken of this since our twenties. He’s denied it, told me I was delusional, but I still believe he waited until all the other students left our chem lab and added something to the beaker I was experimenting on.
Not only did the explosion almost kill me, but first responders said he misdirected them as to my whereabouts until it was too late for perfect facial reconstruction surgery. Between the caustic substance of the explosion itself, the first responders’ delay due to Icaron’s deceptive information, and the inexplicable absence of nu-skin at the emergency room, the best they could do was patch me up as best they could.
“The inquiry absolved you, Icaron, perhaps because of your father’s money and position or maybe it was your lies. I was idiot enough to put it behind me until recently when I gave a long hard look back to that fateful day.”
It’s only been recently that I’ve allowed myself to remember every moment of that terrible day. I’m certain it was all a plan by Icaron because I was on target to win the 50,000 credit Utlan Prize for best college senior project. He couldn’t bear to see me win. Perhaps it was about the money, but more importantly, had I received the notoriety, his jealousy would have eaten him alive.
“We both know what you did,” I seethe. “You were responsible for this.” I wave clumsily at my face.
For a moment, I’d forgotten where I was, forgotten that beautiful Syrryn is at my side. It’s only when she whimpers, then gasps and clutches my hand more tightly, that I come back to my senses.
My voice was so loud, it echoed off the mirrored walls, fueled by righteous fury too long suppressed. Other attendees paused their dancing and conversation, watching with rapt interest as the drama unfolded.
Fueled by rage, I try not to shrink from their scrutiny now that the truth has spilled from my lips. With Syrryn as my anchor, for the first time in decades, I know I’ll have support for my claims.
“Icaron, consider our farce of a working relationship terminated.” I sweep out an arm, encompassing the stunned onlookers. “Although you’ll never be held accountable for what you did to me back on our home planet, everyone will finally know where the true innovation stems from in the Eryxi research. Choose your own projects to leech off of, Icaron. My research can stand proudly on its own merits, and I’ll no longer allow you to claim my work as your own.”
Chapter Fifeen
Syrryn
My heart pounded with exhilaration as I watched Jorax confront his tormentor. Icy satisfaction welled inside me, seeing Icaron’s smug expression melt into shock as Jorax spoke his truth. After years of enduring this pompous bully’s abuse, Jorax was finally demanding the acknowledgment he deserves.
