Page 16 of Destinies of Diamond
It wasn’t exactly unusual for my parents to socialize with the Chimera royal family. Leaving aside my relationship with Brendan, they had their own connections to our esteemed leader. It was one of the many things that had infuriated me after Stella’s death. They’d continued on with their lives as if nothing had happened and had even become loyal members of King Philip’s inner circle.
But as far as I knew, King Philip didn’t leave his palace to visit other people. They came to him and he received them at his own leisure. Brendan had never mentioned a change in this routine.
“Do you think this might have something to do with the generator collapse?”Scylla asked.
“I don’t see how it would. As far as I can tell, they don’t know about it at all. But anything is possible.”
With Scylla’s comforting presence vibrating at the back of my mind, I set the mecha down on the smaller landing strip. By the time I left the cockpit, Jensen was already there to greet me. “Milord,” he said with a smile, “as always, you honor us with your presence. We didn’t know you’d visit. Otherwise, we’d have been a little more prepared.”
I liked the old steward. He’d been among the few people who’d genuinely mourned Stella. But he also took his role as the guardian of our house much too seriously for me to ever consider taking him in my confidence. I felt no remorse when I set my hand on his shoulder and squeezed it, allowing a brief wave of tachyons to surge into his bloodstream.
“Not to worry, Jensen. You don’t need to make any extra preparations for me. Now, where are my parents? I’d like to speak to them.”
“I’m afraid His Lordship isn’t at home. He’s in an emergency session of The Grand Judiciary.”
Well, that wasn’t good news. A potential attack at Tartarus Base and alarming developments at The Grand Judiciary? This whole thing might be more problematic than I’d expected.
But if that was the case, why was the king here? Frowning, I continued interrogating the steward. “And my mother?”
“She’s… indisposed.”
“Is she really? I thought you said she had guests.”
Jensen’s face flushed, and all of a sudden, I understood. I tightened my hold on his shoulder and increased the pressure my gift was putting on his core. “His Majesty is with her, I take it.”
Jensen flinched at the sudden pain. “Yes, Milord,” he mumbled. “But please, don’t interfere. This is a matter you should stay out of.”
The hell it was. I didn’t care what my parents did behind closed doors. The state of their marriage was irrelevant to me. But I did care if my mother was sleeping with my sister’s murderer. “Where are they, Jensen? Don’t make me ask twice. I have no desire and no time to search through the whole house.”
Jensen’s shoulders slumped, but he must have realized I was serious. “Her Ladyship’s quarters. Please don’t do anything too reckless, Young Master. Stay calm.”
With a huff, I released my hold on him and stalked into the building. Staying calm would have been easier a few weeks ago, before the incident in the Apsid Quasar. I could only hope I had enough control to not lose my temper in front of the king.
Even if I no longer visited my childhood home regularly, it was very easy for me to find my way to my mother’s quarters. The whole area was soundproofed, but as soon as I stepped into the corridor, I felt a distinctive surge of tachyons coming through the metallic walls.
It turned my stomach, because it reminded me too much of Brendan for comfort. But I’d never turned away from things that were uncomfortable and I wouldn’t start today.
Regardless of how I felt about my parents, I still had enough decency to ring at my mother’s door instead of just bursting in. I slid my palm over the digital scanner and ordered the mechanism to announce my presence. At first, there was no response. I repeated the process, wondering why it was taking so long. Jensen should have notified the king of my imminent arrival, so my mother and her lover should have expected me.
The door finally slid open, and I was greeted with the sight of my mother standing there in nothing more than a very skimpy dressing gown. I highly suspected she wasn’t wearing anything underneath it, because I could see her beaded nipples straining the fabric. Disturbed, I kept my eyes on her face. “Mother, good afternoon. I hope you are well.”
She smiled, not seeming taken aback by my presence. “Pollux. This is a surprise, dear. What are you doing here?”
“I’m actually on a mission from Tartarus Base. There was an explosion at the generators and His Highness, Dean Chimera, thought it suspicious. He sent me and the rest of my unit to check other locations of interest for potential attackers.”
Her pleasant expression faltered and she stepped out of the way, granting me entrance to her quarters. “I see. That does sound like a problem. We haven’t felt anything here and we’ve received no information of any developments from the other asteroids or from the moon base.”
“That’s good news, I suppose,” I replied as I stepped into her room. I was unsurprised to see the king sitting on her couch. At least he’d managed to put some pants on, because otherwise, I might have reacted very poorly—or at least, more poorly than I did. “Your Majesty. I’d love to say it’s a pleasure to see you here, but I think we both know I wouldn’t mean it.”
King Philip let out a sharp chuckle. “You have a fiercer tongue than I remembered, Pollux. Don’t worry so much. I’m not bringing dishonor to your family name. Your father is perfectly aware of my arrangement with dear Odette.”
“Is he?” I clenched my fists and bit the inside of my cheek. “That’s interesting.”
Scylla’s voice echoed in my mind, soft and calming.“Pollux, you knew this was a possibility. It was unlikely for your mother to do something like this without his permission. And besides, are you really surprised by his betrayal?”
“No, I guess I’m not.”
Oblivious to the exchange between me and my chimera, my mother took hold of my arm. “Come now, Pollux. Don’t be so dour. You of all people should understand a relationship like this. After all, your whole unit is sharing the tamer of the Sphinx, right?”
