Epilogue
For the first time in four days, I'm dressed. There was a throbbing between the apex of my legs that wouldn’t fade. Titan hadn’t given me a break. Day and night, we worshipped each other in ways I never imagined.
"He's here," Damian announced as he entered the room. Guns and knives were strapped to his body like a soldier off to war.
Titan nodded as he twisted his wedding ring. We knew Anton was coming. It had been one month since I passed our rite. Sure enough, a sleek black helicopter landed in our front yard. The make and model of the aircraft were in question but it looked stealthy as fuck. As the helicopter began to land, our alarms sounded. The aircraft's technology just took out all our electronic systems. Our top systems were rendered useless against The Rites of Passage's systems.
Damn impressive.
Titan and I remained seated in the living room like a true king and queen. The front doors opened, and Anton eventually approached. He bowed his head with a smile, "Kukla." Titan grabbed my fingers tighter.
"Anton," I sighed.
"It's time." He raised his head and eyed Titan.
Titan and I had to play the part. That and I was genuinely curious. Each time Anton visited us, more and more slipped out of the mysterious group. Now, we were finally going to get a look behind the curtain.
Damian, Titan, and I rode in silence in the helicopter. The entire ride, Titan kept looking at Damian as if they had a sixth sense and could communicate with each other telepathically. I know they felt vulnerable without Dash. His absence even affected me. I missed the brotherly banter we had and I missed watching him suffer as he tried to eat my pan scramble.
Last I heard, Titan and Damian had communicated with Dash, but they didn't let slip any juicy details. I worried about Mila but I knew she wasn't alone. The Rites of Passage were always watching.
Maybe Mila was Dash's rite?
Anton said Titan held the seat of power for the King family, which meant that Damian and Dash didn't have to perform a final trial to assume control. However, if The Rites of Passage taught me anything, it was that they continued to test. There were little things here and there to ensure a person had not been corrupted or lost faith. Maybe, after today, I'd figure out just where Mila slipped off too.
Like something out of a sci-fi movie, the ground below us, which looked like dusty, rocky dirt, began to open. The large door lowered and slid open from the center as the helicopter landed under the surface. We were led through security passages that could survive nuclear fallout. Titan, Damian, and I took roles in memorizing every aspect of the trek here.
"We have headquarters like such scattered all over the world," Anton informed us. We passed room after room. Finally, Anton stopped at the door. "We will get you both set up with security today. I'll be showing you around. You'll get settled in."
"When will we meet the council?" Titan asked.
Anton glanced over his shoulder, "You won't. Rulers don't sit on the council. Even gods have to play by the rules. You are the first to pass Titan; you will now hold the realm until your brothers join you. Six seats are left to be filled."
"Titan holds the seat," Anton stressed as he looked at Damian and me.
"My wife rules by my side." Titan squared his shoulders.
Anton nodded as he faced us, "That choice is yours. Your advisors are important. They turn your neck, but you have the final say. If Nova is your mouthpiece," Anton held up his hands, "I mean it respectfully. Then that is your choice. The council will judge your rule, Titan."
"Who is on this council?" Damian asked.
Anton shook his head, "In order to keep the council pure, they remained hidden. Therefore they can not be persuaded or corrupted. They are always watching and enforcing the rules. Don't forget that. You know what happens when one King thinks he can betray us. We eventually hunt them down." Anton warned as he hinted at what happened to Jules King, Titan's grandfather.
We entered the vast room, and then, well, everything I knew changed.
The room was filled with numerous round tables. Uniform rows showed a force of order. In the middle was a large rounded table about twenty feet wide. Next to the center table were another two rows of ten tables. Tables were not the best word to describe what there were. They stood like planted smooth river stones, polished and round. There were no buttons on them, and the material used to craft them was a mystery. It must have been a poured material because there were no seams, joints, or texture. On every surface of the table, a built in light circled the perimeter. When we approached the table, the lights activated and started to draw an image.
"Are they holograms?" Damian asked with curiosity.
"They are a step up from what you know as a hologram. More detailed and refined." Anton answered.
At every table stood a guard dressed in a navy and grey camouflage uniform. Each guard held a tablet that seemed to be connected to the table and hologram. I felt like I was on a spaceship, but I kept that reaction to myself. I didn't want to seem like a giddy child. I needed to play it cool. Anton showed us the toy box The Rites of Passage had in their sandbox. He was seducing us.
Anton lead us through the room at a slow pace, giving us time to let everything sink in. One hologram projected a factory of sorts. Large cylinders were in the background. Men in white lab coats walked around, assisted by military men holding guns. "That is a nuclear factory in Iran," Anton informed us.
The Rites of Passage had eyes everywhere! "How did you get inside?" I questioned.
"Many ways," Anton vaguely answered. "Sometimes we infiltrate the air systems. We designed small particles with cameras that work on radio frequency. The vibrations paint a visual image for us here. They have no clue the specks of dust are communicating and relaying information to us."