Page 53 of Fixation of the Mind

Picking up his tablet, Rion stared at his screen with furrowed brows, almost like he was figuring out an equation then drawing up a plan. It was silent until Ravi slapped the table, grinning up at all of us like he was a genius. “Then we’ll just get you pregnant first.”

My body stilled, and my lips silently flapped open and closed like a fish. What did he… Did he just… No. He couldn’t be serious, right?! A nervous giggle came out, and I pointed at him like he was making a hilarious joke. I looked to the others for support because there was no way they were all on board with this, but I was met with the exact opposite.

Rion’s head was cocked to the side as he put his tablet down and lifted a hand to his chin, nodding like he was working out all the day-to-day details of how that situation could work. I shook my head at him and went to Roux, hoping my angry ball had some of that spitfire to release, but his mouth was pinched to the side, his eyes traveling to me, then the table, as his face got red. Finally, I turned back to Ravi, glaring at his happy-go-lucky face. This was all his fault!

He cried out like I was the crazy one. “What?! I think it's a great solution! Everyone is happy, including those bastards.” He folded his arms on the table, leaning forward as he cooed, “Plus, putting our baby in that belly sounds like the ultimate way to trap you forever!” He shrugged, leaning back with his hands on his head, and I wanted to smack the grin off his face.

“Well, for at least eighteen years,” Rion said, adding his two cents, "but we can figure out the rest later." My head snapped to his to see he was indeed thinking of other ways to keep me forever. I knew that they wouldn’t force me or anything like that… However, that didn’t make me feel much better since I knew first hand how persuasive they could be. Slumping in my chair, I gave up on fighting this one-out-of-ten possibility, knowing that they were all very serious about this solution.

Rubbing at my temples, I was determined to change the conversation. “Okay, let's table that for later. It's not something that needs to be figured out right now.”

Rion nodded, probably sensing my need to move on from the subject. “Yes, it's only one of the options.” Sneaky bastard, making it so he could still be in favor of that option without upsetting me. I resisted the urge to take my fingers, point them at my eyes, then turn them on him, letting him know that I saw what he was doing.

Ravi interjected from the side of his mouth, “But definitely the one we’re goin' with if needed.” Like the three of them were in tune with each other, they went silent after his comment. Ugh! Men!

Shoving my hands under my arms, I grumbled, “Is this how it's always going to be, you three ganging up on me?”

Ravi laughed. “Nah. We hardly ever all agree. Now that you're in the mix, you’ll probably win more than you lose, but when it comes to your safety or keeping you with us until the end of time, we’ll always agree with each other.”

“That's only if I make it out alive.” Maybe it was a downer, but it felt like they needed a reminder of the actual life-threatening test I needed to pass.

“You will pass.” All of their voices came out at the same time, strong and unyielding, leaving no room for argument.

I nodded, leaning on their strength. I really did hope they were right.

Rion and I came back to the building he’d taken me to when we met the council, only this time Maria was waiting for us in their weird AI-manned lobby.

“Hello, Layrin! It's so nice to see you again.” Her wide smile and pleasing tone set off my internal warning bells. The only thing that kept me standing was Rion’s warm, reassuring hand on my back.

Putting my guard up, I nodded to her. “Hello, Mrs. Ricci.”

She stepped up to me, arms out, and hugged me. Rion’s hand clutched the end of my shirt like she was the metal claws of a claw machine, threatening to take me away from him forever. She pulled back, smiling wide as her eyes slid between Rion and me. “My dear, there is no need for formalities between us. Just call me Maria.” She patted my cheek, her long red nails scraping along my skin as her viper eyes narrowed on me. “Mrs. Ricci is for outsiders, and you are very much an insider now.”

Not knowing what to do, I made eye contact with her. “Thank you, Maria.”

Something flashed in her eyes, almost like she was lost in thought, then she turned her head and smiled at me like nothing happened. “Shall we?” Her hand gracefully lifted toward the elevator.

I still couldn't figure out her angle. Was she being nice to me because she wanted something from me? Was this some frenemy thing where she was being nice even though she hated me? Maybe it was all just a new form of hazing. If she was nice to me now, I wouldn’t expect it when she did something horrible later. There were way too many questions around her and her behavior.

All I knew was this woman was the one we really needed to worry about.

The elevator door opened, and she walked in, her eyes flicking to me then the spot next to her. Something about this woman demanded others follow her orders, so I did. As I crossed the doorway, she glanced at Rion. “I will take her the rest of the way.”

We knew they were going to try this little stunt.

He crossed the threshold like she hadn’t said anything, then the doors closed behind the three of us, her eyeing him with a scowl. “I am going to be a member of the council soon, as well as being the one who trained her. I think it's only fair for me to be in the observation room with you.”

Her face crafted back into the soft smile from earlier, but she didn’t say a word until the elevator came to a stop. “Seems fair.” She emphasized the last word for some reason. I didn’t know what that meant, but it didn't sound good. Rion shook his head at me as he followed her, so I trailed behind them quickly.

Stepping out of the elevator, you would think you were in a whole new world. There was an army of people buzzing around, wearing lab coats, business suits, hazmat gear, and military uniforms from different countries.

The room was wide with a high dome-like ceiling. Different areas were walled off, and the space was filled with tables. People stood around them, poring over documents, and a natural buzz of energy was running throughout the room.

“This is the main hall. Most of the regular Foedus members will have access to this area for various reasons. Secret meetings between nations, lab results being traded for other information, that kind of stuff.” Her flippant tone told me that she really didn't care much about this stuff even though I found it very interesting.

A few people looked up and nodded to Maria, while some shied away from her. A couple looked like they were going to try to approach her, but when her eyes collided with theirs, they stopped and turned away. I might not trust her, but I had to admire the kind of respect this woman got, even from grown men three times her size.

We walked off to the side, heading down a dark hallway no one was using. “This is the area only meant for the members of the six, well, now seven families. I assume Ambros taught you about all of us, so we don't have to go through that boring stuff.”

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