Page 58 of Fixation of the Mind

“About what?”

I shrugged. “I don't know. About the test? About your uncle? About… me?” I was fishing, I knew it, but I was grasping at straws. I’d finally accomplished this huge feat, and his reaction felt a little lackluster.

“No, she didn't. I would tell you, Rin. We trust each other.”

I nodded because of course we did. Maybe I was just experiencing some residual effects of the test, and it had left me in a funk. I let it go, not wanting to cause trouble when there wasn't any.

We drove up the driveway, and I was excited to see Ravi and Roux. I needed to feel that brand of love-me-no-matter-what that I always got from those two. We parked, and I flung open my door, climbed out, and looked at the house. It felt like I was home.

Rion’s hand landed on the small of my back as he whispered, “Go on in. They're waiting for you.”

My chest expanded, taking a long breath before I ran to the door and threw it open. A tornado of green, red, orange, yellow, and blue tissue paper swirled around me, and Ravi ran forward wearing a party hat, a kazoo in his hand. “Welcome back, love! You did it!”

Smiling wide, I launched myself into his arms, enjoying the attention and adoration I had come to know and love from Ravi. He gave me a kiss on the side of my head and squeezed me for a second before letting go. He let go far too soon in my opinion, but I was probably just being greedy because of what I had gone through.

Roux gave me a soft hug, telling me he was proud, then he stood back, smiling. Seeing Roux this nice was actually a cute change.

Rion complained about the mess but quickly changed the subject to dinner. I looked out the window, and it was, in fact, nighttime. Man, time flew by. My stomach gurgled, and the boys doubled down on their efforts to make dinner delicious and fast.

They made a chicken parmigiana feast with angel hair pasta, juicy chicken, and crescent rolls that were so light and fluffy I ate three.

In the middle of dinner, I told them what happened, but their responses were weird. I had expected some anger about what I went through with Miss Vaughn, maybe some clenched fists or at least a few disappointed glances, but all I saw was pity… and it hurt.

“Now that we’ve gotten past the test, we can finalize our plan to take over Foedus.” Rion began to talk, then Ravi and Roux joined in. I stayed silent, observing everything.

Rion didn't have his tablet, which was always next to him even if he wasn't using it. Roux frowned in all the right places and kept silent like normal, but his body seemed relaxed, and Ravi, he said and did all the right things, but his eyes didn't twinkle with mirth.

A thought hit me. Am I still in the test?

Staring at the table, I started to put the pieces together. I had seen Rion first, but there was no way that Maria would’ve allowed that without her being there as well. Then his reaction in the car. The fact that Ravi and Roux weren’t waiting outside the house for me.

All the little things didn't add up.

They were still talking in the background about taking over Foedus, and even that was strange. They had said they wouldn't think about that until after taking care of their uncle. All of this felt wrong.

If I was still in the test, then what were they trying to assess? My eyes lifted to the boys, and it finally clicked. Even with me being the heir to the Rose family, they knew I hadn't trained to be part of Foedus all my life. They knew that I was an orphan. They didn’t know my character, and if it boiled down to others versus them, they needed to know who I would pick.

This was a loyalty test.

My mind had shown the computer that the boys were who I was most loyal to and used them as a means to test me.

With my mind made up, I told them I was going to the bathroom, where I pulled out my phone and messaged Maria, telling her that R. Ambros was a traitor who was planning a coup against the council.

As soon as I pressed send, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Had I done the right thing? What if this wasn't the test? Had I just betrayed the men I loved?

Opening my eyes, I saw the whole world around me melt, almost like a candle beneath the heat of its flame. Everything that was fake was slowly dripping away. It was starting to make me dizzy, so I closed my eyes and smiled, waiting for the next test or whatever so I could get back to them like I’d promised.

“You did well, Miss Rose.”

Maria’s voice had me opening my eyes. I was looking up at the ceiling of the metal room I was in. My arms and legs were strapped into the chair, and when panic set in, I started yanking on the restraints.

“Calm down, Layrin Rose. I’ll get you out. Those are put on as a safety measure once the tester is knocked out. We don’t want you accidentally hurting yourself, do we?”

Her calm, soothing voice helped, but what helped even more was when I felt her fingers untying one side, then moving to the other. “Let me take this all off because you’re going to be quite disoriented.” I nodded, feeling nauseous as she said it. She lifted up the helmet and smiled. “You definitely gave all of us a scare for a bit. Your vitals went off the charts. Poor Ambros was a worried wreck, although he tried to keep it together for my sake.” She winked at me, and I knew why he wasn't by my side. He needed to not make it blatantly obvious that he loved me.

“Come, you have people waiting for you, Miss Rose.” She held out her hand, and I grabbed it, putting all my weight into her grasp.

“How long was I out for?” In there, it felt like days… I really hoped it wasn't for days.

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