Page 48 of Dark Reign

The girl was undoubtedly strange and worth keeping an eye on, based on her shiftiness alone, but the moment I was inside I lost focus. I’d never seen anything like it. We’d only made it to the vestibule and already this place had taken my breath away. Glistening white pillars stretched high, towering two stories above, while beneath my feet, smooth marble that reflected the light of three grand chandeliers. The steps of the others echoed in the large space.

Straight ahead, a central staircase wide enough to drive a fleet of cars seemed to spill down from above. Its banister matched the pillars and the detail carved into both was nothing short of magnificent. I wanted to step forward, wanted to touch, but … I knew better. I wasn’t a guest here. I wasn’t evenwelcomedhere.

“Colin, Winston, that’ll be all.”

With a simple nod, Julian dismissed his guards.

The two stayed silent, their dark trench coats moving like capes behind them as they exited through the front door. To say that I was confused was an understatement. I didn’t imagine a monarch escorting a prisoner to the towers himself, but apparently I knew less about the way things worked around here than I realized.

“Your coat, Miss?”

My head swiveled toward the girl when she spoke, her voice sounding so familiar.

Sounding so …polite,she clearly hadn’t gotten the memo that I’d singlehandedly turned tonight’s gala into a media circus.

“She’s fine, Ellenore, just … give her a minute,” Julian replied, his reference confusing me more than I already was.

“Wait … Ellenore?”

I hadn’t meant to ask. I told myself to stay silent, but it slipped out without thinking.

The young girl’s smile grew while Julian shoved both hands in his pockets.

“…Yes. Her consciousness transfers from my vehicles to this body,” he proceeded to explain. “She does more than drive me. She’s my assistant, she runs the house, she … pretty much does it all.”

“And remember, it’s Elle now, Your Highness,” the girl … er … A.I. piped.

I was stunned. Had no one said anything, I wouldn’t have known she wasn’t real. A lot of thought and time had gone into creating her. Not even her movements had given her away. They were smooth and seamless like anyone else, not the jerky, awkwardness I would have expected.

As I looked her over, her gaze followed, and that smile never left her.

The Ianites and their bizarre way of living only got more and more strange.

“Ellenore,” Julian began, pausing to roll his eyes. “Elle,” he corrected himself, “would you mind preparing Corina something to eat, please?”

“Right away, sir,” she piped, but before she could leave, I stopped her.

“I’m not hungry.”

Both their gazes landed on me when I spoke, Elle’s making it clear she didn’t understand.

“But … according to my last read on your vitals, you’re way past due for a meal,” she reasoned, her voice actually making it seem as if she was concerned, as if she was capable of feeling anything at all.

“In fact,” she went on, “you’re quite malnourished, Corina. Already, I’ve detected a vitamin D deficiency, a vitamin B deficiency, and you’re iron isalarminglylow,” she rambled.

Julian passed a look my way that nearly mirrored Elle’s—that false sense of concern.

“I’m not … hungry,” I repeated, this time raising my voice a bit when I became defensive. The last thing I needed was a robot and a monster pitying me.

Frustration replaced my other emotions.

“Look … tonight was a mess, and I’m … I’m exhausted. So, if you would please just take me to my cell …”

More confusion marked Julian’s expression, and after staring at me for what felt like an eternity, his gaze shifted to Elle.

“Would you mind giving us a moment?” he asked.

Without questioning him, Elle obeyed, leaving Julian and me. The soles of his shoes echoed against the marble when he took a few steps closer, keeping his eyes trained on me. As the space between us disappeared, my breaths became shallow, uneven.

---